Parliamentary Standing Committee

Subject: Polity

Context:

Amid the on-going India-China border tension, a Parliamentary Standing Committee report on Sino-India relations post the Doklam standoff has been released.

Concept:

• The Constitution of India makes a mention of these committees at different places, but without making any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions, etc. All these matters are dealtby the rules of two Houses.
• Accordingly, a parliamentary committee means a committee that:
• Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker / Chairman
• Works under the direction of the Speaker / Chairman
• Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker / Chairman
• Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha
• The introduction of 17 department-related standing committees (DRSCs) on March 31, 1993 was a significant innovation that increased parliamentary scrutiny and gave MPs a larger role in examining legislation and important decisions of the day.
• There are 24 DRSCs — 16 from Lok Sabha and 8 from Rajya Sabha. Each committee has 21 MPs from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
• The role: Given the volume of legislative business and the time constraints it is not possible for MPs to discuss and scrutinise all bills in the House.
• Parliamentary committees, either formed for a specific bill (select committee) or permanent (standing committees that are reconstituted annually) allow for a scrutiny with the possibility of tapping subject experts from outside and other stakeholders in an environment where MPs are not bound by party positions or whips.
• A problem: The committee system, however, has been affected by delays in preparing reports and incidence of absenteeism.