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English · हिन्दी · తెలుగు · தமிழ் · മലയാളം · मराठी · ಕನ್ನಡ

Quick recap: Parliament on one page

Parliament · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

All four parts of Parliament condensed for quick revision: composition and membership, presiding officers and procedure, law-making and the Budget, committees and privileges, with a one-table comparison of the two Houses and eight mixed questions.

Under Article 79, Parliament consists of the President and two Houses; the President is a part of Parliament but not a member of either House. The Rajya Sabha has not more than 250 members: 12 nominated by the President and not more than 238 elected by the elected members of the State and Union Territory legislatures by the single transferable vote. It is never dissolved; one-third of its members retire every second year, and the six-year term comes from the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The Lok Sabha has not more than 530 members from the States and 20 from the Union Territories, directly elected; the nomination of Anglo-Indians ended with the 104th Amendment (2019). Seats among States are frozen on the 1971 census until the first census after 2026 (84th Amendment). The Lok Sabha lasts five years unless dissolved earlier, and during an Emergency can be extended one year at a time. The minimum age is 25 for the Lok Sabha and 30 for the Rajya Sabha.

A member loses the seat under Article 101 by holding seats in both Houses or in Parliament and a State Legislature, by a resignation that is voluntary and genuine (33rd Amendment, 1974), or by absence for sixty days without permission. Article 102 lists disqualifications such as holding an office of profit; the President decides these on the binding opinion of the Election Commission (Article 103). Under Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, conviction with a sentence of two years or more disqualifies, and Lily Thomas (2013) removed the old protection for sitting members. The Tenth Schedule (52nd Amendment, 1985) disqualifies members for defection: voluntarily giving up party membership, defying the party whip, an independent joining a party, or a nominated member joining one after six months. Only a merger backed by two-thirds of the legislature party is protected; the 91st Amendment (2003) removed the split exception. The presiding officer decides, subject to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan, 1992).

The Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha, resigns to the Deputy Speaker, can be removed by a majority of all the then members after 14 days' notice, certifies Money Bills and presides over a joint sitting. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is the Vice-President, ex officio, and, unlike the Speaker, cannot vote at all while a resolution for his or her removal is being considered. Under Article 85, six months must not pass between two sessions. Prorogation ends a session without killing pending bills; dissolution of the Lok Sabha kills bills pending in it or passed by it and pending in the Rajya Sabha. The quorum is one-tenth of the total members. A joint sitting (Article 108) settles deadlocks on ordinary bills only, not on Money Bills or Constitution Amendment Bills, and has been held in 1961, 1978 and 2002. Question Hour is in the rules; Zero Hour is not. A no-confidence motion needs 50 members' support and can be moved only in the Lok Sabha.

An ordinary bill passes three readings in each House and needs the agreement of both. Under Article 111 the President may assent, withhold assent, or return a bill once for reconsideration, but cannot return a Money Bill and must assent to a Constitution Amendment Bill (24th Amendment, 1971); with no time limit, a pocket veto is possible. A Money Bill contains only the matters in Article 110, starts only in the Lok Sabha on the President's recommendation, carries the Speaker's final certificate, and can be held by the Rajya Sabha for only 14 days. Financial bills under Article 117 are otherwise treated like ordinary bills. The annual financial statement (Article 112) separates charged expenditure, which is discussed but not voted, from demands for grants, which only the Lok Sabha votes and can reduce but not increase. Then come cut motions, the guillotine, the Appropriation Bill (Article 114) and the Finance Bill, with a vote on account (Article 116) if needed. Money sits in the Consolidated Fund, the Public Account or the Contingency Fund (Articles 266 and 267).

Committees do Parliament's detailed work. The Public Accounts Committee (1921) has 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha, with a chairman from the opposition by convention since 1967; it examines the CAG's audit reports after the money is spent. The Estimates Committee has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha, and suggests economies. The Committee on Public Undertakings (1964) has 22 members and a chairman from the Lok Sabha. The 24 departmentally related standing committees, with 31 members each, examine demands for grants before the vote and bills referred to them. Ministers sit on none of these. Article 105 gives freedom of speech in Parliament and immunity from court proceedings for anything said or any vote given; other privileges remain uncodified. Members are free from arrest only in civil cases, during a session and 40 days before and after it. In Sita Soren (2024) the Supreme Court held that taking a bribe to speak or vote is not protected.

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at a glance
Lok SabhaRajya Sabha
Maximum strength550 (530 from States, 20 from Union Territories)250 (238 elected, 12 nominated)
How chosenDirect election on universal adult franchiseElected by elected MLAs by the single transferable vote
LifeFive years; can be dissolvedPermanent; one-third retire every second year
Minimum age2530
Presiding officerSpeaker, elected from its membersChairman: the Vice-President, ex officio
Money BillIntroduced only here; final sayRecommendations only, within 14 days
Demands for grantsVotes on themDoes not vote on them
No-confidence motionCan be movedCannot be moved

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Consider the following statements about the Rajya Sabha:
1. The six-year term of its members is fixed by the Constitution.
2. As nearly as possible, one-third of its members retire every second year.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Article 83(1) provides for one-third retiring every second year, so statement 2 is correct. The six-year term comes from the Representation of the People Act, 1951, not the Constitution, so statement 1 is wrong. Options with 1 are wrong, and 'neither' ignores statement 2.

Q2. Under the Tenth Schedule, a question whether a member of the Lok Sabha has become disqualified on the ground of defection is decided by

  1. the President, on the opinion of the Election Commission
  2. the Election Commission
  3. the Speaker, subject to judicial review
  4. the Supreme Court, as the court of first instance
Show answer

Answer: C. the Speaker, subject to judicial review

Paragraph 6 of the Tenth Schedule gives the decision to the presiding officer, and Kihoto Hollohan (1992) held that it is open to judicial review. The President decides on the Election Commission's opinion only for Article 102(1) disqualifications such as office of profit, and the courts review the Speaker's decision rather than decide first.

Q3. Who presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament?

  1. The President
  2. The Vice-President
  3. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
  4. The senior-most member of the Rajya Sabha
Show answer

Answer: C. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha

Under Article 118(4) the Speaker presides over a joint sitting; in his or her absence the Deputy Speaker, and if both are absent the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The President summons the sitting but does not preside, and the Vice-President, as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, has no role in presiding over it.

Q4. The quorum for a sitting of either House of Parliament is

  1. one-third of the total number of members of the House
  2. one-tenth of the total number of members of the House
  3. one-tenth of the members present and voting
  4. fifty members
Show answer

Answer: B. one-tenth of the total number of members of the House

Article 100(3) fixes the quorum at one-tenth of the total number of members of the House, counting the presiding officer. It is not one-third, it is not measured against those present and voting, and fifty is the support needed to take up a no-confidence motion, not the quorum.

Q5. Consider the following statements about expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India:
1. It may be discussed in Parliament.
2. It is submitted to the vote of the Lok Sabha as a demand for grant.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Article 113(1) says charged expenditure is not submitted to the vote of Parliament but does not prevent its discussion in either House. So statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is wrong; only other expenditure goes to the Lok Sabha as demands for grants.

Q6. Which one of the following bills can the President NOT return to Parliament for reconsideration?

  1. An ordinary bill passed by both Houses
  2. A Money Bill
  3. A financial bill under Article 117(1)
  4. A bill passed at a joint sitting
Show answer

Answer: B. A Money Bill

The proviso to Article 111 allows the President to return any bill other than a Money Bill. An ordinary bill, a financial bill under Article 117(1) and a bill passed at a joint sitting are not Money Bills, so each can be returned once.

Q7. Which parliamentary committee examines the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General on the appropriation accounts of the Union?

  1. Estimates Committee
  2. Public Accounts Committee
  3. Business Advisory Committee
  4. Committee on Government Assurances
Show answer

Answer: B. Public Accounts Committee

The Public Accounts Committee examines the appropriation and finance accounts and the CAG's reports on them. The Estimates Committee suggests economies in the estimates, the Business Advisory Committee allots time for business, and the Committee on Government Assurances tracks ministers' promises.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. A Member of Parliament who accepts a bribe to vote in a particular way is immune from prosecution under Article 105(2).
2. A Member of Parliament is free from arrest in civil cases during a session of the House.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Statement 1 was the view in P.V. Narasimha Rao (1998), but Sita Soren (2024) overruled it, so it is wrong today. Statement 2 is correct: freedom from arrest applies in civil cases during a session and 40 days before and after it. Options with 1 are wrong, and 'neither' ignores statement 2.

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