PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES

A parliamentary committees is a group of MPs appointed by one or both Houses
of Parliament to undertake certain specified tasks.

Conditions

• 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

Limitations

• Financial committees conduct a post-mortem
  examination of accounts
• Cannot intervene in the matters of day-to-day
  administration.
• Recommendations are advisory and not binding
  on the ministries
• Not executive bodies and hence, cannot issue
  an order

Types

Ad hoc

• Temporary
• For specific purpose
• Ceases to exist once the
  task is over

Standing

• Permanent
• Formed every year
• 6 categories

Select

• Members of one House
  only
• E.g., Estimates Committee

Joint

• Consists of members of
  both the Houses
• E.g., PAC, DRSCs

STANDING COMMITTEES

Financial Committees
Departmentally-related Standing Committees
Committees to Inquire
Committees to Scrutinise and Control
Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business
of the House
House-Keeping Committees or Service
Committees

FINANCIAL COMMITTEES

1. Public Accounts Committee
2. Estimates Committee
3. Committee on Public Undertakings

Contribution

• Examination of Public Expenditure
• Ensuring Accountability
• Financial Transparency
• Non-partisan Functioning
• Highlighting Irregularities
• Recommendations for Improvement
• Enhancing Public Confidence
• Follow-up on Audit Reports
• Promoting Efficiency and Economy
• Legislative Oversight

Limitations

• Limited Jurisdiction
• Non-Consideration of All CAG Reports
• Political Bias
• Lack of Expertise
• Limited Powers
• Public Perception and Media Coverage
• Executive Resistance
• Impact of Parliamentary Disruptions
• Need for Modernization and Capacity Building

Estimates Committee

• Set up first in 1921;
• Members – 30 (LS – 30, RS – 0)
• Functions
  vExamination of Budget Estimates: This committee scrutinizes the
  budget estimates presented by the government.
  vSuggesting Economies in Operations: It suggests alternative policies
  to bring about efficiency and economy in administration.
  vContinuous Review of Government Work: The Estimates Committee
  keeps an ongoing check on government spending and policies.
  vAssisting in Policy Formulation: It assists Parliament in its detailed
  study of the budget and in understanding the ways in which money is
  spent
  

Issues

• Limited Expertise of Members
• Scope of Work
• Non-Binding Recommendations
• Volume of Work
• Partisan Influences
• Lack of Public Awareness and Transparency
• Time Constraints
• Implementation of Recommendations
• Inadequate Research Support
• Effectiveness in Question

Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

• Set up first in 1921
• Members – 22 (LS – 15, RS – 7)
• Functions
  qExamine the appropriation accounts and the finance accounts
  of the Union government
  qExamine audit reports of CAG

Contribution

• Examination of Public Expenditure
• Ensuring Accountability
• Financial Transparency
• Non-partisan Functioning
• Highlighting Irregularities
• Recommendations for Improvement
• Enhancing Public Confidence
• Follow-up on Audit Reports
• Promoting Efficiency and Economy
• Legislative Oversight

Limitations

• Limited Jurisdiction
• Non-Consideration of All CAG Reports
• Political Bias
• Lack of Expertise
• Limited Powers
• Public Perception and Media Coverage
• Executive Resistance
• Impact of Parliamentary Disruptions
• Need for Modernization and Capacity Building

Estimates Committee

• Set up first in 1921;
• Members – 30 (LS – 30, RS – 0)
• Functions
  vExamination of Budget Estimates: This committee scrutinizes
  the budget estimates presented by the government.
  vSuggesting Economies in Operations: It suggests alternative
  policies to bring about efficiency and economy in
  administration.
  vContinuous Review of Government Work: The Estimates
  Committee keeps an ongoing check on government spending
  and policies.
  vAssisting in Policy Formulation: It assists Parliament in its
  detailed study of the budget and in understanding the ways in
  which money is spent

Issues

• Limited Expertise of Members
• Scope of Work
• Non-Binding Recommendations
• Volume of Work
• Partisan Influences
• Lack of Public Awareness and Transparency
• Time Constraints
• Implementation of Recommendations
• Inadequate Research Support
• Effectiveness in Question

Departmentally-related Standing Committees

• Under RS (8): Commerce, Home Affairs, HRD, Industry,
  Science & Tech., Transport, Health, Law
• Under LS (16): Agriculture, IT, Defence, Energy, External
  Affairs, Finance, Food, Labour, Petroleum, Railways,
  Urban Development, Water, Chemicals, Rural
  Development, Social Justice, Coal

Functions

• Scrutinize budget
• Examine bills referred to it by the Parliament
• Consider long-term basic policy documents
• Consider annual reports of Ministries/Departments

Problems

• Membership – political consideration
• Attendance – poor
• Meeting – irregular
• Government usually in a hurry to get the bills
  passed
• Recommendations not usually accepted by the
  Ministries.

Recommendations

• Membership should be based on expertise in domain.
• Sending Bills to DRSCs should be automatic.
• Fixed time-line for DRSCs to submit reports.
• Suggestions of DRSCs should be ideally binding.
• Inviting outside experts (from private sector).

Committee on Ethics

• Established:
  -Lok Sabha – 2015
  -Rajya Sabha – 1997
• Functions:
  -Lay down code of conduct for members
  -Supervise the ethical and moral conduct
  of members
• Complaint Mechanism:
  -Any citizen can complain against an MP
  -Presiding Officer forwards complain to
  Committee.
  -Voting takes place on Committee’s report
  in the House

Name of the Committee	LS MPs	RS MPs	Chairman	CAN MINISTER BE A MEMBER
Public Accounts (J)	15	7	Opposition	NO
Estimates	30	–	Ruling Party	NO
Public Undertakings (J)	22	7	By P/O	NO
DRSC (J)	21	10	By P/O	NO
Petitions (S)	15	10	By P/O	NO
Govt. Assurances (S)	15	10	By P/O	NO
Business Advisory Committee (S)	15	11	PRESIDING OFFICER	–
Papers Laid on the Table (S)	15	10	By P/O	–
Subordinate Legislation (S)	15	15	By P/O	NO(LS)
Rules (S)	15	16	PRESIDING OFFICER	–
Welfare of SC/ST (J)	20	10	By P/O	NO
Welfare of Women (J)	20	10	By P/O	NO
Privileges (S)	15	10	By P/O	–
Ethics (S)	15	10	By P/O	–