Parliament of India

What is a Parliament?

A Parliament is an important part of any democratic country. In modern political history, it is the elected legislative body of the country.  Generally, a modern parliament has three functions : representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Historically Parliaments include deliberative, consultative, and judicial assemblies.

What are the functions of the Parliament?

The Parliament in a democracy has immense powers. It is representative of the people. A country is divided into numerous constituencies and a member from each of these constituencies is elected to be representative in the Parliament.

The candidates who contest elections usually belong to different political parties. Once elected, these candidates become Members of Parliament or MPs. These MPs together make up the Parliament.

Who are the people who make the Indian Parliament?

The Indian Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the Indian Republic. The Indian Parliamentary system is a Republic, which means, that the country is not under the rule of a monarch, and the offices of state are elected or appointed and not inherited. The elected individuals represent the citizen body.

How does the Indian Parliament work?

The Indian Parliament consists of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head.

What is the Lok Sabha?

As conceived by the Constitution of India, the Lok Sabha or the House of People(Lower House) consists of 552 members made up by elections. 530 members represent States and 20 represent Union Territories and 2 members from the Anglo – Indian community are nominated by the President of India.

Unless dissolved, the Lok Sabha operates for five years from the date of its appointment.

What is the Rajya Sabha?

According to the Indian Constitution, the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States(Upper House) membership is restricted to 250. The members of Rajya Sabha are elected by state and territorial legislatures using single transferrable votes. The members are in office for six years with one third of members retiring every two years. Twelve members of the Rajya Sabha are selected on the basis of their contribution to arts, science, literature, social science.

Unlike the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved. Although the President can prorogue the session and adjourn it. The Vice President of India is the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

What is a zero hour?

The time allocated post the Question hour, at 12 Noon, where members can raise matters of importance without the procedural 10 day notice period, is known as Zero Hour.

Where is Parliament of India located?

The Parliament House is in Sansad Bhavan, New Delhi. It was designed by the British architect Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912-1913 and construction began in 1921 and ended in 1927. The opening ceremony of the Parliament House, then called the Central Legislative Assembly, was performed on 18 January, 1927 by Lord Irwin, the then Viceroy of India.

The third session of Central Legislative Assembly was held in this house on 19 January, 1927.