Parliament & Policy Making

Overview

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of India, and understanding how it works is essential for any citizen who wants to engage with democratic governance. Yet most Indians have never seen Parliament in action, have never read a bill, and do not know how a policy idea becomes a law. This gap in knowledge is not accidental — it is a structural feature of a political system where power is concentrated at the top and the mechanisms of legislative decision-making are obscured by ceremony, political theater, and bureaucratic complexity.

This module demystifies the Indian Parliament and the policy-making process. You will learn how a bill becomes a law, the role of parliamentary committees, how the budget is prepared and passed, and the tools available to citizens for tracking legislation and influencing policy. The goal is not to make you a parliamentary expert but to give you the practical knowledge to follow the laws that affect your life, hold your representatives accountable, and participate in the democratic process beyond voting.

The importance of this knowledge has never been greater. In recent years, major legislative changes — the Citizenship Amendment Act, the farm laws, the labour codes, the electoral bonds scheme — have been passed with limited parliamentary scrutiny, reduced committee examination, and minimal public consultation. Understanding the normal process is the first step toward recognizing when that process is being circumvented.

Structure of Parliament

The Parliament of India is bicameral, consisting of the President, the Lok Sabha (House of the People), and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President is the constitutional head and must assent to all bills passed by both houses before they become law. The Lok Sabha is the directly elected lower house, with members representing constituencies based on population. The Rajya Sabha is the indirectly elected upper house, with members elected by state legislative assemblies, and it represents the states in the federal structure.

The Two Houses

• Lok Sabha (House of the People): The Lok Sabha has a maximum of 543 elected members, plus up to 2 nominated members from the Anglo-Indian community (a provision currently suspended). Members are elected from single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The Lok Sabha has a term of five years, unless dissolved earlier. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are drawn from the Lok Sabha (or the Rajya Sabha) and are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha has primacy in money bills — the Rajya Sabha can only delay them, not reject them. The Lok Sabha also has a larger role in the budget process and can override Rajya Sabha amendments on money bills.
• Rajya Sabha (Council of States): The Rajya Sabha has a maximum of 245 members: 233 elected by state legislative assemblies (using proportional representation with single transferable vote) and 12 nominated by the President for expertise in literature, science, art, and social service. Unlike the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha is a permanent body — one-third of its members retire every two years. The Rajya Sabha has equal legislative power with the Lok Sabha except on money bills. It can introduce bills (except money bills), amend bills, and delay legislation. The Rajya Sabha also plays a special role in federal matters: it can pass resolutions empowering Parliament to make laws on state subjects, and it can create new All-India Services.
• The President: The President is an integral part of Parliament and must assent to all bills before they become law. The President can withhold assent (veto), return a bill for reconsideration (suspensive veto), or, in the case of state bills reserved by the Governor, withhold assent indefinitely (pocket veto). However, the President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, so the veto power is rarely exercised in practice. The President also summons Parliament, prorogues sessions, and addresses both houses at the beginning of each session. The President's address outlines the government's legislative agenda and is effectively a statement of government policy.

Key Parliamentary Sessions

• Budget Session: Held from February to May, this is the most important session of the year. The Finance Minister presents the Union Budget, the Railway Budget (now merged), and the Demand for Grants. The session also discusses the Economic Survey and passes the Appropriation Bill and Finance Bill. The Budget Session is divided into two parts, with a recess in between for parliamentary committees to examine the budget estimates.
• Monsoon Session: Held from July to September, this session focuses on legislative business. The government introduces bills, and both houses debate and vote on them. The Monsoon Session often sees more contentious legislation, as the government seeks to pass bills before the end of the fiscal year.
• Winter Session: Held from November to December, this session addresses pending legislative business and any urgent matters. The Winter Session is shorter and often less productive, but it has been the site of major legislative debates.
• Special Sessions: The government can convene special sessions for specific purposes, such as the midnight session for the GST launch in 2017. These are rare and usually symbolic.

The Legislative Process

A bill is a draft of a legislative proposal. It becomes an act after it is passed by both houses and receives the President's assent. The legislative process is designed to ensure scrutiny, debate, and consensus before a proposal becomes law. However, the process has been increasingly bypassed in recent years through the use of money bills, ordinances, and reduced committee scrutiny.

Types of Bills

• Ordinary Bills: These are bills that do not involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India. They can be introduced in either house (except money bills, which must start in the Lok Sabha). Ordinary bills go through three readings in each house, are examined by committees if referred, and must be passed by both houses in identical form. If the houses disagree, a joint sitting can be called to resolve the deadlock. The Constitution has only ever had three joint sittings (1961, 1978, 2002), making them extremely rare.
• Money Bills: Defined by Article 110, money bills deal with taxation, government borrowing, expenditure from the Consolidated Fund, and related matters. They can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha has limited powers: it can recommend amendments but cannot reject the bill, and it must return the bill within 14 days. If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill within 14 days, it is deemed passed. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies whether a bill is a money bill, and this certification is final and not subject to judicial review. This provision has been controversially used to classify non-financial bills as money bills to bypass Rajya Sabha scrutiny.
• Constitutional Amendment Bills: These bills seek to amend the Constitution. They can be introduced in either house and require a special majority: a majority of the total membership of the house and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. Some amendments also require ratification by at least half of the state legislatures. The Constitution (Article 368) specifies that the basic structure of the Constitution cannot be amended, as established by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).
• Ordinances: Article 123 allows the President to promulgate ordinances when Parliament is not in session, if circumstances require immediate action. Ordinances have the same force as laws but must be approved by Parliament within six weeks of reassembly. If not approved, they lapse. Ordinances have been increasingly used to bypass parliamentary scrutiny, and their use has been challenged in courts. The Supreme Court has held that repeated repromulgation of ordinances is unconstitutional (Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, 2017).

Stages of a Bill

• First Reading (Introduction): The minister or member introduces the bill, reads its title and objectives, and moves for it to be taken into consideration. There is no debate on the merits at this stage. The bill is then published in the Gazette of India and posted on the Parliament website.
• Second Reading (Discussion): This is the principal stage of debate. The bill is discussed clause by clause, and members can propose amendments. The discussion may be general (on the principles) or detailed (on individual clauses). The Second Reading is where the substance of the bill is examined, and it is often the most contentious stage. If the bill is complex or controversial, it may be referred to a Select Committee or Joint Committee at this stage.
• Committee Stage (if referred): If referred to a committee, the bill is examined in detail. The committee hears evidence from experts, stakeholders, and government officials, and may recommend amendments. This is the most thorough stage of scrutiny, but in recent years, the government has increasingly avoided referring bills to committees. The committee then reports back to the house, which considers the bill as reported.
• Third Reading: The house votes on the bill as a whole. No further amendments are allowed (except verbal or consequential amendments). The bill is passed by a simple majority (ordinary bills) or special majority (constitutional amendments). After passing one house, the bill is sent to the other house, where it goes through the same stages.
• President's Assent: After both houses pass the bill in identical form, it is sent to the President for assent. The President has three options: assent (the bill becomes law), withhold assent (veto), or return the bill for reconsideration (if not a money bill). The President can also refer the bill to the Supreme Court for advice on its constitutionality, but this power has never been used. In practice, the President almost always assents, as the office acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Parliamentary Committees

Parliamentary committees are the workhorses of legislative scrutiny. They examine bills in detail, review government spending, investigate policy failures, and hold the executive accountable. The quality of Indian democracy depends heavily on the effectiveness of these committees, yet they receive minimal media coverage and limited public attention.

Standing Committees

• Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs): There are 24 DRSCs — 16 in the Lok Sabha and 8 in the Rajya Sabha. Each committee has 31 members (21 from Lok Sabha, 10 from Rajya Sabha) and is chaired by a member from the ruling party or an opposition member (by convention, some committees are chaired by the opposition). DRSCs examine the budget, bills, and policy of the ministries under their jurisdiction. They can summon ministers, civil servants, and experts, and they produce detailed reports. The reports of DRSCs are public documents and are available on the Parliament website. In recent years, the government has increasingly bypassed DRSCs by not referring bills to them, weakening a crucial layer of scrutiny.
• Public Accounts Committee (PAC): The PAC is the most prestigious parliamentary committee, with a long history of independent scrutiny. It has 22 members (15 from Lok Sabha, 7 from Rajya Sabha) and is traditionally chaired by a senior opposition member. The PAC examines the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), which cover government expenditure, revenue, and public sector undertakings. The PAC can summon officials, demand documents, and produce critical reports. Its reports on 2G spectrum allocation, coal block allocation, and defense procurement have been major instruments of accountability. The PAC's effectiveness depends on the chairperson's willingness to challenge the government and the committee's access to information.
• Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU): This committee examines the accounts and reports of public sector undertakings, evaluates their performance, and recommends improvements. It has 22 members (15 from Lok Sabha, 7 from Rajya Sabha) and is also chaired by an opposition member. COPU reports often highlight inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement in public sector enterprises, but their recommendations are advisory and not binding on the government.
• Estimates Committee: The largest committee, with 30 members from the Lok Sabha only. It examines the budget estimates and suggests economies in expenditure. Unlike the PAC, the Estimates Committee does not examine past expenditure but looks forward, proposing improvements in government organization and efficiency. It is chaired by a member of the ruling party.

Ad Hoc Committees

• Select Committees and Joint Committees: These are formed for specific bills. A Select Committee is appointed by one house to examine a bill; a Joint Committee has members from both houses. These committees conduct detailed hearings, summon witnesses, and recommend amendments. They are the most thorough form of legislative scrutiny, but their use has declined dramatically. The Aadhaar bill (2016), the farm laws (2020), and several other major bills were passed without committee examination, despite being complex and controversial.
• Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs): JPCs are formed to investigate specific issues or scandals. Notable JPCs include those on the 2G spectrum scandal, the Harshad Mehta stock scam, and the pesticide residues in soft drinks. JPCs have the powers of a civil court: they can summon witnesses, demand documents, and examine evidence on oath. However, their effectiveness depends on the political will to investigate genuinely, and their reports are often diluted by partisan compromise.

Budget and Financial Process

The Union Budget is the single most important annual policy document of the government. It sets out the government's revenue, expenditure, and borrowing for the coming year, and it reflects the government's policy priorities. Understanding the budget process is essential for tracking how public money is spent and for holding the government accountable for its fiscal promises.

The Budget Process

• Economic Survey: Presented a day before the budget, the Economic Survey is a document prepared by the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance. It reviews the state of the economy, analyzes trends, and makes policy recommendations. It is not binding on the government but provides the intellectual context for the budget. The Survey is available on the Ministry of Finance website and is a valuable source of economic data and analysis.
• Budget Speech and Documents: The Finance Minister presents the budget in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the Budget Session. The speech is a political document, highlighting achievements and announcing new schemes. The actual budget documents — the Budget Speech, the Annual Financial Statement, the Demand for Grants, the Finance Bill, the Expenditure Budget, the Receipts Budget, and the Budget at a Glance — are available on indiabudget.gov.in. These documents contain the real numbers: how much each ministry will receive, how much is allocated to each scheme, and what taxes are being changed.
• Discussion and Voting: After the budget presentation, the Lok Sabha discusses the budget in general (the General Discussion). Then the Lok Sabha votes on the Demand for Grants — the detailed expenditure proposals of each ministry. This is done through Guillotine: on the last day of the budget discussion, all remaining demands are put to vote together, without individual discussion. This means that most expenditure proposals are not actually debated or voted on individually. The Appropriation Bill is then passed to legalize the expenditure, and the Finance Bill is passed to give effect to the tax proposals.
• Committee Examination: During the recess of the Budget Session, the DRSCs examine the Demand for Grants of their respective ministries. They summon officials, examine budget documents, and produce reports. These reports are often critical, highlighting underutilization of funds, misallocation, and policy failures. However, the government is not bound to accept the committees' recommendations, and the process has been weakened in recent years by shorter recesses and less detailed scrutiny.

Key Budget Documents to Read

• Annual Financial Statement (AFS): The main budget document showing receipts and expenditure. It distinguishes between revenue and capital accounts, and between charged and voted expenditure. The AFS is the constitutional document required by Article 112.
• Demand for Grants: Detailed expenditure proposals for each ministry. Each ministry has a separate Demand for Grant, showing the budgeted amount for each scheme, project, and sub-head. This is the most granular document for tracking how money is allocated.
• Expenditure Budget (Volume I and II): Volume I contains the narrative explaining each ministry's budget; Volume II contains the detailed "Statement of Budget Estimates" with specific schemes and projects. This is the most useful document for understanding what the government is actually planning to do.
• Receipts Budget: Details of tax revenue, non-tax revenue, and capital receipts. It shows the expected revenue from each tax (income tax, corporate tax, GST, customs) and the assumptions behind the estimates.
• Finance Bill: The legislative proposal to change taxes, duties, and cesses. It contains the detailed clauses of tax changes, exemptions, and penalties. The Finance Bill is often amended during parliamentary debate, and the final version may differ from the original proposals.
• Outcome Budget: Tracks the outputs and outcomes of government schemes. It measures not just how much money was spent but what was achieved. The Outcome Budget is a useful tool for accountability, though its metrics are sometimes poorly designed or manipulated.

How Citizens Can Track Legislation

Parliamentary proceedings and documents are public records, and the government has made increasing amounts of information available online. A citizen who wants to track legislation does not need special access or expertise — only the knowledge of where to look and the patience to read the documents.

Online Tools and Portals

• PRS Legislative Research (prsindia.org): The most accessible resource for tracking Indian legislation. PRS provides plain-language summaries of every bill, analysis of implications, comparison with previous drafts, and the bill's current status. They also track parliamentary questions, committee reports, and legislative activity. The PRS Bill Track feature allows you to follow a bill through its entire lifecycle. If you read only one source for parliamentary news, make it PRS.
• Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites (loksabha.nic.in, rajyasabha.nic.in): The official websites publish the full text of all bills, the verbatim debates (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings), committee reports, and the daily list of business. The sites are not always user-friendly, but they contain the authoritative documents. The "Questions" section is particularly useful: members ask questions of ministers, and the answers are published. These questions often reveal problems that the government would prefer not to discuss.
• Parliament Digital Library (eparlib.nic.in): Digital archive of parliamentary debates, committee reports, and historical documents. Useful for researching the legislative history of an act or tracing how a particular provision evolved over time.
• Gazette of India (egazette.nic.in): The official publication for all government notifications, rules, orders, and ordinances. When a law is passed or amended, the Gazette notification is the legal proof. Subordinate legislation (rules, regulations) is also published here. If you want to verify whether a government order actually exists or what it says, check the Gazette.
• MyGov (mygov.in): The government's citizen engagement platform sometimes posts draft bills, rules, and policies for public consultation. While the consultation process is often cursory, submitting comments is a form of civic participation, and the government is legally required to consider comments on some regulatory proposals.
• Parliament live streaming (sansadtv.nic.in): Parliament proceedings are broadcast live on Sansad TV and are available as archived videos. Watching the actual debates, rather than the edited clips on news channels, gives you a more accurate sense of what was said and what was not.

What to Track

• Bill introduction and status: Follow bills from introduction to passage. Note whether they are referred to committees, whether amendments are accepted, and whether the legislative process is being rushed or bypassed. A bill that passes both houses in a single session without committee scrutiny is a red flag for reduced democratic deliberation.
• Parliamentary questions: Members of Parliament ask questions that the government must answer. These questions and answers are published on the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites. They are a goldmine of information about government policy, spending, and failures. A well-crafted question can force the government to reveal data it would prefer not to publish.
• Committee reports: The reports of parliamentary committees are public documents and often contain more critical analysis than the official government documents. The PAC's reports on audit findings, the DRSCs' reports on ministry performance, and the ad hoc committees' reports on specific issues are all worth reading. They are often more informative than news coverage.
• Ordinances: Track the number and content of ordinances promulgated. Frequent use of ordinances is a sign that the government is bypassing Parliament. Check whether the ordinances are eventually approved by Parliament or allowed to lapse. Track which ordinances are repromulgated (reissued after lapse), which the Supreme Court has held is unconstitutional.
• Rules and subordinate legislation: After a law is passed, the government must issue rules to implement it. These rules are often as important as the law itself. Track the publication of draft rules in the Gazette, submit comments during the consultation period, and monitor whether the final rules reflect the promises made during the parliamentary debate.

State Legislatures

While Parliament receives the most attention, state legislatures are where much of the governance that directly affects citizens' lives occurs. Education, health, agriculture, local government, land revenue, and police are all state subjects. Understanding how state legislatures work is essential for holding state governments accountable.

State Legislative Structure

• Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas): Every state has a Legislative Assembly, with members elected from single-member constituencies. The size of the assembly varies by state population, from 40 members (Sikkim, Goa) to 403 (Uttar Pradesh). The Assembly is the primary legislative body for state subjects, and the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers are responsible to it. The Assembly's term is five years, unless dissolved earlier.
• Legislative Councils (Vidhan Parishads): Only six states — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh — have Legislative Councils. The Council is a permanent body (like the Rajya Sabha) with one-third of members retiring every two years. It can delay ordinary legislation but cannot reject money bills. The Council's role is to provide a second chamber for scrutiny, but its effectiveness varies. Several states have abolished their Councils (Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir), and others have debated doing so.
• Governor: The Governor is the constitutional head of the state and has powers similar to the President at the national level: assenting to bills, promulgating ordinances, and addressing the legislature. However, the Governor's role has been politically contentious, with Governors often acting as agents of the central government rather than as neutral constitutional heads. The Governor's power to withhold assent to bills (reserving them for the President), to dismiss governments, and to invite parties to form governments has been abused on multiple occasions.

Tracking State Legislation

• State legislature websites: Most state legislatures have websites that publish bills, debates, and committee reports. The quality and accessibility vary widely. Some states (Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka) have relatively well-maintained sites; others are outdated or incomplete. State government portals and gazettes publish notifications and rules.
• State budget documents: State budgets are published on the state finance department websites. They are structured similarly to the Union Budget but are often less analyzed by media and civil society. Understanding state budgets is crucial because states spend the majority of the money on health, education, and welfare schemes that affect daily life.
• Local government bodies: The Panchayat Raj system (village, block, and district panchayats) and urban local bodies (municipalities, corporations) have their own budgets and decision-making processes. These are the least transparent level of government but the one closest to citizens. Tracking local budgets, attending gram sabha meetings, and using RTI to access local records are powerful forms of civic engagement.

Civic Participation in Policy Making

Democracy does not end at the ballot box. Citizens can participate in policy making through multiple channels, from formal consultations to public interest litigation to direct advocacy. Knowing these channels and using them effectively is the difference between passive citizenship and active engagement.

Formal Channels of Participation

• Public consultations on draft bills and rules: Some ministries post draft bills, rules, and regulations on their websites for public comment. The consultation period is usually 30 days. Submitting comments requires reading the draft, understanding its implications, and articulating specific concerns. While there is no guarantee that comments will be accepted, the process creates a record of public opposition that can be used in courts, in media, and in parliamentary debate. If a rule is challenged in court, the government can be asked to produce the comments it received and explain why they were rejected.
• Right to Information (RTI): The RTI Act (2005) is the most powerful tool available to Indian citizens for government transparency. Under the Act, any citizen can request information from any public authority, and the authority must respond within 30 days. RTI can be used to access: government documents, minutes of meetings, expenditure records, inspection reports, and data that the government has collected but not published. The Act has been used to expose corruption, reveal policy failures, and force transparency. However, it has also been weakened by recent amendments that reduced the independence of the Information Commissions, and by increasing use of exemptions to deny information. RTI applications cost ₹10 and can be filed online (rtionline.gov.in) or in writing.
• Parliamentary petitions: Citizens can submit petitions to Parliament, either through a member or directly to the Petitions Committee. The committee examines petitions and can make recommendations to the government. While the process is slow and often ignored, a well-documented petition can attract media attention and put pressure on the government to respond.
• Contacting your MP or MLA: Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly are representatives, not rulers. They can raise questions, raise issues in the house, and intervene with ministries on behalf of constituents. Contacting your representative about a specific issue — a stalled road project, a broken health center, a wrongful police action — can be effective, especially if you provide documentation and follow up. Most MPs have constituency offices and hold regular meetings. Find your MP on the Lok Sabha website and your MLA on the state election commission website.
• Public interest litigation (PIL): The Supreme Court and High Courts have the power to entertain petitions from any citizen on matters of public interest, even if the petitioner is not directly affected. PIL has been used to force environmental protection, prison reform, police accountability, and anti-corruption measures. However, PIL is an expensive and uncertain process, and the courts have become increasingly conservative about which petitions they accept. It is a tool of last resort, not first resort.
• Civil society and advocacy groups: Organizations like the Internet Freedom Foundation, the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA), the National Campaign for People's Right to Information (NCPRI), and numerous state-level groups work on specific policy issues. Joining or supporting these organizations multiplies your impact. They provide expertise, legal support, and collective voice that individual citizens cannot match.

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