Knowledge Nugget: Why is Parliamentary Estimates Committee important for your UPSC exam?
(Relevance: In 2023, UPSC has asked a question in General Studies II on the structure of the Parliamentary Committee system and how it helped in the institutionalisation of the Indian Parliament. A preliminary question was asked on the Estimate Committee (Do solve it in the post-read questions). In this regard, it makes this topic very important for your UPSC exam.)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday (23rd June) inaugurated the national conference marking the platinum jubilee of the Parliamentary Estimates Committee in Mumbai's Vidhan Bhavan complex. The two-day event, held at the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan complex in Mumbai, brought together committee chairpersons and members from across the country.
1. Describing the 75-year milestone as a 'significant moment in India's parliamentary journey,' Birla said the Estimates Committee had submitted over 1,000 reports since its formation in 1950, shaping key national policies in sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, and defence.
2. Birla underscored the importance of fostering institutional synergy, enhancing financial accountability, and embracing technology-driven governance to strengthen democratic processes. The Speaker urged members to uphold the spirit of collaboration and responsibility, reinforcing the committees' role as pillars of parliamentary democracy. He also called for coordination between the Estimates Committees of Parliament and the state/UT legislatures.
3. Dileep P Chandran wrote in the Indian Express, 'Parliamentary committees are devices to overcome the limitations of organisational and technical complexity of large legislatures. Independent India inherited the modern committee system from the British parliamentary system and innovated new techniques to effectively manage the voluminous tasks in the large Parliament.'
4. The origin of the parliamentary committee system in India can be traced back to the British colonial era. The first committee established in the Indian legislature was the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919, also called the Montford Reforms.
5. The constitution has not provided any special provisions on the composition, tenure, or functioning of the Parliamentary Committees. Parliamentary Committees draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.
Each House of Parliament may make rules for regulating, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, its procedure and the conduct of its business. (Article 118(1))
6. The Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure provide for the appointment of the parliamentary committees. The committee is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman. They work under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman. The committee presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
7. Parliamentary committees help MPs devote more time to each item under scrutiny and examine matters in great detail. These committees can also seek inputs from experts from respective fields and ensure the participation of stakeholders in deliberations. These measures help members from various political parties to reach a consensus on insurmountable issues.
1. The Estimates Committee is a Financial Standing Committee which shall consist of not more than thirty members who shall be elected by the House every year from amongst its members according to the principle of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. A minister shall not be elected to be a member of the committee, and if a member, after election to the Committee, is appointed a Minister, such member shall cease to be a member of the Committee from the date of such appointment.
2. The term of the office shall not exceed one year. Rule 312 of the Lok Sabha provides that 'the Committee may continue the examination of the estimates from time to time throughout the financial year and report to the House as its examination proceeds.' It is not required that the committee examine the entire estimates of any one year.
(a) Report what economies, improvements in organization, efficiency or administrative reform, consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, may be affected;
(b) suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration;
(c) examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates; and
(d) Suggest the form in which the estimates shall be presented to Parliament.
The Committee does not exercise its functions in relation to such Public Undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha or by the Speaker.
1. Broadly, Parliamentary Committees can be classified into Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees, Other Parliamentary Standing Committees, and Ad hoc Committees.
2. The Financial Committees include the Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings. These committees were constituted in 1950.
3. Seventeen Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into being in 1993, when Shivraj Patil was Speaker of Lok Sabha, to examine budgetary proposals and crucial government policies. The aim was to increase Parliamentary scrutiny, and to give members more time and a wider role in examining important legislation. The number of Committees was subsequently increased to 24. Each of these Committees has 31 members — 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
4. Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose. They cease to exist after they have completed the task assigned to them, and have submitted a report to the House. The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Committees like the Railway Convention Committee, Committee on Food Management and Security in Parliament House Complex, etc. also come under the category of Ad hoc Committees.
5. Parliament can also constitute a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) with a special purpose, with members from both Houses, for detailed scrutiny of a subject or Bill. Also, either of the two Houses can set up a Select Committee with members from that House. JPCs and Select Committees are usually chaired by ruling party MPs, and are disbanded after they have submitted their report.
(set up in 1921)
(set up on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then Finance Minister)
(created in 1964)
Which one of the following is the largest Committee of the Parliament? (UPSC CSE 2014)
(a) The Committee on Public Accounts
(b) The Committee on Estimates
(c) The Committee on Public Undertakings
(d) The Committee on Petition
(Source: India's Parliamentary Committee System: Unveiling its origin, significance and challenges, LS Speaker Om Birla inaugurates Estimates Committee platinum jubilee meet, Constitution of India, Rules of Procedure Lok Sabha, Parliament Committees, their leaders, and their role in law-making)
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