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Indian Express
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Vice-President election : A must-know for UPSC aspirants
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget on the Vice-Presidential election. (Relevance: UPSC has asked questions in Prelims and Mains on the office of the Vice-President. In 2022, in General Studies II, a question was asked on the role of the Vice-President (VP) as the chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Since the VP election is scheduled next month after Jagdeep Dhankhar's resignation, this topic becomes very important for your Prelims and Mains examination.) The election for the post of Vice President will be held on September 9, as announced by the Election Commission (EC) on Friday (1st August). The post fell vacant with the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar on July 21. As per the schedule announced by the EC, the notification would be issued on August 7, starting the period for filing nominations. The last date for filing nominations is August 21. The polling and counting would be held on September 9. 1. Jagdeep Dhankhar assumed office as the 14th Vice President in August 2022. He is only the third Vice-President in India's history to resign before completing his term, after V.V. Giri and R. Venkataraman —both of whom stepped down to contest presidential elections and were succeeded by Gopal Swarup Pathak and Shankar Dayal Sharma, respectively. 2. The office of the Vice-President is a unique feature of India, which follows a parliamentary system, and has no exact parallel in other democratic countries, including the Commonwealth. 3. The second-highest constitutional authority after the President, the Vice-President draws his or her powers from Article 63 of the Constitution, which states that 'there shall be a Vice-President of India'. 4. Article 64 goes on to confer upon the post the power to be 'ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States (the Rajya Sabha)'. In effect, the Vice-President discharges duties of both the Vice-President and Rajya Sabha chairperson. 5. Under Article 64 (2), the Vice-President also discharges presidential functions when the President is unable to do so 'owing to absence, illness or any other cause'. In this case, the Vice-President will 'have all the powers and immunities of the President and be entitled to… (the) emoluments, allowances and privileges'. 6. As per Article 65, the Vice-President can act as the President, 'in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of his death, resignation, or removal,' or 'until the date on which a new President…enters upon his office.' 7. There is no direct provision in the Constitution on who performs the duties of the Vice-President if the office falls vacant before the expiry of his/her term or when the Vice-President is discharging the duties of the President. 8. However, the Constitution does have a provision on what happens if the chairperson of the Council of States falls vacant: the Deputy Chairman or any other member of the Rajya Sabha authorised by the President can perform the chairperson's duties. 1. Any citizen of India who is at least 35 years of age and a registered voter in a state or Union Territory can be a candidate for the post. At least 20 MPs need to propose the nomination and 20 other MPs need to second it. As per Article 66 (2), the Vice-President cannot be a member of either House of Parliament or of the Legislature of any state. 2. Article 67 says that the Vice-President will hold office for a term of five years from 'the date on which he enters upon his office'. However, according to the same provision, the Vice-President can continue to hold power 'notwithstanding the expiration of his term' until his 'successor enters upon his office'. 3. The Vice-President may leave mid-term by submitting a resignation letter to the President, and can also be removed from office by a resolution in the Rajya Sabha, passed by a majority of its members at that time and agreed by the House of the People (Lok Sabha). 4. The electoral college for the election scheduled on September 9 will comprise 782 members of Parliament – 233 elected members of Rajya Sabha (five seats are currently vacant), 12 nominated members of Rajya Sabha, and 542 elected members of the Lok Sabha (one seat is vacant), the EC said. The electoral college doesn't include members from state legislatures. 5. Voting is held by secret ballot, using the system of proportional representation with a single transferable vote. Each MP casts a vote by ranking candidates in order of preference. All votes carry equal value as there is no weightage system (followed in the President election). 6. To be declared elected, a candidate must reach a required minimum number of votes — called the quota. This is calculated by dividing the total number of valid votes by two and adding one (fractions, if any, are ignored). 7. If no candidate crosses the quota in the first round, the one with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the remaining candidates based on second preferences. The process continues until one candidate crosses the quota. S Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President, served two terms in office, 1952-62. He was subsequently elected as the President in 1962. Other Vice-Presidents who went on to become presidents were Zakir Hussain (1967-69), V V Giri (69-74), R Venkataraman (87-92), Shankar Dayal Sharma (92-97) and K R Narayanan (97-2002). 1. The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of MPs of both Houses of Parliament and MLAs of the states and Delhi and Puducherry. Nominated members of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, and the Assemblies, and members of state Legislative Councils, are not part of the electoral college. 2. The votes are weighted, their value determined by the population of each state as per the Census 1971. The value of each MLA's vote varies from a high of 208 in Uttar Pradesh to a low of 7 in Sikkim. This means that UP's 403 MLAs contribute 208 × 403 = 83,824 votes to the electoral pool, while Sikkim's 32 MLAs contribute 32 × 7 = 224 votes. The weighted votes from all the Assemblies add up to 5.43 lakh. 3. The process demands that the 776 MPs (543 in Lok Sabha, 233 in Rajya Sabha) should contribute the same total of votes as the MLAs. Thus, the value of each MP's vote is 5.43 lakh divided by 776, rounded off to 700. The combined electoral pool from the Assemblies and Parliament adds up to 10.86 lakh. (1) Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2013) 1. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not members of that House. 2. While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 (2) Who among the following have held the office of the Vice President of India? (UPSC CSE 2008) 1. Mohammad Hidayatullah 2. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed 3. Neelam Sanjiva 4. Shankar Dayal Sharma Select the correct answer using the code given below:- (a) 1,2,3 and 4 (b) 1 and 4 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 3 and 4 only (Source: EC sets September 9 as date for Vice Presidential poll after Dhankhar's surprise exit, Vice-President: The post, the provisions, and the past, UPSC Issue at a Glance | Office of Vice-President of India, Explained: What happens when the Vice-President resigns mid-term, Explained: How the President of India is elected) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for July 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at
Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: Why is Parliamentary Estimates Committee important for your UPSC exam?
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today. (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) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for June 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at
