Polity
Parliament
Parliament — Quick Revision
One-page CGPSC quick revision for Parliament: strength, articles, bills, joint sittings, budget, motions and committees in tables for Prelims and Mains.
Articles 79–122 on one page: the two Houses, bills, the budget, devices and committees. For explanations, go back to the chapter.
How to use this sheet
Scan it top to bottom in the week before Prelims. Bold entries are the facts examiners return to most often.
The Two Houses
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Art 79 | Parliament = President + Rajya Sabha + Lok Sabha |
| Lok Sabha | Max 550 (530 states + 20 UTs); present 543; direct election; FPTP |
| Rajya Sabha | Max 250 (238 + 12 nominated); present 245 (233 + 12); elected by MLAs by STV; seats by Fourth Schedule |
| Nominated (Art 80(3)) | Literature, science, art, social service |
| Anglo-Indian nomination | Ended by 104th Amendment (effective 25 January 2020) |
| SC / ST seats in Lok Sabha | 84 / 47 (2008 delimitation) |
| Women’s reservation | 106th Amendment (2023); one-third; after post-census delimitation |
| Delimitation freeze | 1971 Census until first census after 2026 (84th Amendment, 2001) |
| 131st Amendment Bill, 2026 | Lok Sabha of 850 proposed; defeated 17 April 2026 (298–230; needed 352) |
| Duration | Lok Sabha 5 years (Art 83); Rajya Sabha permanent, member term 6 years (RP Act) |
| Minimum age | 25 Lok Sabha; 30 Rajya Sabha |
| Sessions | Gap ≤ 6 months (Art 85) |
| Quorum | One-tenth (Art 100) |
| Absence | 60 days → seat may be declared vacant (Art 101(4)) |
| Oath penalty | ₹500 per day (Art 104) |
| Disqualification (Art 102(1)) | President decides on the EC’s opinion (Art 103) |
| Defection | Speaker/Chairman decides; 52nd (1985), 91st (2003); Kihoto Hollohan (1992) |
| Privileges (Art 105) | Not codified; Sita Soren (2024): no immunity for bribery |
| Chhattisgarh | 11 Lok Sabha (ST: Bastar, Kanker, Raigarh, Surguja; SC: Janjgir-Champa); 5 Rajya Sabha |
Presiding Officers (as of October 2026)
| Office | Fact |
|---|---|
| Speaker | Om Birla (second term, June 2024); removal by effective majority, 14 days’ notice; resigns to Deputy Speaker |
| Deputy Speaker | Vacant throughout the 17th and, as of 2026, the 18th Lok Sabha |
| Chairman, Rajya Sabha | C.P. Radhakrishnan, Vice-President since 12 September 2025 |
| Deputy Chairman | Harivansh, third term (April 2026) |
| First Speaker / first Chairman | G.V. Mavalankar / S. Radhakrishnan |
| Speaker’s key powers | Certifies Money Bills; presides over joint sittings; decides defection |
Bills
| Bill | Introduced | Rajya Sabha | Joint sitting | President |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary | Either House | Equal | Yes | Assent / withhold / return once |
| Money (Art 110) | Lok Sabha only | 14 days, recommendations | No | Assent / withhold; cannot return |
| Financial 117(1) | Lok Sabha only | Equal | Yes | As ordinary |
| Financial 117(3) | Either House | Equal | Yes | As ordinary |
| Amendment (Art 368) | Either House; private member allowed | Equal (veto) | No | Must assent (24th Amendment) |
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Joint sittings | 1961 Dowry Prohibition; 1978 Banking Service Commission (Repeal); 2002 POTA |
| Joint sitting rules | Rejection, disagreement on amendments, or > 6 months; Speaker presides |
| Art 110(2) not Money Bills | Fines, licence/service fees, local taxes |
| Money Bill review | Rojer Mathew (2019): Speaker’s certificate open to judicial review; referred to larger bench |
| Pocket veto | Zail Singh, Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986 |
| Private members’ bills | 14 enacted; last in 1970 |
| Lapse on dissolution | Pending in Lok Sabha → lapses; passed by Lok Sabha and pending in Rajya Sabha → lapses; others survive |
Budget and Devices
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Art 112 | Annual Financial Statement (word “budget” not used) |
| Budget day | 1 February since 2017; Railway Budget merged 2017 |
| Stages | Presentation → general discussion → DRSC scrutiny → voting on demands → Appropriation Bill → Finance Bill |
| Voting on demands | Lok Sabha only; can reduce, not increase |
| Finance Bill | Within 75 days (1931 Act) |
| Cut motions | Policy ₹1; Economy specified sum; Token ₹100 |
| Art 115 | Supplementary, additional, excess (after PAC) |
| Art 116 | Vote on account, vote of credit, exceptional grant |
| Contingency Fund (Art 267) | ₹30,000 crore since 2021; at the President’s disposal |
| Question Hour | First hour; starred = oral; unstarred = written |
| Zero Hour | 1962; not in the Rules |
| Calling attention | 1954; in the Rules |
| Adjournment motion | Lok Sabha only; 50 members; censure element |
| No-confidence | Lok Sabha; Rule 198; 50 members; no reasons; first 1963 (J.B. Kripalani) |
Committees
| Committee | Size | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| PAC | 22 (15 + 7) | 1921; CAG reports; opposition chair since 1967 |
| Estimates | 30, Lok Sabha only | 1950; John Mathai; “continuous economy committee” |
| COPU | 22 (15 + 7) | 1964; Krishna Menon Committee |
| DRSCs | 24 × 31 (21 + 10) | 17 in 1993; 24 since 2004; 16 LS, 8 RS |
| SC/ST Welfare; Women Empowerment | 30 each (20 + 10) | Standing, scrutiny |
| Business Advisory; Rules; General Purposes | — | Speaker is chairman |
| JPCs (ad hoc) | — | Bofors 1987; Harshad Mehta 1992; Ketan Parekh 2001; 2G 2011 |
| Bills referred (PRS) | — | 15th LS ~71%; 16th ~25%; 17th < 20% |
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Prorogation (session ends, bills survive) | vs | Dissolution (Lok Sabha ends, some bills lapse) |
| Speaker can vote in first instance on own removal (Art 96) | vs | Chairman cannot vote at all on own removal (Art 92) |
| Money Bill: no joint sitting | vs | Financial Bill 117(1): joint sitting possible |
| Art 249: Rajya Sabha, ⅔ present and voting | vs | Art 368: majority of total + ⅔ present and voting, each House |
| No-confidence: no reasons, must resign | vs | Censure: reasons stated, not bound to resign |
| PAC: 22, both Houses | vs | Estimates: 30, Lok Sabha only |
| Zero Hour: not in the Rules | vs | Calling attention: in the Rules |
| Charged: discussed, not voted | vs | Voted: Demands for Grants |
Favourite MCQ trap
“The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over a joint sitting in the absence of the Speaker.” Wrong. The order is Speaker → Deputy Speaker → Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President, as Chairman, never presides over a joint sitting.
Second favourite trap
“The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is 552.” Outdated. Since the 104th Amendment ended Anglo-Indian nomination (effective 25 January 2020), it is 550. The 2026 attempt to raise it to 850 (131st Amendment Bill) failed in the Lok Sabha.
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