OUR PARLIAMENT

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India consists of the two houses and the President of India. The president has the power to call, prorogue and dissolve parliament. The parliament is bicameral, with an upper house called as Council of States or Rajya Sabha, and a lower house called as House of People or Lok Sabha. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Sansad Bhawan (commonly known as the Sansad Marg), in New Delhi. The Members of either house are commonly referred to as Member of Parliament or MP. The MPs of Lok Sabha are elected by direct election and the MPs of Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of the State Legislative Assemblies and Union territories of Delhi and Pondicherry only in accordance with proportional voting. The Parliament is composed of 802 MPs, who serve the largest democratic electorate in the world and the largest transnational democratic electorate in the world (714 million eligible voters in 2009).[1][2] IT COMPROISES OF: THE PRESIDENT LOK SABHA RAJYA SABHA The Indian Parliament is representative of the democratic set up of the country. The apex legislative body in India is the Parliament of the country. A bicameral parliamentary system is followed in the country. There are two houses in the Indian Parliament, namely the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The President is the Head of the State and can summon or dissolve either of the Houses of the Parliament. The Parliament of the country also runs on the principles set by the Indian Constitution, which came into force on 26th January, 1950.

Lok Sabha
The "House of the People" or Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the House of the People are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009 there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India. The Constitution limits the Lok Sabha to a maximum of 552 members, including no more than 20 members representing people from the Union Territories, and two appointed non-partisan members to represent the AngloIndian community (if the President feels that that community is not adequately represented). Each Lok Sabha is formed for a five-year term, after which it is automatically dissolved, unless extended by a proclamation of emergency. In such cases the term may be extended for one-year at a time. The 15th Lok Sabha was formed in May 2009. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies' boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001. This exercise, which was supposed to be carried out after every census, was suspended in 1976 following a constitutional amendment to avoid adverse effects of the family planning program which was being implemented.[1] Today, the Lok Sabha has its own TV channel, Lok Sabha TV, head-quartered within the Parliament premises.

Sessions and working hours

On normal business days, the Lok Sabha assembles from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and again from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The first hour of every sitting is called the Question Hour, during which questions posed by members may be assigned to specific government ministries, to be answered at a fixed date in the future. The Lok Sabha shares legislative power with the Rajya Sabha, except in the area of Money Bills, in which case the Lok Sabha has the ultimate authority. In the case of money bill it is only sent to the rajya sabha for recommendations and in the case of other related issues it is sent with a period of 14 working days. If it is not returned in that span of time it is considered as passed. If conflicting legislation is enacted by the two Houses, a joint sitting is held to resolve the differences. In

such a session, the members of the Lok Sabha would generally prevail, since the Lok Sabha includes more than twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha. Three sessions of Lok Sabha take place in a year:
y y y

Budget session: February to May. Monsoon session: July to September. Winter session: November to December.

Eligibility Qualifications Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A person to be qualified for the membership of the lok Sabha should posses the following qualifications: 1. he must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe before some person authorized in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution; 2. he must be not less than 30 years of age; 3. he must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. Disqualifications Article 102 of the Constitution lays down that a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament 1. if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder; 2. if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; 3. if he is an undischarged insolvent; 4. if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State; 5. if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

RAJYA SABHA

The Council of States which is also known as Rajya Sabha, a nomenclature that was announced by the chair in the House on the 23rd August, 1954 has its own distinctive features. The origin of the second Chamber can be traced to the Montague-Chelmsford Report of 1918. The Government of India Act, 1919 provided for the creation of a Council of State as a second chamber of the then legislature with a restricted franchise which actually came into existence in 1921. The Governor-General was the ex-officio President of the then Council of State. The Government of India Act, 1935, hardly made any changes in its composition. The Constituent Assembly, which first met on 9 December 1946, also acted as the Central Legislature till 1950, when it was converted as Provisional Parliament. During this period, the Central Legislature which was known as Constituent Assembly (Legislative) and later Provisional Parliament was unicameral till the first elections were held in 1952. It was meant to be the federal chamber i.e., a House elected by the elected members of Assemblies of the States and two Union Territories in which States were not given equal representation. Apart from the elected members, provision was also made for the nomination of twelve members to the House by the President. The minimum age of thirty years was fixed for membership as against twenty-five years for the Lower House. The element of dignity and prestige was added to the Council of State House by making the Vice-President of India exofficio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha who presides over its sittings. Constitutional Provisions relating to Rajya Sabha Composition/Strength Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories. The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service. Allocation of Seats The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha. The allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State. Consequent on the reorganization of States and formation of new States, the number of elected

seats in the Rajya Sabha allotted to States and Union Territories has changed from time to time since 1952. Eligibility Qualifications Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A person to be qualified for the membership of the Rajya Sabha should posses the following qualifications: 4. he must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe before some person authorized in that behalf by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution; 5. he must be not less than 30 years of age; 6. he must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. Disqualifications Article 102 of the Constitution lays down that a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament 6. if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or the Government of any State, other than an office declared by Parliament by law not to disqualify its holder; 7. if he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; 8. if he is an undischarged insolvent; 9. if he is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State, or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State; 10. if he is so disqualified by or under any law made by Parliament.

ZERO HOUR & QUESTION HOUR

Dictionaries describe a Zero Hour as "the hour at which a planned, especially military operation is timed to begin"; "a crucial moment";1 "a time set for the beginning of an attack'; "a decisive or critical time";2 "a time when a vital decision or decisive change in the course of events is impending; crisis; the time set as a basis for reckoning the time of day" 3 It is, however, used in a special sense in the parliamentary parlance in India inasmuch as 'real action' begins in the House at that hour! In that sense, Zero Hour may be defined as the interregnum between the end of Question Hour and the beginning of the regular listed business in the House. In other words it is the time which begins at 12 o'clock after Question Hour which is from 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon. Although euphemistically called Zero Hour, it may not last for an hour; it may last for some time which may be half-anhour or more or less. Sometimes it may also occupy full one hour or may even extend beyond an hour, depending on the number of matters which members may like to raise and the gravity and importance of such matters. It is also not necessary that there would be a Zero Hour every day during the session..

Generally, the first hour of a sitting of Lok Sabha is devoted to Questions and that hour is called the Question Hour. It has a special significance in the proceedings of Parliament.Asking of questions is an inherent and unfettered parliamentary right of members. It is during the Question Hour that the members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and Governmental activity..Every Minister whose turn it is to answer questions has to stand up and answer for his or his administrations acts of omission and commission. Through the Question Hour the Government is able to quickly feel the pulse of the nation and adapt its policies and actions accordingly. It is through questions in Parliament that the Government remains in touch with the people in as much as members are enabled thereby to ventilate the grievances of the public in matters concerning the administration. Questions enable Ministries to gauge the popular reaction to their policy and administration. Questions bring to the notice of the Ministers many an abuse which otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

FUNCTIONS
(Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha)
Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are endowed with certain responsibilities and duties. Passing of bills and making of laws is the primary concern of both the houses of the Parliament. Before a bill becomes a law, it has to be passed by both the houses of the Parliament. An objection from any of the houses can stop a bill from becoming a law. After both the houses pass a bill, it needs the assent of the President of India before being formulated into a law. The major concerns that are dealt with in the Parliament are topics mentioned in the Union List. The topics covered by the Union List are transport and communications, banking, railways, foreign affairs, defence, customs, excise duties and others. There is a State List where matters related directly to the State Government are enlisted. The Parliament has no role to play in that list. However there is a Concurrent List, on which both the State and the Central Government can take decisions. In case of any dispute, the stand of the Union Government is taken into consideration. Apart from passing of laws, there are many other issues that are dealt with in the Indian Parliament. The Parliament decides on issues related to price control, social safety and security, insurance, social and economic planning and many more. There is a Question Hour, which is usually the first hour in the Parliament, when the members of Parliament are free to ask questions regarding the various Governmental and administrative activities. Questions are also raised on national and international issues and India's stand on those issues. The Question Hour is an important part in the proceedings of the Parliament. The Budget Session in the Parliament is one of the most important sessions. The session is held to decide on the fiscal financial management policies of the country. The yearly expenditure is brought into account and monetary policies of the country are made clear during this Budget Session. There are open discussions held in the Lok Sabha regarding the various issues related to the budgets of the country. In the initial four or five days, a sketch of the policies and principles is given to the members of the Parliament. After the initial stages, detailed discussion on the budget is carried out in the Parliament, where consent from each segment is sought before the final budget is formulated.

PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume. The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot, therefore, give close consideration to all the legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of its business is, therefore, transacted by what are called the Parliamentary Committees.

COMPOSITION AND FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMITTEES

Select and Joint Committees:

When a Bill comes up before a House for general discussion,it is open to that House to refer it to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses. A motion has to be moved and adopted to this effect in the House in which the Bill comes up for consideration. In case the motion adopted is for reference of the Bill to a Joint Committee, the decision is conveyed to the other House requesting them to nominate members of the other House to serve on the Committee. The Select or Joint Committee considers the Bill clause by clause just as the two Houses do. Amendments can be moved to various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the Bill.

Committee on Estimates
This Committee consists of 30 members who are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its members. A Minister is not eligible for election to this Committee. The term of the Committee is one year. The main function of the

Committee on Estimates is to report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency, or administrative reform, consistent with the policy underlying the estimates may be effected and to suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration. From time to time the Committee selects such of the estimates pertaining to a Ministry or a group of Ministries or the statutory and other Government bodies as may seem fit to the Committee. The Committee also examines matters of special interest which may arise or come to light in the course of its work or which are specifically referred to it by the House or the Speaker.

Committee on Public Accounts

This Committee consists of 15 members elected by the Lok Sabha and 7 members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with it. A Minister is not eligible for election to this Committee. The term of the Committee is one year. The main duty of the Committee is to ascertain whether the money granted by Parliament has been spent by Government "within the scope of the Demand". The Appropriation Accounts of the Government of India and the Audit Reports presented by the Comptroller and Auditor General mainly form the basis for the examination of the Committee. Cases involving losses, nugatory expenditure and financial irregularities come in for severe criticism by the Committee.

A BILL AND A ACT

Legislative proposals are brought before either house of the Parliament of India in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament. As soon as the bill is been framed have to be published in the news papers and suggestion are been invited from the general people and after going through the suggestion of the people the bill is been amended and then Bill may be introduced in the Parliament by ministers or private members. The former are called government bills and the latter, private members' bills. Bills may also be classified as public bills and private bills. A public bill is one referring to a matter applying to the public in general, whereas a private bill relates to a particular person or corporation or institution. The Orphanages and Charitable Homes Bill or the Muslim Waqfs Bills are examples of private bills.

Procedure relating to an ordinary bill

There are three stages through which a bill has to pass in one house of the Parliament.

First reading - introduction stage

A minister, or member-in-charge of the bill seeks the leave of the house to introduce a bill. If the bill is an important one, the minister may make a brief speech, stating its main features. After the bill has been introduced, the first reading is deemed to be over. Therefore, in the first stage, only the principles and provisions of the bills are discussed.

Second reading - discussion stage

This stage concerns the consideration of the bill and its provisions and is further divide into three stages. First stage On a date fixed for walking up consideration of the bill, there takes place a general discussion when only the principles are taken up for discussion. At this stage, three options are open to the house. The bill may be straightaway be taken into consideration or it may be referred to any of the Standing

Committees or it may be circulated for the purpose of eliciting general opinion thereon Second stage, that is, discussion on the report The next stage consists of a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill as reported by the committee. When all the clauses have been put to vote and disposed of, the second reading of the bill is over. third stage, Changes or amendments to the bill can be made only in this stage. Amendments become a part of a bill if they are accepted by a majority of the members present and voting.

Third reading - voting stage

The next stage is the third reading. The debate on the third reading of a bill is of a restricted character. It is confined only to arguments either in support of the bill or for its rejection, without referring to its details. After the bill is passed, it is sent to the other house

Bill in the other house

After a bill, other than a money bill, is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha, it goes through all the stages in that house as that in the first house. But if the bill passed by one house is amended by the other house, it goes back to the originating house. If the originating house does not agree with the amendments, it shall be that the two houses have disagreed.

Joint-session of both houses

In case of a deadlock between the two houses or in a case where more than six months lapse in the other house, the President may summon a joint session of the two houses which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the deadlock is resolved by simple majority. Until now, only three bills: the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), the Banking Service Commission Repeal Bill (1978) and the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (2002) have been passed at joint sessions.

President's assent
When a bill has been passed, it is sent to the President for his/her assent. The President can assent or withhold his/her assent to a bill or he/she can return a bill, other than a money bill, with his/her recommendations. If the President gives his/her assent, the bill becomes an Act from the date of his assent. If he/she

withholds his assent, the bill is dropped, which is known as pocket veto. The pocket veto is not written in the constitution and has only been exercised once by President Zail Singh: in 1986, over the postal act where the government wanted to open postal letters without warrant. If the president returns it for reconsideration, the Parliament must do so, but if it is passed again and returned to him/her, he/she must give his/her assent to it. In the case of a Constitutional Amendment Bill, the President is bound to give his/her assent.

CONTENTS:
INDIAN PARLIAMENT THE TWO HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT: LOK SABHA RAJYA SABHA ZERO HOUR AND QUESTION HOUR POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT: (LOK SABHA AND RAJYA SABHA) PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES A BILL AND A ACT: LAW MAKING PROCEDURE IN CASE OF ORIDANARY BILLS CONCLUSION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BIBLIOGRAPHY

CONCLUSION:
The Parliament in India consists of the President and two Houses. They are called Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Though the President is not a member of either House of Parliament, he is a part of the Parliament. Let us now proceed to read about the composition of the two Houses of Parliament. The Lok Sabha is also called House of the People. Its membership cannot be more than 550. Of these, not more than 530 members are elected from the states and not more than 20 from the union territories. In addition, not more than two members may be nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community, if the President feels that the Anglo-Indians have not got adequate representation in Parliament. The members of parliament enjoy certain privilages. The procedure of law making of a oridinary bill is simple and comes into force only with the presidents assent.

The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied in nature, but considerable in volume. The time at its disposal is limited. It cannot, therefore, give close consideration to all the legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of its business is, therefore, transacted by what are called the Parliamentary Committees.
Hence; The advantages of a bicameral or two-house legislature is that it allows for representation on a reasonably equitable footing for both large and small states. States with large populations are satisfied because the number of each state's representatives in the lower house, (House of people ) is determined by population, and the less populated states are generally satisfied because the number of representatives of the upper house (house of council) are equal, being set at two per state.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am very thankful to everyone who all supported me, for i have completed my project effectively.I am equally grateful to my teacher MRS.KIRAN.she gave me moral support and guided me in different matters regarding the topic. she had been very kind and patient while suggesting me the outlines of this project and correcting my doubts. I thank her for her overall supports. Thanking you!:)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
www.parliamentofindia.nic. www.parliamentofindia.nic.in www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki www.loksabha.nic.in