Parliament and State Legislatures · UPSC Civil Services

What the official syllabus says

Main Examination, Paper III: General Studies II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations):

Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Parliament: the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (Article 79)
Composition of the Lok Sabha (Article 81) and the Rajya Sabha (Article 80); election of Rajya Sabha members by proportional representation through the single transferable vote; nominated members
Delimitation (Article 82) and the freeze on seat allocation; reservation of seats for SCs and STs (Articles 330 and 332) and for women (106th Amendment)
Qualifications and disqualifications of members (Articles 84, 102, 191); the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection) and Kihoto Hollohan (1992)
State legislatures: unicameral and bicameral states (Article 168); creation and abolition of Legislative Councils (Article 169); composition of the Council (Article 171)

Speaker and Deputy Speaker (Articles 93 to 96); pro tem Speaker
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (the Vice-President) and Deputy Chairman
Speaker’s powers: certifying money bills, deciding disqualification under the Tenth Schedule; debates on neutrality

Sessions: summoning, prorogation and dissolution (Article 85); adjournment and adjournment sine die by the presiding officer
Question Hour, Zero Hour, adjournment motion, calling attention, no-confidence and censure motions, short-duration discussions
Legislative procedure: ordinary bills, money bills (Article 110), financial bills (Article 117), constitutional amendment bills; joint sitting (Article 108)
The President’s assent and veto (Article 111); ordinances (Article 123); state bills and the Governor (Article 200)
Budget process: Annual Financial Statement (Article 112), demands for grants, cut motions, Appropriation Bill (Article 114), Finance Bill, vote on account (Article 116)
Consolidated Fund, Contingency Fund and Public Account (Articles 266 and 267)

Financial committees: Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee, Committee on Public Undertakings
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (since 1993); joint and select committees on bills
Business Advisory Committee, Committee of Privileges, Ethics Committee, Committee on Subordinate Legislation
Role of committees in scrutiny of bills, budgets and delegated legislation

Articles 105 and 194: freedom of speech in the House, immunity from court proceedings, the right to publish proceedings
Collective and individual privileges; breach of privilege and contempt of the House
Debate on codifying privileges; privilege and freedom of the press

Declining number of sittings and frequent disruptions; time for debate on bills
Bills passed without committee scrutiny; use of the money bill route; frequent ordinances
Anti-defection law: role of the Speaker, delays in deciding petitions, effect on members’ freedom
Criminalisation of politics and quality of representation
Role of the Rajya Sabha as a federal chamber; relevance and cost of Legislative Councils
Private members’ bills, the office of Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary research support

Prelims General Studies Paper I (Political System); the money and budget side also relates to “Government Budgeting” in General Studies III.