LECTURE - Parliament of India (Lecture 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)

➢ Parliament = LS + RS + President

➢ Article 79- Parliament of India consists of LS, RS & the President

➢ LS + RS + President, is the functional structure of the Parliament of India, because No bill can become a law unless
passed by both LS & RS & given assent by the President of India

➢ In India, Parliament structure is adopted from Westminster Democracy Model (British Parliament). The 2 main
components of Westminster model are:

1) Bicameralism- Bi means two, Camera (Latin) means Chambers/ Rooms. This means there are two
chambers, i.e., House of Lords (aka Upper House), & House of Commons (aka Lower House)
House of Lords ~ Rajya Sabha (aka Council of States)
House of Commons ~ Lok Sabha (aka House of People)

2) Cabinet is the nucleus of power

➢ The Parliament follows the following process wrt its functioning:

Introduction of Motion >> Debates & Discussions >> Voting >> Decision

➢ The above process, although slow, is very thorough; because in such cases, Collective Wisdom comes into effect
(‘We’ is better than ‘I’). In case of USA, there is a Presidential Democracy (vs Parliamentary Democracy of India);
that means in USA, there is Executive Supremacy (Head of the State & Head of the Government is the same
person). However, in case of India, Head of State is not an MP; rather he is the functional part of the parliament.
Whereas Head of the Govt is PM, who is an MP; so, two different people. So, even if the process in USA is fast
(President’s discretion only), it is prone to mistakes

➢ At the time of formulation of COI, the founding fathers had two choices, whether to go for Presidential
Democracy or Parliamentary Democracy? FF chose Parliamentary Democracy because:
o It is known that Presidential Democracy is very fast; but since, India was an unstable union at the time of
Independence, the dependency on one man (as President) was not considered viable; therefore, it was
decided to have wide representation (i.e., representatives from KL, TN, etc.). In other words, they
emphasized on collective wisdom. The Representative Democracy is a wide representation
o Another factor being Familiarity with the functioning of British Parliamentary structure, at the time of
formation of India

This is why parliamentary democracy was chosen. However, we have a Prime Ministerial form of govt., which is
a mixture of being Fast + Legislative Supremacy; i.e., it is fast, but it is not under the supremacy of executive
(unlike US Constitution). So, in India, it is fast as well as under the supremacy of the legislature

➢ RAJYA SABHA
o RS is the Council of States; main work of council of states is to become the voice of the states

o It is to be noted that, being a federation is different from following federalism. Article 1, states that India
shall be a Union of States. This union has no essence unless there is a federalism. Federalism has two
components:

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 ▪ Bicameralism- Make states part of Law-making process
▪ RS keeps Checks & Balances on the LS
o That is why, RS is known as the Second House of the Parliament (vs Vidhan Parishad, which is Secondary
House of the State Legislature)

o Method of Election:
▪ RS is formed indirectly. In other words, not elected by people. The MLAs of States, DL, & PY,
elect members of RS; i.e., they will send the members to the RS (Why Delhi & Puducherry?
Because they have their own Legislatures)
▪ Method of election is indirect election, by proportional representation (as per the 4th Schedule),
& single transferable vote
▪ The absolute numbers of respective representation of states are given in the 4th Schedule

o Term:
▪ Term of RS is Indefinite (i.e., RS is not subject to dissolution. In other words, it is the permanent
house of the parliament)
▪ However, Term of RS member is 6 years (i.e., at the end of every 2 years, 1/3rd of RS members
will compulsorily retire, & the 1/3rd will be elected afresh). This is done to maintain constant
number. President orders 1/3rd members to retire based on 6 years term
▪ In case of first Rajya Sabha, lottery was used to decide 1/3rd strength for retirement

o Total no of members of RS (maximum sanctioned strength) is 250. Out of 250, 238 will come by indirect
election, & 12 shall be nominated by the President under Article 80 of the COI (through this, President is
using specialized knowledge & practical experience in the field of Art, Science, Literature, & Social
Service)

o Vacancy in case of death, resignation, or vacation of membership for assuming the post of President, or
due to becoming Member of Lok Sabha; is known as Casual Vacancy. In such case, new member from
the respective state shall fill up casual vacancy for the reminder period of the original member. This is to
maintain constant number. This happens only in case of RS

o When LS stands dissolved (LS in every 5 years is dissolved to avoid Despotism. Mandate is to be taken in
every 5 years); RS is not dissolved because it is the permanent house of the Parliament. In such cases, in
the event of any emergency, under Article 249 the decision of the RS in National Interest, shall be
deemed to be the decision of the Parliament of India. Hence, RS is known as De jure De facto Parliament
of India. This is why RS is a permanent house in order to handle emergency situation when LS is dissolved

o Such powers are given to RS, despite the fact that it is not directly elected, exemplifies the spirit of
Federalism. Moreover, Federalism is included in BSD (Kesavananda Bharati Judgement)

o RS cannot be removed, because for that Article 79 will have to be amended, which will touch federalism;
& Federalism is BSD. Hence, it will be declared null & void by SC. Another reason being that, no bill can
become law without passing RS; so, RS has to be there

o Chairman of RS is not the member of RS. The Ex-officio chairman of RS is the Vice President of India

o Three types of motions have to be introduced in the RS (they will be passed in LS also, but introduced in
RS only):

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 ▪ Motion to remove Chairman of RS
▪ Article 249- In national interest, if RS feels that some decision has to be taken, then this motion
has to be introduced in the RS
▪ Article 312 (deals with All India Services)- IAS officer is appointed by Union govt & sent to State
govt. This means IAS is serving state govt but appointed by Union Govt. The CM cannot dismiss
IAS officer (DM); he can only transfer, or suspend the officer. However, since IAS serves the state,
states should have a say in any type of alteration in All India Services. If there is any change or
addition in All India Services, then such motion must be first introduced in RS

➢ LOK SABHA
o Strength of Lok Sabha:
▪ Maximum sanctioned strength = 552 members
▪ 530 (Direct election from States) + 20 (Direct election from UTs) + 2 (Nominated by President
from Anglo- Indian community) (Anglo Indian community comprises of those Europeans who
decided to stay back in India). Since, the members of AIC in India are so less that they can virtually
never win any election; and hence, in such scenario, if the President believes that they are not
adequately represented, then under Article 331, he may (vs shall in case of RS) nominate 2 Anglo
Indians into Lok Sabha. This was the arrangement for 70 years from 1950. So, in 2020, it is at the
discretion of the Parliament, whether to continue this or not

o Term of Lok Sabha + Term of Lok Sabha members is same (because same beginning & same ending
term); i.e., 5 Years. However, the term can be less too, subject to govt failing to prove majority & no
alternative govt could be formed; than Snap Polls are conducted for a new LS

o Under Article 352 (National Emergency) LS shall be extended by one-year term, at one time, till infinity
(1 year, then 1 year, then 1 year, then 1 year, & so on)

o Which House is more powerful?

▪ The source of power in India is people; therefore, directly elected house (LS) will always be more
powerful than indirectly elected house (RS) [~ case of President vs PM]
▪ The sum total of money of govt of India is CFI (This money belongs to people, govt acts as
custodian merely). Dr Ambedkar held that money of the people must only be in the control of
the directly elected representatives of the people (i.e. LS); in other words, neither indirectly
elected representatives, nor executives etc. Hence, under Article 144- No grant of funds from
the CFI can be made without due appropriation by the LS. Similarly, under Article 199 no grant
of funds from the CFS can be made without due appropriation by the Vidhan Sabha. This is known
as Power of the Purse. Power of the purse is with LS, & it uses this power through Money Bills.
LS introduces Money Bills; & once it is passed by the LS, RS is merely a formality. Also, important
is that under Article 111, President can never use Veto in case of Money Bills (watch video)

This is why LS is the most powerful house of the Parliament

▪ LS has exclusive powers with respect to Money Bills

▪ Presiding Officer of LS vs RS:

▪ Since LS is a directly elected house, majority rule exists in this house. Unlike the Presiding officer
of the RS, the presiding officer (Speaker) of the LS is the Member of the LS. Also, the deputy
speaker of LS is a member of LS. Speaker nominates Panel of Speakers; so, when the speaker is

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 absent, the Deputy Speaker becomes the Presiding Officer. If Deputy Speaker is also absent, then
from panel of the speakers, any one will become the Speaker of LS

▪ However, in case of RS, there is panel of vice chairman; while Chairman is not the member of RS,
the Deputy Chairman & Panel of Vice Chairman are members of RS. If Chairman is absent, the
Vice Chairman becomes the presiding officer; if he is absent too, then from panel of vice
chairman, anyone will become presiding officer. Absent here means, if Vice President resigns,
then Deputy Chairman becomes the presiding officer & if Vice Chairman too resigns, then it is
not absent anymore, it becomes vacant. In such scenario, the president will nominate another
member from RS to take this position for some time (In such a case, the contingent position so
created is known as Chairman Protem i.e., for a temporary purpose). It is a contingent position
subject to vacancy)

▪ In case of Speaker, which is very powerful because it is the case of LS + he himself is the member
of LS; speaker has some major powers:
▪ He is the final authority to certify whether a particular bill is money bill or not [Article
110 (3)]
▪ Speaker of LS is the only presiding officer of Joint Session (Article 118) (Joint Session
explanation in Vice President notes)

▪ Speaker is usually the final authority to whom bureaucracy is answerable. Speaker coordinates
between the Secretariats of LS & RS
▪ LS Secretariats
▪ RS Secretariats

▪ When LS is dissolved, the Office of the speaker of LS still continues (speaker goes for elections,
but office continues); in other words, power of the office of the speaker is not is dissolved even
when the LS is dissolved. This is because bureaucracy continues to function & continues to report
to the office of the speaker. Now, when new LS is formed, on the 1st day of new LS, the old office
of the speaker will finally dissolve. The President arrives on the 1st day of new LS, & among the
members of the new LS, he will pick up any member to become Speaker Protem (i.e.,
Temporarily) (vs in case of RS, Chairman Protem is contingent on vacancy from Chairman & VC).
Speaker will give oath to all other members, & will also conduct election to the new speaker

➢ FUNCTIONING OF THE PARLIAMENT

o Parliament conducts in two phases:
▪ Dissolved
▪ Active/ Functioning/ Enforced (When Previous LS is dissolved, new LS becomes active)

o In case of Active, there are two phases:

▪ Working, in New Delhi (aka Parliament house is in session)
▪ Not Working (aka Parliament is in recess)

o In case of India, the maximum gap of recess between two sessions is 6 months

o Usually, India has 3 sessions:

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 ▪ Budget Session- Usually starts in the month of February, & usually finishes by the month of June
(4 months)
▪ Monsoon Session- Usually starts in the month of July, & usually finishes by the month of
September (3 months)
▪ Winter Session- Usually starts in November, & usually ends in December (2 months)
▪ (Mnemonic- BMW Fast Jati Nahi; 4 3 2)

o Usually a few days before the beginning of the session, the speaker forms Business Advisory Committee.
This committee calls the members from all political parties (representatives from all major Political
Parties) for consensus to decide the Agenda of the session; i.e., Business of the Session shall be decided
by the consensus of the representatives of all major political parties

o Accordingly, the sessions of the Parliament are conducted as per the Agenda

o Conclusion of the session- Now, in order to conclude, the speaker will issue “In my opinion, the business
of the house in this session is complete”. Speaker will issue an order (known as Adjournment Sine-die.
Adjournment means to delay the proceedings of the house; Sine-Die means indefinitely) that “The
proceedings of the House on this day 23rd October 2019 are hereby adjourned. The house will re-
assemble on ---------------”. In other words, the date is left blank (i.e., adjourned indefinitely). Had the date
been inserted, it would have been Simple Adjournment (it is for a fixed time period)

o In short, Adjournment Sine- Die means Indefinite Delay, & Simple Adjournment means Delay for a fixed
time period

o This Adjournment Sine Die order is sent to the President house & the President house will receive it.
Once received, President will reply to it which is known as Notice of prorogation. As soon as NOP reaches
office of the speaker, the recess starts. Hence, Recess is technically known as Prorogation. President will
have to reply because executive is responsible to legislature

o Anytime within the period of 6 months, PM goes to the President & advices the President to call for a
session. President signs another order known as Summons. These summonses are sent to all MPs along
with the date that on this date session will start in New Delhi. (Again, the same cycle continues). This is
the reason why date of reassembly is left blank in the adjournment sine die order; because Speaker does
not know what date will be mentioned by the PM for calling the sessions again (It also proves that
President is a functional part of the Parliament, because without him neither the house will start the
session, nor will the session end, at house)

o In short, Session Conclusion = Notice of Prorogation, & Session Re-assembly = Summons

o Now, on a general working day in Parliament, the Parliament usually has got two sessions (under Rules
of Procedure & Conduct of Business; it is one of the Parliamentary privileges provided under Article 105
as they can form rules for themselves. It is with regards to ROPCOB, parliament usually functions):
▪ Morning session (usually 11 AM- 1PM)
▪ Afternoon Session (usually 2 PM- 6PM)
▪ From 11-12, there is a compulsory Question Hour
▪ From 12, Zero Hour will start (00:00:00. This is British military convention. During day, it is Zero
Light, & during night it is Zero Dark), & will end when the Presiding officer declares the agenda
of the day

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 ▪ During Question Hour, Legislative (say, Rahul Gandhi as a member of Opposition) will ask the
Executive (any minister) the STARRED QUESTION; & this question deserves an Oral Answer
(Starred Question is something which contains an Asterisk mark; & it deserves an Oral Answer).
The concerned minister is given 15 days clear notice to prepare for the question (beforehand).
Speaker >>> Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs >> Minister of Defence (Secretaries will inform the
minister to prepare the answer within 15 days, & answer must be given orally). While answering
the Starred Question, maximum 2 Supplementary Questions (i.e., clarifying questions) are
allowed to be asked either by RaGa himself, or any other member
▪ Similarly, RaGa can also approach the Speaker in order to ask an Unstarred Question. This type
of question also has to be given 15 days clear notice beforehand (just like Starred Question);
however, the difference lies in the mode in which it is answered. Unstarred Question will be
answered by the concerned Minister on a Piece of Paper in Written form (vs Oral Answer during
the session, in case of Starred Question). This answer will be submitted in the Parliament, and is
hence, known as Table it in the Parliament; & RaGa will be handed over a copy of this answer to
be read later on at his own discretion
▪ Further, RaGa can also ask another type of Question, known as Short Notice Question. In such
case, proper reasoning has to be given to the speaker with regards to the urgency of the matter.
If convinced, he may allow such type of question to be asked. The time period in such case is 10
days (Same Process as of Starred Question). This question is also required to be answered Orally
during the Session, & further 2 Supplementary questions are allowed

o Starred Question= Green colored paper; Unstarred Question= White colored paper; Short Notice
Question = Pink colored paper

Type of Question Asterix? Mode of Answer Advance Notice Supplementary

Questions allowed?
Starred Question Yes Oral Answer 15 Days Clear Yes, 2
(Green Paper) Notice
Unstarred Question No Written (Tabled in 15 Days Clear No
(White Paper) the Parliament) Notice
Short Notice Question No Oral Answer < 10 Days’ Notice Yes, 2
(Pink Paper)

➢ PARLIAMENTARY MOTIONS
o The decision in Parliament, is based upon the following things, & voting will decide the decision of the
Parliament:
Motion > Debate > Discussion > Voting > Decision

o Motion means a formal proposal

o Types of Motions:
▪ Adjournment Motion- 1st type of motion is Adjournment (already covered in above notes). Types
of Adjournments:
• Simple Adjournment
• Adjournment Sine Die
When is Adjournment Motion used? It is used as a disciplinary procedure, say in case of fighting;
or it is used to discuss a special issue
▪ No Confidence Motion- It is formal test of strength
▪ Motion of Vote of Thanks- It is informal test of strength

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 ▪ Point of Order motion- Speaker will call latecomer & warn when the member is coming late for
parliamentary procedures because, He is not following ROPCOB. This type of motion could be
because of:
i. Being late
ii. Bad words
iii. Bad Conduct
iv. Clothing
v. Unparliamentary Language

▪ Censure Motion- When a minister threatens an MP inside the house on being asked question,
the MP approaches the speaker & introduces ‘Censure Motion’. It can also be used against the
entire govt or an individual minister; for false statement, misleading answers etc. Censure means
severe criticism or scolding. Censure motion never leads to falling of govt (means govt does not
have to resign). In contrast, the no confidence motion is moved against entire UCOM & not
against an individual minister (vs Individual in case of Censure); it will lead to resignation of the
govt. Both are against the govt, but censure can be used against an individual or the govt, but no
confidence is only against entire UCOM

o Motion means a formal proposal, whereas, Formal Legislative Proposal is known as Bill. Once the Bill is
debate & voted upon, it becomes a law upon passage. Bill is a motion, which if successful, becomes a
law. There are four types of Bills:
1) Ordinary Bill (OB)
2) Money Bill (MB)
3) Constitutional Amendment Bill (CAB)
4) Financial Bill- Type 1 & Type 2 (FB1, FB2)

1) Ordinary Bill- It is the most common type of Bill. OB is neither a MB, nor a CAB, nor a FB. In other
words, it is all other types of bills. OB are of two types:
i. Govt Bills- Introduced by Ministers; all important bills are passed by the govt
ii. Private Members Bill- Introduced by Members who are Non- Ministers; usually not
important as they do not have the support of ruling government usually

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Passage of Ordinary Bill

▪ Minister prepares the bill (in conformation with ROPCOB fixed format), & it will be
submitted to the office of the Presiding Officer (LS- Speaker, RS- Chairman). OB can be
introduced either in LS or RS
▪ After submission of the bill, 14 days’ Notice period will be given by the minister to the
Presiding Officer for scrutiny of the Bill wrt its format & everything
▪ Suppose the bill has been introduced in LS, it may or may not be presented for the
consideration of the house (discretion of presiding officer)
▪ Now, if the speaker presents the bill, then following Stages occur:
❖ Stage 1- Introduction of the bill
Minister will be the introducer of the bill
Minister will give a general introduction of the bill; & No detailed debate &
discussion is allowed at this stage
Only when there is a question of Legislative Competency (i.e. does parliament
has the power to pass such a law/ VS in state to pass such a law; on the basis of
various lists)
After this, copy of the bill is given to all the members of the house
The minister then approaches the publication dept of the Parliament & hand
over the copy to be published in the Gazette of India (to inform the citizens
which bill is being discussed in the Parliament)
When the govt is on power, the bill will usually be passed when presented by
the minister because of majority. But there is a Parliamentary Convention
whereby it is to be presented for debate & discussion for hearing out the
opposition (Rationale being that Parliamentary is based on the fact that We is
more than I). However, if debate & discussion is skipped by the govt, it is known
as GUILLO TINE (however, this is against parliamentary convention)
In Ordinary Bill, GUILLO TINE is not allowed however
▪

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❖ STAGE 2- Consideration & Report Stage
Now, the Introducer of the bill has two options;
▪ 1 way is to approach each & everyone from the opposition for consideration
& support
▪ Another way is to approach the speaker, & ask it to refer the bill for the
consideration of a Parliamentary Committee
Parliamentary committee will usually have 25-30 members & will have varied
Political Representation (i.e., different political parties). If Parliamentary
Committee agrees to the bill, it means other political parties will also agree to
the bill since their representatives in the PC has already agreed to the Bill (PC
acts as a representative of the House)
In case of direct consideration in the house, members may not directly open
about the bill. However, in case of PC, members are in the capacity of
Legislators, beyond the political boundaries; & hence can function more
properly
Now, PC issues a PC Report, & hence, the bill enters the report stage
Report Stage- Here, there could be 3 scenarios as per the PC Report:
▪ OK to go ahead with the bill (it will be supported in the house)
▪ Rejected by PC (throw away the bill)
▪ Conditional OK (subject to certain amendments)
However, the report is non-binding on the minister. He can still go ahead with
the bill as PC is just representative, not the house itself
Now, every word, every part of the bill is debated & discussed (Clause by Clause
reading). Amendments to the bills are proposed; every amendment is debated
& discussed. Finally, the entire bill is put to vote. If Aye’s are more than No’s,
the bill is said to have passed Report Stage

❖ STAGE 3- Formality stage (Merely a formality, as major work is done during Report
Stage)
Name of the bill, title of the bill is changed; however, it is merely a formality.
When this stage is passed, it is said the “Introducing House has passed the Bill”
Now the bill will be transmitted to the second house (If LS introduces, then
transmitted to RS; If introduced in RS then transmitted to LS). The entire process
happens again
If the bill is passed again, then it will be sent to the President for Assent. Then it
becomes a law after his assent

❖ Now, following conditions may occur wrt a Bill in the Houses (H1- House 1, H2-House
2)
Condition 1 (C1) - H1 Passes the Bill, H2 passes the Bill & President gives Assent.
Hence, it becomes law
Condition 2 (C2) - H1 Passes, H2 Rejects
Condition 3 (C3) - H1 Passes, H2 sends for recommendations; but H1 does not
agree
Condition 4 (C4) - H1 Passes, H2 neither rejects not accepts the bill for the
period of more than 6 months
C2, C3, and C4 are technically called as Deadlock; which means it does not go to
the President & hence does not become the Law
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 Now, PM goes to the president & ask for invoking Article 108- Conduct Joint
Session, to try & break the deadlock
On the decided date, Joint session will be attended by LS & RS members &
presided by the speaker of the LS (under Article 118)
The bill will be introduced in the joint session; and again, there will be debate,
discussion & vote. If Y> N, then it will be sent to president for his assent;
subsequently it becomes the law

❖ However, India discourages JS because it dilutes the spirit of federalism (Since, effect
of RS is hugely diluted in favour of LS, in case of Joint Sessions)
o As a result, only three Joint Sessions have been conducted in India since
Independence wrt following laws:
1. Dowry Prohibition Act, 1956
2. Banking Service Conditions Act, 1978
3. Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA)

2) Money Bill- MB is the one which deals with Article 110 of the COI (It only deals with article 110;
i.e., It deals with imposition, abolition, regulation, remission, & alteration of taxes) It also deals
with any funds or any debt or any expenditure which is charged to the CFI

▪ A bill shall be deemed to be a Money bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any
of the following matters:
a) Imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax
b) Regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantees by the
Government of India
c) The custody of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India
d) The appropriation of moneys out of the CFI
e) The declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the CFI
f) Receipt of money on CFI or the Public Account of India or the custody or issue of
such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a state
g) Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub clause (a) to (f)

▪ So basically, Article 110 deals with IARAR [under (a)] + CFI [Under (b)-(f)]

▪ The important characteristics of Money Bills:

a) Money Bill has to be introduced only in the LS (vs OB which can be introduced either
in LS or RS)
b) It requires prior recommendation of the President, before Introduction
c) Once passed in LS, it is sent to RS for passing (formality only) (mandatory for LS to
pass) [Hence, LS is known as Power of Purse]
d) President can only give assent; he is not allowed Veto on Money Bills

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▪ Example of Money Bill is Budget. However, there is no such word as Budget used in the COI.
It is not a constitutional term. The closest term that comes close to budget is Article 112-
The President shall cause laying down of Annual Financial Statement. It is to be noted that
president shall not lay down literally, because he shall cause laying down through Finance
Minister (Remember, Article 53- All the executive power shall be vested in the President who
may use it directly or through officer subordinate to him)

▪ Budget belongs to the ruling government; it is at the discretion of ruling government.

President only causes laying down; but laying down is actually done by the government

▪ In 1920, Britishers formed an Ackworth Committee- The committee identified that approx.
70% of revenue in common budget comes from Railways. So, in 1921, Ackworth committee
recommended in its report & was implemented from 1924 according to which Budget was
divided into two parts:
1. Rail Budget (Ministry of Railways)
2. General Budget (Minister of Finance)
▪ However, in 2017, on the recommendations of Bibek Debroy (member of NITI Aayog),
Railway Budget was again merged back into General Budget; since, it was not that effective
anymore to present it separately (Remember, it is the duty of the govt to present AFS; but
the manner & time in which it is to be presented is at the discretion of the government)

▪ Presentation of Budget- It used to be a general convention to present the Budget in the last
week of February of every year; which later changed to being presented in first week of
February each year

BUDGET PROCESS

If the Budget has to be presented in 1st week of February 2020; then preparation for the
same would have started by August- September 2019
The Budget Division of the Dept of Expenditure of the Ministry of Finance prepares the
Budget. The Budget Division issues a Budget circular which is sent to all the ministries &
all departments of the government, inviting them to send the Demand of Grants to the
Budget Division (DOG are the detailed expenditure estimates which is required by the
concerned ministry for the next financial year, on the basis of their Policy & Plans. E.G.:
MoD will send a DOG for 1 lakh crores to buy Rafale Fighter Jets etc.)
In India, there are 107 DOGs allowed at maximum (check the figure again). These DOGs
are sent to the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance
Suppose, everything is categorized as follows:
✓ A- All the DOGs for next FY 2020-21
✓ B- All the DOGs for the Current FY 2019-20 which were sent by the ministries last year
✓ C- Economic Policy of the Government of India (i.e., Plan of the government to spend
money on. EG: Suppose last year was defense, this year infrastructure, next year
agriculture etc.)
✓ D- Economic Indicators (like Global Oil Rates, $ Rates, China’s policies etc.)
✓ E- The Account Statements of the GOI of the Previous Financial Year (all the credits &
debits)
✓ F- Tax Proposal/ Policy of the GOI for the next Financial Year

Now, Budget = A + B + C + D + E + F

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Now, Pre- budgets meetings will be held (meeting will be normally conducted by Dept of
Economic Affairs or Dept of Revenue, under MoF)

Following will be called for meetings (but not limited to these) for their opinions &
suggestions regarding their demands/ expectations from the government:
o Businesspersons/ Industrialists
o Chamber of Industries
o Journalists
o Economic Experts
o FIIs

After considering their opinions, the Finance Minister prepares Budgetary Proposals. This
is usually concluded & handed over to Cabinet by January

Cabinet, usually, by 3rd week or end of January, will finalize the Budgetary Proposal. Once
finalized, the Secretary General of the LS Secretariat is informed, who in turn informs the
President regarding the same & the prospective date for presenting the budget

Once the President gives his assent, the Secretary General will inform about the date to
the Speaker of LS. The Secretary General will thus co-ordinate between the President &
the Speaker of the LS (not RS, because MB is not introduced in RS)

Suppose, the date is fixed at 4th Feb 2020; so, 2-3 days before budget date, there will be
Halwa Ceremony; in which sweets will be distributed to all the officers of MoF who were
directly/ indirectly involved in the preparation of the Budget. Once done, they will be
locked up. Such ‘lock in’ will be applicable till the time budget is presented; in order to
avoid leakage of confidential information related to Budget

Usually on the morning of the Budget day (or the previous evening), FinMin will prepare
a summary of the budget & will go to the President House for obtaining the assent of the
president on the summary. Once assented by the President, it is signed by him. This
signature of the President is known as Prior Recommendation of the President. Through
this, President gives his assent to the FinMin to present the Budget in the Parliament (This
is known as causing laying down of the AFS)

Now, FinMin will go to the LS & approach the Speaker for presenting the Budget. The
speaker will give the “Leave” to FinMin to present the Budget (means give the permission
to present the budget)

Introduction Stage- Difference from OB Introduction is that, Ordinary Bill could be

introduced either in LS or RS; but MB can be only presented in LS

FinMin will give a General Introduction of the Budget. This will go on for 3-4 days. This is
known as STAGE OF GENERAL DISCUSSION (no detailed debate & discussion is allowed;
although Political criticism is allowed at this stage) (Rule 130 of ROP COB prohibits debate
& discussion on Budget)

12
Now, after general introduction in LS, FinMin will again make an Introduction in RS; which
allows General Discussion in the RS (RS has the power to have General Discussion of the
Budget also)

At the end of this process, the FinMin will give a general statement (ending statement) of
his Budgetary Proposals (This is the Budget Speech, it is not a law till now)

The Budget has been prepared by FinMin, finalized by Cabinet, & caused laying down by
the President. All are executive bodies (vs Executive is responsible to the Legislature; &
till here no legislature involved yet) So, after the stage of General Introduction &
Discussion, FinMin will suspend the Budget session, in order to conduct Legislative
scrutiny of Budgetary Proposals (Legislative scrutiny of budgetary Proposals has been
made mandatory since 1993 Budget, which is known as DRSC) (vs Scrutiny by
Parliamentary Committees in case of OB, which is optional)

DRSC- Department Related Standing Committees, will have members from both LS & RS.
21 members from LS & 10 members from RS (The members from both the houses will be
selected on the basis of Proportional Representation through Single transferable vote)
(Same logic for putting in front of DRSC, as in the case of Parliamentary Committee for
OB)

Originally, No of DRSCs were 17; however, in 2004, 7 more were added; which made the
total number of DRSCs in present day to 24

The Chairman of these 24 Committees will be as follows:

o 16 Chairman = LS Members
o 8 Chairman = RS Members

The task of these DRSCs is to scrutinize all the 107 DOGs:

o The DOG related to Ministry will be scrutinized by DRSC of Agriculture
o The DOG related to Ministry of Defence will be scrutinized by DRSC of Defence, & so
on

The Legislative Scrutiny by DRSCs is nothing but the detailed Debate & Discussion on the
Budgetary Proposal
o Suppose, 5 DOGs are issued by 5 ministries M1 to M5 (& the total of these DOGs is Rs
14 Lakh Crores)
o However, say Finance Ministry has funds to the tune of Rs 10 lakh crores only; and as
such, they will allocate the funds to these 5 Ministries based on the availability of
funds, in their Budget Proposal
o Now, these allocations may be after the cuts in funds demanded by some ministries
o As such, these allocations will have to be scrutinized before finalizing; and hence, the
role of DRSC becomes crucial at this stage

The DRSCs will work by mutual consensus & accordingly will negotiate among each other
for budgetary allocations based on priority

13
Accordingly, DRSCs will prepare a Report of their propositions (Propositions wrt to
negotiations) (It is to be noted that this is not forceful, but by mutual consensus, as per
Rule 268 & Rule 270 of ROCPOB) (As such, this report will not be binding on the Executive,
however, the same will be sent to the Parliament; just like the case of PC)

The DRSC is given 3 weeks to do this job; & as such, the Budget Session is suspended for 3
weeks

Budget > Cabinet > Cabinet Finalizes > Secretary General of LS Secretariat > President >
Coordination between Speaker & President > Coordination of Date > Prior
Recommendation of the President > Introduction + General Discussion in LS >
Introduction* + General Discussion** in RS > Suspension of Budget Session for 3 weeks
(Legislative Scrutiny by DRSC***) [The role of RS ends at this stage] [*,**,*** -
Involvement of RS during these stages]

This marks the end of Budget Session; & now the Minister of Finance has possession of
the Report of DRSC
o All the Budgetary DOGs are handed over to Speaker of LS; as Budgetary Motion
(i.e., Formal Motion / Proposal)
o Usually, Speaker will allow debate & discussion on 5 DOGs (out of total 107)
o So, in short, Motion > Introduction > Debate & Discussion

The speaker will introduce the motion to start debate & discussion (“Dear Members of the
LS, the 1st proposal from Minister of Finance is the DOG of MoD; & MoD is seeking Rs 3
Lakh Crores. So, I am introducing this motion”)

Now, suppose the opposition objects to the Introduction, and introduces a Cut- Motion
(The purpose of Cut Motion is to reduce the Demand of Grant). So, the cut motion is
moved by the opposition

The Cut Motion could be of following types:

o Policy Cut Motion = Reject the entire policy (Nothing to be given)
o Economy Cut Motion = Reduction of a fixed amount (say Rs 1 lakh Crores)
o Token Cut Motion = Penalty against concerned MoD (say last year grants were still not
utilized, and they are again asking for more)

Now, the speaker will Introduce it for debate & discussion, and subsequent voting. If, Ayes
are more in favour of Cut Motion, then the Cut Motion stands passed; & subsequently,
following will happened in respective scenarios:
o Policy Cut Motion - Rs 3 Lakh crores will be deducted from the Budget as the entire
policy is rejected, & instead Rs 1 will be given instead of Rs 3 Lakh (In short, at the end
of Policy Cut Motion, the final grant is Rs 1)
o Economy Cut Motion – Rs 3 lakh crores will be deducted by Rs 1 Lakh Crore & final
grant would be Rs 2 Lakh Crores
o Token Cut Motion – Rs 100 will be deducted from Rs 3 lakh Crores as penalty, &
whatever will be the final amount, will be granted
Now, in practical scenario, the Cut Motion will not be passed because of the majority of
Ruling Party; but still, the opposition introduces such Motion, just as an exercise of Political
Criticism
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So, basically, the Cut Motion serves two purposes:
o Political Criticism
o Informal way of Test of Strength of Ruling Government; because, if the Cut Motion
gets passed, it essentially means that the Government is not in majority, & as such,
the PM has to resign without even passing a No-Confidence Motion (In short, Failure
of Budget is the Failure of Government)

Similarly, this process will continue for remaining 4 DOGs too; and, if No Cut Motion is
introduced for them too, then, on the last day of the Budget Session, usually at 5 PM, the
Speaker will invite a Cut Motion for remaining 102 DOGs collectively. If nothing comes, up
then the Speaker states that those DOGs do not require further debate & discussion & are
considered passed (This scenario, in case of OB, is known as Guillo Tine) (This means that
majority of the Budget is passed by Guillo Tine method. Although, it is generally
discouraged, but it is used in case of Budget)

In short, the process so far;

Introduction > General Discussion > DRSC Legislative Scrutiny > Voting on DOG (Cut
Motions are introduced at this stage)

Voting on Demand of Grants can maximum extend up to 26 days

The above process ensures the concept of “Executive is Responsible to the Legislative”, as
the Proposals made by the Executive are scrutinized by the Legislative through DRSCs

It is to be noted that, once the above process gets completed, the Ministry of Finance
prepares a Final Bill containing Final & Revised Demand of Grants (all 107); this Bill is
known as Appropriation Bill (Since, the constant debates & discussion on the proposed
DOGs may have altered the original proposal many times in the process)

The above Appropriation Bill will not be subject to any further Debate & Discussion, since,
that has already happened in the above stages. It will simply be passed

Appropriation Bill is the only Bill which is never opposed in the Lok Sabha

No Grant of Funds from CFI can be made without due Appropriation by the Lok Sabha
(Article 114), because before passing Appropriation Bill, the funds cannot be withdrawn.
Before passing, it is just a Demand of Grant (Appropriation = Expenditure) (Appropriation
is done by Lok Sabha)

Once the Appropriation Bill is passed by LS, the entire Budgetary proposal is certified by
the Speaker under Article 110 (3); which essentially means that RS has only 14 days’ time
to either Pass the Bill, or Recommend the Bill, however, such recommendations are not
binding on the LS. After 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed; and then it is sent to
the President for his assent (The President cannot use Veto in this case). Thus, the Budget
is passed

15
NOTE – Since the passing of Budget is such a lengthy procedure, & no fund can be withdrawn
until the bill is passed in the Parliament; in order to meet the expenses for the interim period
till the time the Budget is passed, Lok Sabha gives advance sanction. This Advance sanction is
known as Vote on Account. VOA is nothing but a permission, for sanctioning about 1/6th of
the total grants proposed in the Budget (~ Working Capital)

• VOA is usually applicable for 2 months

• However, in case of elections, the VOA is usually extended to 4-5 months, till the time
new LS is elected

There are two types of Expenditures in Appropriation Bill:

o Charged Expenditure – CE are directly charged to the Consolidated Fund of India
(Directly means that voting will not be done in case of CE
o Made Expenditure – Debates & Discussion allowed in case of ME during Voting of DOG
& during VOA

CHARGED EXPENDITURE MADE EXPENDITURE

Debates & Discussion not allowed D&D allowed during Voting of DOG & during
VOA
CE are fixed, i.e., Salary to President/ SC
Judge/ Speaker/ Deputy Speaker/ Deputy
Chairman, any debt which is already fixed to
the CFI, any money that is to be paid by GoI
as per Court Decree

Once the Appropriation Bill is passed by the Parliament, the concerned Ministries will be
provided the funds from CFI. However, where will the funds in CFI come from? They will
come from taxes. So, at the end of the Budget, Lok Sabha passes the Tax Bill (aka Finance
Bill). The Tax Bill is passed, which contains the Tax proposals of GoI. Usually no discussion
on Tax Bill

It is usually aimed that the Tax Bill is passed within 75 days, so that it is coordinated with
the Financial Year; otherwise, the calculation has to be done backdated

Usually, the Budget is prepared in the month of Feb in the hope that the forthcoming
Financial Year will be normal, say monsoon-wise (based on the prediction of IMD).
However, even a slight change in the normal monsoon pattern can have a drastic impact
on the Agriculture, thereby altering the policy dynamics greatly. In order to meet such
challenges, certain parts of the Budget are allowed to be changed. This is known as
Supplementary Budget. SB are those budgets which are small changes; & this can be done
multiple times in a year

However, in case of a grave substantial situation, like war, during which time all the policies
take a backtrack & priority becomes Defence Funding; in such cases, the Budget has to be
changed substantially, or revised entirely. This is done through Interim Budget. Interim
Budgets are also passed, when LS is to be dissolved. Just before LS is about to dissolve, the
Parliament may pass Interim Budget (Since, there is no certainty that the same government
will come back to power; so till that time, Interim Budget will be effective, & once the
government comes back to power, they will pass a full-fledged General Budget)

16
3) Constitutional Amendment Bill- Under Article 368 of COI, it is for amending the COI
▪ Article 368 gives the power to amend Constitution only to the Parliament, & not to the State
Legislature (Quasi Federal State with a Unitary Tilt)

▪ The Constitution Amendment Bill has to be observed from two parts:

i. Flexible Constitution (UK) – Flexible because very simple to amend the Constitution
ii. Rigid Constitution (USA) – Very difficult to amend the constitution

▪ However, India has adopted both of them. In other words, India has a combination of both
Flexibility & Rigidity

▪ In case of India, following groups of CAB exist based on the difficulty criteria wrt passing
them:
o Simple to Pass = Pass by Simple Majority; i.e., >50% of P+V
o Moderate to Pass = Pass by Double Majority; i.e., Absolute Majority + 2/3rd P & V
o Rigid/Difficult to Pass = Pass by Double Majority + Ratification by at least 50% of the
States plus Delhi & Puducherry, through Simple Majority in their respective Legislative
Assemblies)

▪ Simple to pass category – Formation of New State, Changing the name of a state, salaries of
MPs etc.

▪ Rigid Category – All matters dealing with Centre-State Relations like alteration in 7th
Schedule, Revenue Distribution b/w Centre & the States like GST, change in jurisdiction of
SC, Change in power of President of India etc.

▪ CAB can be introduced in the LS, or it can also be introduced in the RS

▪ There is no requirement of Prior Recommendation of the President. However, only in case

of Simple category Bills, and that too, during the bill related to either Formation of New
States or Changing the name of a State, Prior Recommendation of the President is required.
This Prior Recommendation, however, is not needed at the Introduction stage, but rather,
Consideration stage (Debate & Discussion stage)

▪ If LS 7 RS, both agrees, then it shall be sent to President for asset. The President does not
have the power to use veto in this case too (Clause inserted through 24th CAA, 1971)

▪ It is to be noted that, No Joint Sessions are allowed in case of CAB. If there is any deadlock,
then the bill stands rejected (Rationale is that the CAB must be passed by the LS & the RS
separately)

▪ In case of CAB, everything is done by Legislative; since, neither Prior recommendation of the
President is required (who is an executive), nor he could use Veto. In short, CAB is the
Legislative prerogative (i.e., it is under complete control of the Legislative with no role of
executive. Moreover, passing of the CAB cannot be forced through conduct of Joint Session;
& separate passing is required in each house. This is done so as to keep the process
unanimous; so that the structure of the constitution is not destroyed by forcefully passing
the Bill) (Legislative Supremacy)

17
 4) Finance Bill- Dealt under Article 117 of COI. Any other expenditure that does not involve CFI, is
dealt under Financial Bill. This means that it not only deals with expenditure, it also has certain
policy written in it. In short, all money bills are FB, but all FB are not MBs
▪ Financial Bill Type 1 [Article 117 (1)] Debit (Expenditure), Policy, Credit (Revenue) (e.g.,
NHAI bill asking for 100 crores for building highway, & revenue transfer to govt thereby)
o This Bill is different from Money Bill in the sense that among all stages of its passage,
only 1st two steps are same as Money Bill, and rest of the process is same as that of
Ordinary Bill

o Stages similar to Money Bill:

▪ It requires Prior Recommendation of the President
▪ It is to be introduced in the LS

o Stages similar to Ordinary Bill:

▪ Involvement of RS (i.e., 14 days clause not applicable)
▪ Joint Sessions can be conducted

▪ Financial Bill Type 2 [Article 117 (3)] For Welfare schemes usually; money is debited, but
not credited back to govt. Similarly, Ex-President’s Emolument Bill
o It can be introduced either in LS or RS

o Prior Recommendation of the President is required only during the Consideration Stage
of Debate & Discussion

o In short, it is exactly like the Ordinary Bill, only difference is that the president’s
recommendation is required for Consideration

Role of Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG)

CAG is either an IAS officer or an IAAS officer

o Comptroller = Who sanctions the release of funds;
o Auditor = Who checks the funds

In short, CAG should be performing two functions, i.e., Comptrolling Function & Auditing Function

However, in India, the release of funds is sanctioned after the due appropriation by the Lok Sabha

So, essentially, CAG is a misnomer; the only function performed by CAG is of Auditing (The term CAG
is taken from Britishers)

Now, after the funds are allotted to the respective Ministries, during the whole year from April 2020-
March 2021, the funds will be expended or generated by the respective ministries

It is to be noted that Appropriation is not just only Demand of Grants, it is Demand of Grants with
Policy. So, in case, there is any deviation wrt effective utilization of funds, it shall be observed by CAG

18
The CAG however, will not interfere in the functioning of the concerned Ministry until the end of the
Financial year, because, the CAG is not the Financial Advisor to the Government of India. This position
is known as Ex- Post facto; it means that the CAG will come into picture, after the event or expenditure
has been done

Now, Article 151 provides that at the end of the Financial Year, the CAG has to make an Annual Report
by auditing the accounts of all the Ministries of the Government of India, & submit it to the President
of India (It is the Constitutional Duty of the CAG)

Example:

o At the end of the FY, the CAG starts auditing Financial Statement of each & every Ministry of
the Government of India

o In case of say Ministry of Infrastructure, the CAG identifies an irregularity of Rs 1000 crores
(aka Scam); he immediately reports it to the President through Annual Report prepared by him
under Article 151

o Neither the President nor the CAG has the power to question the concerned Minister/Ministry
wrt such irregularity; since, both of them are Executives, & even the Minister is an Executive
himself (Rule- Executive is responsible only to the Legislature, so not a capacity of executive to
question)

o As such, the President will hand over this report to the Parliament, and Parliament in turn will
hand the report to Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is formed every year. The PAC
carries a rule that no Minister could be a part of PAC; & it can contain only the Legislators.
Here, PAC takes help of the CAG to comprehend the report. In other words, CAG helps the
PAC to review the CAG Report (Hence, it is said that the CAG acts a friend, philosopher & guide
to PAC)

o Now, the PAC will question the Executive (Minister), & the concerned Minister is bound to
answer to such a question by PAC

o If the reply from the concerned Minister is not satisfactory to the PAC, then PAC will
recommend to Parliament to form Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC)

o JPC carries all powers of a Civil Court. The JPC investigates the matter & questions the
concerned Minister along with witnesses

o If the JPC is still not satisfied with the investigation, then it will recommend CBI to lodge a FIR
against the Minister under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988

o This is what happened in the 2G scam

o This is a classic example of Doctrine of Checks & Balances (Checks & Balances at every stage,
right from Passing of the Bill, till its effective utilization by the concerned ministry & verified
by CAG)

19
➢ Types of Financial Committees
o Public Accounts Committee: (Joint Select Committee = Both Houses)
▪ 15 Members from LS + 7 Members from RS
▪ Elected by a method of Proportional Representation through a Single Transferable Vote
▪ No Minister, only Legislators
▪ The term of each member of PAC is 1 year (Members could be re-elected)
▪ PAC is a Standing Committee, i.e., Permanent Committee (Formed every Year)
▪ Since 1964, there has been a convention that the Chairman of PAC will be a Member of
Opposition (in order to avoid biasness)

o Estimates Committee: (Select Committee = Single House)

▪ Only in Lok Sabha
▪ 30 Members of Lok Sabha (elected through Proportional representation through single
transferable vote). Therefore, mostly the members from Ruling Party
▪ No Minister, Only Legislators
▪ This is also a Standing Committee, i.e., Permanent Committee (Formed every Year)
▪ The main task of Estimates Committee is to provide Alternative Economic Proposal instead of
DOG
• E.g., The Ministry of Defence has submitted a DOG for Rs 1000 Crores to buy 2 Rafale
Jets of Rs 500 Crores each. The Estimates Committee will prepare an alternative
economic proposal stating to buy MIG 21 instead, which will come at a cheaper price of
Rs 200 crores
▪ However, the Alternative Economic Proposal is not binding on the Government. In other words,
it does not stop the voting on DOG
▪ But at the end of FY, CAG will refer to this AEP, & will verify why such proposal was not
incorporated in the DOG. In other words, the CAG could use it to criticize
▪ The reports of DRSC & Estimates Committee are always Tabled in the Parliament, so that
everyone knows about the whereabouts wrt to the proceedings

o Committee on Public Undertaking (COPU)

▪ 15 Members from LS + 7 Members from RS
▪ Elected by a method of Proportional Representation through a Single Transferable Vote
▪ No Minister, only Legislators
▪ The term of each member of PAC is 1 year (Members could be re-elected)
▪ The committee proposes Investments & Disinvestments in Public Undertakings
▪ Recommendations are not binding
▪ So, basically COPU & PAC are approximately the same. But, COPU does not play a very big role
in Financial Accountability; it is merely a recommendary in nature

➢ Dr Ambedkar mentioned that the Office of CAG is the most important office, because the most supreme power
is with LS, i.e., Power of the Purse; and through Financial Accountability, CAG can keep a check on such power of
the LS; despite being merely an Executive (Doctrine of Checks & Balances). Hence, 4 Articles of COI, i.e., Article
148 -151, are given only to one single office of CAG

➢ Joint Parliamentary Committee

o 1st JPC was formed in 1987 to investigate the Bofors Scandal during Rajiv Gandhi Government (Clean Chit)
o 2nd JPC was formed in 1992 to investigate Harshad Mehta Stock Scam (SEBI Scam). Due to this scam only,
NSE was created (Clean Chit)

20
o 3rd JPC was formed in 1998 to investigate Ketan Parekh Stock Scam (Clean Chit)
o 4th JPC was formed in 2003 to investigate Soft Drink Pesticide case (Clean Chit)
o 5th JPC was formed in 2011 to investigate 2G scam, & for the first time, FIR was lodged against A Raja &
Kanimozhi (Now acquitted by Court). J5 was the only JPC which produced fruitful result

21