Parliament Functioned for Less Than Half of Scheduled Time, but Legislative Activity Remained High: Data – News18

Lok Sabha functioned for only 43 per cent of its scheduled time and Rajya Sabha 55 per cent in the just-concluded Monsoon session but legislative activity remained high with 23 bills being passed, data compiled by a think tank shows.  According to data compiled by PRS Legislative Research, the lower house had 17 sittings, which lasted for about 44 hours 15 minutes. The debate on no-confidence motion lasted for 19 hours and 59 minutes, and 60 members participated in the discussion. The motion was negated through voice vote.  Twenty-three bills were passed during the session, which include The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, and The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, among others.  Most bills were passed with little scrutiny.   Around 56 per cent of the bills introduced in this session were passed by both houses. On an average, a bill introduced in this session was passed within eight days.

”For example, bills expanding the discretionary powers of the LG in Delhi, allowing for mining of strategic minerals like lithium, and regulating personal data were passed by Parliament within seven days of introduction. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023 was passed within five days of introduction,” said PRS.  Out of the bills introduced, three have been referred to committees. In this Lok Sabha, 17 percent bills have been referred to committees. This is lower as compared to the last three Lok Sabhas. Of the 23 bills passed in this session, seven have been examined by standing committees, PRS said.  Among the bills, the longest discussion was held on the Delhi services bill, which was discussed for around four hours, 54 minutes in Lok Sabha and around eight hours in Rajya Sabha, followed by the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, which was discussed for 56 minutes in Lok Sabha and for over one hour in Rajya Sabha.   The Forest Conservation (Amendment) Bill was discussed for 38 minutes in Lok Sabha, and for one hour 41 minutes in Rajya Sabha; Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill took 23 minutes in Lok Sabha and 35 minutes in Rajya Sabha, and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill was deliberated upon for 19 minutes in the Lower House, and one hour, 34 minutes in the Upper House. Nine bills, including the IIM (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Inter-Services Organisation Bill 2023, were passed within 20 minutes in Lok Sabha.

The bills to create the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission and the National Dental Commission were discussed and passed together in Lok Sabha within three minutes. The CGST and IGST amendment bills were passed together within two minutes in Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha passed 10 bills in three consecutive days.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)