JD(U) president Nitish Kumar and his son Nishant Kumar made a joint appearance at a party orientation programme, sparking speculation about Nishant's political future and potential leadership roles within the party. The event, aimed at training parliamentarians and legislators, also saw Nishant urging attendees to uphold his father's principles of "zero tolerance for crime, corruption and communalism."
More than half of the bills introduced in the 18th Lok Sabha have been passed by both Houses in the same session, a significant acceleration compared to previous terms, raising concerns about the time available for legislative scrutiny and stakeholder consultations.
The Lok Sabha's monsoon session concluded on Thursday, marked by relentless opposition protests over critical issues like the NEET paper leak and police action on students, yet saw the passage of several key bills without extensive debate. Home Minister Amit Shah expressed readiness to debate the student protest issue, urging the speaker to allocate time.
=In 21 states, the time gap between the general Budget and ministry-specific discussions was just one day.
State debt is rising because revenues are disappointingly weak. Ten states have debt ratios exceeding 30 per cent. In 2023-2024, states were borrowing simply to meet day-to-day expenses, points out Debashis Basu.
A new report indicates that increasing unconditional cash transfer schemes for women across 12 Indian states are impacting their fiscal health, with six states projecting revenue deficits.
'You cannot run Parliament with 800 MPs as nobody will get time (to speak in Parliament). And Parliament sits for barely 60 days in a year.' 'Look at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. They have 650 MPs and they sit for 150 days on an average in a year.'
The Delhi assembly which held 74 sittings over its five-year term, met for an average of 15 days a year. On the days it met, the assembly sat for an average of three hours.
Coincidentally, the two first-term members got seats adjacent to each other in the House.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
The eighth Delhi assembly will have fewer women members but a higher number of lawmakers with graduate degrees, according to a report.
Nine re-elected MPs represented a different party in the 17th Lok Sabha, while eight others represented a party that split from their earlier party.
'Even if it is defeated and the Speaker remains, the Opposition parties that have lost faith in his impartiality will continue to have that feeling.' 'If the Speaker reflects on this and tries to be more neutral, more impartial, more objective in his conduct -- then one can say the resolution had a salutary effect. That would be the best outcome.'
According to an analysis by PRS Legislative Research, 172 bills were discussed and passed during the term of 17th Lok Sabha, of which 86 bills in the Lok Sabha and 103 bills in the Rajya Sabha were discussed for less than two hours each.
'With one more year remaining in the term, and 58 average sitting days a year, the 17th Lok Sabha is unlikely to sit for more than 331 days.' 'This could make it the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.'
The outgoing Haryana assembly met for 72 sitting days over five years, or 14.4 days a year on average, against the national average of 23 days for state assemblies in the 2017 to 2023 period, according to an analysis by PRS Legislative Research.
BJP MP and actor Ravi Kishan has been awarded the Sansad Ratna for his outstanding performance in the Lok Sabha, becoming the first actor-turned-politician to receive the honour.
The 17th Lok Sabha had 272 sittings altogether over its five-year tenure from 2019-2024.
A large part of the productive time in Parliament is spent on non-legislative matters such as discussion on motion of thanks by the President, conduct of fellow MPs and so on.
In Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, the share of legislators with college degrees increased over the past decade.
In 2022, Rajasthan met for 30 days, Chhattisgarh 18 days, MP and Mizoram for 15 each, and Telangana for 10 days.
The Modi government could steer through Parliament 59 out of 75 Bills.
While 67 per cent of India's population is 39 years old or younger, states are governed by chief ministers who are 70 or older.
The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha began on June 17 and is scheduled to conclude on July 26.
Between 2019 and 2023, average sittings of the assembly in Chhattisgarh was 23 days a year, with average sitting time being five hours.
Kerala had the highest number of average sitting days at 48 days a year, followed by Odisha (41) and Karnataka (35).
It was also the only session in the 17th Lok Sabha when the lower house did not lose any time due to adjournments, according to data compiled by a think tank.
All you need to know about the Winter session of Parliament.
The Lok Sabha, chaired by Speaker Om Birla, has been working for more than its scheduled time and has sat till midnight on two occasions to complete its legislative business.
The 17th Lok Sabha has 12 per cent of its members below the age of 40. This is more than the 16th Lok Sabha, which had 8 per cent of MPs below the age of 40.
The 17th Lok Sabha, which was dissolved on June 5, did not have a deputy speaker for its full term, and it was the second consecutive term of the lower house without an LoP.
Higher reliance on GST receipts for revenue reduces states' autonomy as these receipts depend on tax rates decided by the GST Council, a report by Delhi-based non-profit, PRS Legislative Research shows.
To govern effectively, to legislate successfully, Modi must reach out to the Opposition. As long as he does not and he is showing no signs that he accepts the reality, the drift his fans are anguishing over will remain, cautions Aakar Patel.
The current batch of LAMP Fellows have been engaged in working with members of Parliament on several Parliament related research tasks. For details of the fellowship and the application process, please visit www.prsindia.org/lamp. Applications close on March 20, 2011.
During the 16th Lok Sabha, 180 bills were passed and 45 ordinances promulgated.
Catch all the debates and discussions from the Upper and Lower Houses.
According to C V Madhukar, a senior member of PRS Legislative Research, an independent Delhi-based think-tank, 'the debate on the Lokpal Bill reflected how Parliament functions about 80 percent of the time.' Rajni Bakshi on how we can engage better with Parliament.
The last five years in Karnataka politics were marred by dissidence, confusion and instability. So not surprisingly, despite an impressive attendance record of 81 per cent, the state assembly convened for only 144 days in the past five years.
In this exclusive interview with Parliament expert C V Madhukar, Founder and Director of PRS Legislative Research, he tells rediff.com's Sahim Salim that there is a need for a JPC to look into the smooth functioning of the Parliament, if for nothing else.
The Budget session of Parliament was the least productive since the year 2000.
