Department Related Standing Committees

Why in news?

• Ahead of the reconstitution of the 24 Department-Related Standing Committees (DRSC), Rajya Sabha Chairman sent a detailed record of participation by the members in committee meetings over the past year to the political parties, calling them to nominate members only based on their participation and interest.

What is Department Related Standing Committees?

• In Parliament, every business transacted on the floor of the House has a designated time allocated. As a result, it is difficult for all members to be involved in the deliberation process and ensure that each Bill is scrutinized in detail.
• In order to ensure that the Parliament discharges its duty effectively Department related standing committees were introduced in 1993. The committees were meant to scrutinize legislations pertaining to specific ministries, their budgets and also deliberate on any other subject of importance to particular sectors.
• In 2004, seven more such committees were setup, thus increasing their number from 17 to 24. They cover under their jurisdiction all the ministries/ departments of the Central Government.
• Out of the 24 standing committees, 8 work under the Rajya Sabha and 16 under the Lok Sabha.

Members:

• Each standing committee consists of 31 members (21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha).
• The members of the Lok Sabha are nominated by the Speaker from amongst its own members and that of Rajya Sabha are nominated by the Chairman from amongst its members.
• A minister is not eligible to be nominated as a member of any of the standing committees.

Tenure:

• The term of office of each standing committee is one year from the date of its constitution.

Major functions of Department Related Standing Committees:

• To consider the demands for grants of the concerned ministries /departments before they are discussed and voted in the Lok Sabha.
• To examine bills pertaining to the concerned ministries.
• To consider annual reports of ministries / departments.
• To consider national basic long-term policy documents presented to the Houses.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which one of the following statements is/are correct regarding Department-Related Standing Committees (DRSC)?

1. The term of office of each standing committee is one year from the date of its constitution.

2. A minister is not eligible to be a member of any of the standing committees.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 Only

(b) 2 Only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer