The Parliamentary committees are established to study and deal with various matters that cannot be directly handled by the legislature due to their volume. They also monitor the functioning of the executive branch.[1]
The Parliamentary committees are of two kinds – standing or permanent committees and ad hoc committees. The former are elected or appointed periodically and they work on a continuous basis. The latter are created on an ad hoc basis as the need arises and they are dissolved after they complete the task assigned to them.[1]
A standing committee is a committee consisting of Members of Parliament. It is a permanent and regular committee which is constituted from time to time according to the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business. The work done by the Indian Parliament is not only voluminous but also of a complex nature, hence a good deal of its work is carried out in these Parliamentary committees.
Standing committees are of the following kinds :
There are three important standing committees dealing with financial affairs. These committees involve further sub-committees.
| 1 | Public Accounts Committee | MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury | 22 members(15 LS + 7 RS) | 1 Year | Elected from Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha MPs | Sub-Committee – I : Non Compliance in Timely submission of Action Taken Notes on the Non-selected Audit Paragraphs & Excess ExpenditureSub-Committee – II : Direct and Indirect Taxes Sub-Committee – III : Implementation of Recommendations of PAC Sub-Committee – IV : Railways | |
| 2 | Estimates Committee | MP Girish Bapat | 30 members (LS) | 1 Year | Elected from Lok Sabha MPs | Sub-Committee – I : Drought situation in the country pertaining to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Sub-Committee – II : Education with special reference to the recent development regarding autonomy in Education | |
| 3 | Public Undertakings Committee | MP Santosh Gangwar | 22 members(15 LS + 7 RS) | 1 Year | Elected from Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha MPs |
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During the year 1989 – 8th Lok Sabha the Rules Committee considered and approved a proposal that three subject committees, on (i) Agriculture; (ii) Environment & Forests; and (iii) Science & Technology. related to these committees were finally approved by the House and the committees were formally constituted with effect from 18 August 1989.
The Reports of Rules Committees of the 10th Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adopted by the two Houses on 29 March 1993 paved the way for the setting up of the 17 departmentally related standing committees covering under their jurisdiction all the Ministries/Departments of the Union Government.
These DRSCs replaced the earlier three subject committees constituted in August, 1989. The 17 departmentally related standing committees were formally constituted with effect from April, 1993. After experiencing the working of the DRSC system for over a decade, the system was re-structured in July, 2004 wherein the number of DRSCs was increased from 17 to 24. Till 13th Lok Sabha, each of these standing committees used to consist of 45 members— 30 nominated by the Speaker from amongst the members of Lok Sabha and 15 members nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha from amongst the members of Rajya Sabha. However, with re-structuring of DRSCs in July, 2004 each DRSC consists of 31 members—21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.
There are 24 department-related standing committees (DRSCs). Each of these committees have 31 members – 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. These members are to be nominated by the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha respectively. The term of office of these committees does not exceed one year. These committees are serviced either by Lok Sabha secretariat or the Rajya Sabha secretariat, depending on who has appointed the chairman of that committee.
| S.No. | Committee | Ministries | Chairperson | Tenure | Chairman nominated by | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Committee on Agriculture [8] | MP Hukmdev Narayan Yadav | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 2 | Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers [9] | Chemicals and Fertilizers | MP Shashi Tharoor | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 3 | Committee on Coal and Steel [10] | MP Rakesh Singh | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 4 | Committee on Commerce | Commerce and Industry | MP V. Vijayasai Reddy | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | |
| 5 | Committee on Defence | Defence | MP Jual Oram | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 6 | Committee on Energy | MP Kambhampati Hari Babu | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 7 | Committee on External Affairs | External Affairs | MP P. P. Chaudhary | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 8 | Committee on Finance | MP Jayant Sinha | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 9 | Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution | Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution | MP J. C. Diwakar Reddy | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 10 | Committee on Health and Family Welfare | Health and Family WelfareAYUSH | MP Ram Gopal Yadav | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | |
| 11 | Committee on Home Affairs | MP P. Chidambaram | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 12 | Committee on Human Resource Development | MP Satyanarayan Jatiya | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 13 | Committee on Industry | MP Ramchandra Prasad Singh | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 14 | Committee on Information Technology | MP Shashi Tharoor | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 15 | Committee on Labour | MP Kirit Somaiya | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 16 | Committee on Personnel, Public Governances, Law and Justice | MP Bhupender Yadav | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 17 | Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas | Petroleum and Natural Gas | MP Ramesh Bidhuri[11] | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 18 | Committee on Railways | Railways | MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | |
| 19 | Committee on Rural Development | MP Ponnusamy Venugopal | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 20 | Committee on Science & Technology and Environment & Forests | MP Anand Sharma | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 21 | Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment | MP Ramesh Bais | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 22 | Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture | MP Derek O’Brien | 1 year | Chairman of Rajya Sabha | ||
| 23 | Committee on Urban Development | MP Pinaki Misra | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha | ||
| 24 | Committee on Water Resources | Ministry of Jal Shakti | MP Parbatbhai Patel | 1 year | Speaker of Lok Sabha |
| S.No. | Committee | Chairperson | Composition | Tenure | Nominated / elected | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business Advisory Committee | MP Sumitra Mahajan | 15 members | Not fixed. May continue in office till reconstituted. | Nominated | |
| 2 | Committee of Privileges | MP Meenakshi Lekhi | 15 members | Not fixed. May continue in office till reconstituted. | Nominated | |
| 3 | Committee on Absence of Members from the sittings of the House | MP P. Karunakaran | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 4 | MP Bijoya Chakravarty | 30 members (20 LS+ 10 RS) | 1 Year | Nominated | ||
| 5 | Committee on Government Assurances | MP Ramesh Pokhriyal | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 6 | Committee on Papers Laid on the Table | MP Chandrakant Khaire | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 7 | Committee on Petitions | MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 8 | Committee on Private Members' Bills and Resolutions | MP M. Thambidurai | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 9 | Committee on Subordinate Legislation | MP Dilipkumar Gandhi | 15 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 10 | General Purposes Committee ** | MP Sumitra Mahajan | Varies | Not fixed. | Ex-Officio | |
| 11 | House Committee | MP Suresh Angadi | 12 members | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 12 | Joint Committee on Offices of Profit | MP Kalraj Mishra | 15 members (10 LS+ 5 RS) | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | Elected | |
| 13 | Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowance of MPs | 15 members (10 LS+ 5 RS) | 1 Year | Nominated | ||
| 14 | Library Committee | MP Prem Das Rai | 9 members (6 LS+ 3 RS) | 1 Year | Nominated | |
| 15 | Rules Committee | MP Sumitra Mahajan | 15 members | Not fixed. May continue in office till reconstituted. | Nominated | |
| 16 | Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes | MP Kirit Premjibhai Solanki | 30 members (20 LS+ 10 RS) | 1 Year | Elected |
, the following ad hoc committees are in operation:
| S.No. | Committee | Chairperson | Tenure | Composition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Committee on Ethics | MP L. K. Advani | 1 year | 15 members (15 LS) | |
| 2 | Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex | MP A. P. Jithender Reddy | 1 Year | 15 members (10 LS + 5 RS) | |
| 3 | Committee on Installation of Portraits/Statues of National leaders and Parliamentarians | MP Sumitra Mahajan | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | 12 members (8 LS + 4 RS) | |
| 4 | Committee on MP Local Area Development Scheme | MP M. Thambidurai | 1 Year | 24 members | |
| 5 | Committee on Provision of Computers to Members of Lok Sabha | MP P. Kumar | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | 10 members | |
| 6 | Joint Committee on Maintenance of Heritage Character and Development of Parliament House Complex | MP Sumitra Mahajan | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | 10 members (7 LS + 3 RS) | |
| 7 | Joint Committee on Security in Parliament House Complex | MP Sumitra Mahajan | 1 Year | 10 members (7 LS + 3 RS) | |
| 8 | Railway Convention Committee | MP Bhartruhari Mahtab | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | 18 members(12 LS + 6 RS) | |
| 9 | Committee on Violation of Protocol Norms and Contemptuous Behaviour of Government Officers with Members of Lok Sabha | MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao | For the duration of one Lok Sabha | 15 members | |
| 10 | Committee to Inquiry into the Improper Conduct of a Member | MP Kirit Somaiya |
| 9 members |
The Government of India has appointed a number of committees ad-hoc committees. Some of the notable ad-hoc committees are as follows :
| Committee | Appointed in | Submitted report in | Summary | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | 1956 | The three-member committee was formed by the Nehru-government to address the public demand to investigate the disappearance of Subhas Chandra Bose. The committee was led by Shah Nawaz Khan, and included Suresh Chandra Bose, brother of Subhas, and S. N. Maitra.[14] | The committee came to the conclusion that Bose was killed in a plane crash. But, Suresh Chandra Bose did not agree with the report.[15] | ||
| 1957 | 1957 | Examine the working of the Community Development Programme and the National Extension Service | Establishment of the scheme of 'democratic decentralisation' (Panchayati Raj) | ||
| 1977 | 1978 | In December 1977, the Janata Government appointed a committee on Panchayati Raj institutions under the chairmanship of Ashoka Mehta. | The committee submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132 recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati Raj system in the country | ||
| Review Dhar Commission's report on formation of States | |||||
| 1998 | 1998 | various Banking sector reforms | |||
| 2005 | 2006 | Examine social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community of India | |||
| 2010 | 2010 | The committee was formed to look into the demand for separate statehood for Telangana or keep the State united in the present form, Andhra Pradesh. | |||
| Naresh Chandra Committee | 2012 | Defence reforms | |||
| Swaran Singh Committee | 1976 | to make recommendations about fundamental duties | The committee recommended the inclusion of a separate chapter on fundamental duties in the Constitution. It stressed that the citizens should become conscious that in addition to the enjoyment of rights, they also have certain duties to perform as well. |