The Constitution of India envisages a parliamentary form of government, both at the centre and in the states. The functions of parliament are complex, extensive, and diverse. Furthermore, it is hard to make time and expertise to conduct regular examinations of all legislative matters. Herefore, parliamentary committees are established for efficient operation and easy functioning. 

This article talks about parliamentary committees in India. You will find detailed information on privileges offered in parliament, use of parliamentary privileges, types of parliamentary privileges, and so on. So, let’s start by describing the parliamentary privileges in the following Indian Polity study material.

Methods to Appoint Parliamentary Committees 

The parliamentary committee is nominated by the chairmen or the speaker and appointed by the house. It works under the direction of the chairmen or speaker. In India, there are two different types of parliamentary committees. These include:

  • Standing committees – The standing committees are referred to as permanent, which means they work continuously.
  • Ad hoc committees – Ad hoc committees are those formed to complete a particular task, and once done, they exist. 

Further, both standing and Ad hoc committees are divided into major sub-categories mentioned in a tabular form. 

Parliamentary Committee in India

Types of Committees

Categories of Committees

Sub-Categories of Committees

Standing Committees

Financial Committees

  • Public Accounts Committee
  • Committee on Public Undertakings
  • Estimates Committee

Departmental Standing Committees

There are a total of 24 departmental committees. These are as follows – 

 

1- Committee on commerce

2- Committee on home affairs

3- Committee on human resource development

4- Committee on industry

5- Committee on science and technology, environment and forest

6- Committee on transport, tourism and culture

7- Committee on health and family welfare

8- Committee on personal, public grievance, law and justice

9- Committee on agriculture

10- Committee on information technology

11- Committee on defence

12- Committee on energy

13- Committee on external affairs

14- Committee on finance

15- Committee on food, consumer affairs and public distribution

16- Committee on labour

17- Committee on petroleum and natural gas

18- Committee on railways

19- Committee on urban development

20- Committee on water resources

21- Committee on chemical and fertilisers

22- Committee on rural development

23- Committee on coal and steel

24- Committee on social justice and empowerment

Committees to Inquire

  • Committee on Petitions
  • Committee of Privilege
  • Ethics Committee

Committees to Scrutinise and Control

  • Committee on Government Assurances
  • Committee on Subordinate Legislation
  • Committee on Papers Laid on the Table
  • Committee on Welfare of SCs and STs
  • Committee on Empowerment of Women
  • Joint Committee on Offices of Profit

Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House

  • Business Advisory Committee
  • Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions
  • Rules Committee
  • Committee on Absence of Members from Sittings of the House

House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees

  • General Purposes Committee
  • House Committee
  • Library Committee
  • Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members

Ad Hoc Committees

Inquiry Committees

–

Advisory Committees

–

Ad Hoc Committees: Two different types of Ad Hoc Committees are formed to meet a specified task:

1- Inquiry Committees 

The inquiry committees are proposed by any of the two houses or are appointed by the speaker or the chairman of the respective house. The common examples of inquiry committees are joint committee on fertiliser pricing, joint committee on bofors contract, joint committee on stock market scam, etc. 

2- Advisory Committees

The advisory committees are joint committees appointed mainly for the matters of bills; therefore, they are responsible for reporting on particular bills. These are extremely different from the inquiry committees as the pattern they follow is written in the Rules of Procedure. 

Why did India adopt a parliamentary form of government?

Articles 74 and 75 enshrine the parliamentary system at the Centre and Articles 163 and 164 at the states. The political party that wins maximum seats in the Lok Sabha develops the next government. There were several reasons why India chose to adopt the Parliamentary form of government. These were as follows:

  • Familiarity with the System: The constitution-makers were fairly familiar with the parliamentary system as it had been in operation in India during the British colonial rule (modern history legacy).
  • Priority to More Responsibility: The parliamentary system of government clearly outlines the responsible behaviour of the executive, and the makers of the Constitution prioritised the principle of responsibility on the highest pedestal.
  • Avoid Conflicts: The framers of the Constitution sought to avoid the conflicts among the executive and legislature which are bound to occur in the Presidential system prevalent in the USA. 
  • Rich Diversity: India is one of the most heterogeneous States and most composite plural societies globally. Representation of these diversities was seen as more promising by the parliamentary system.

Conclusion 

With this, we come to an end to parliamentary committees. Articles 74 and 75 enshrine the parliamentary system at the Centre and Articles 163 and 164 at the states. In India, there are two different types of parliamentary committees, including the standing committees and Ad hoc committees discussed above in detail. 

In this article, we described parliamentary committees in India; we studied the concept of parliamentary committees at length. We covered several other topics, such as the methods to appoint parliamentary committees, the types of parliamentary committees, and why India adopted a parliamentary form of government.