Departmental Standing Committees (dsc)
In 1993, the Parliament established 17 Departmentally-Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) on the recommendation of the Lok Sabha Rules Committee. Seven more such committees were established in 2004, bringing the total number of such committees to 24.
The main goal of the standing committees is to ensure that the Executive (i.e., the Council of Ministers) is more accountable to Parliament, particularly in terms of financial accountability. They also assist Parliament in more effectively debating the budget.
The 24 standing committees have jurisdiction over all of the Central Government's ministries and departments. Each standing committee is made up of 31 people (21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from RajyaSabha). The Speaker of the Lok Sabha nominates members from among the Lok Sabha's members, just as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha nominates members from among the Rajya Sabha's members.
A minister cannot be nominated for a position on any of the standing committees. If a member is appointed a minister after being nominated to one of the standing committees, he ceases to be a member of the committee. Each standing committee's term of office begins on the date of its formation and ends one year later. The Rajya Sabha has eight standing committees, while the LokSabha has sixteen.
Each of the standing committees has the following responsibilities:
• To take into account the requests for grants made by the relevant ministries/departments before they are debated and voted on in the Lok Sabha. Its report should not contain any references to cutmotions.
• To review bills pertaining to the relevant ministries/departments
• To take into account annual reports from ministries and departments
• To consider national long-term policy documents that have been presented to the Houses.
The following restrictions apply to the operation of these standing committees:
• They should not think about the day-to-day operations of the relevant ministries/departments.
• They should not take up issues that are already being discussed by other parliamentary committees.
It is important to note that the committees' recommendations are advisory in nature and thus do not bind the Parliament.
Each of the standing committees must follow the procedure outlined below when considering grant requests and presenting a report to the Houses.
• The Houses shall adjourn for a specified period after the general discussion on the budget has concluded.
• During the aforementioned period, the committees will consider the concerned ministries' grant requests.
• The committees must submit their reports on time and without requesting additional time.
• The House will consider grant requests in light of the committee reports.
• There will be a separate report on each ministry's grant requests.
Each of the standing committees must examine the bills and report on them using the procedure outlined below:
• The committee will look at the general principles and clauses of the bills that have been referred to it.
• The Committee will only consider bills that have been referred to it after being introduced in one of the Houses.
• The Committee must submit a report on bills within a certain time frame.
The following are some of the advantages of the Parliament's standing committee system:
• There is no partisan bias in their proceedings.
• Their procedure is more flexible than that of the Lok Sabha.
• The system improves parliamentary oversight of the executive branch by making it more detailed, continuous, in-depth, and comprehensive.
• The system ensures cost-effectiveness and efficiency in government spending by requiring ministries and departments to be more cautious in formulating their demands.
• They make it easier for all members of Parliament to participate in and understand how the government works, as well as contribute to it.
• They can use expert or public opinion to create their reports. They have the authority to call in experts and eminent people to testify in front of them and to include their opinions in their reports.
• Opposition parties and the Rajya Sabha can now exert greater financial control over the executive branch.