How the Indian Parliament Works Day to Day
India's Parliament, the supreme legislative body of the Indian Republic, is a bicameral institution composed of two Houses and the President of India in their legislative capacity. The Lok Sabha, or House of the People, is the lower house: 543 members elected directly by citizens through the first-past-the-post system in single-member constituencies, serving five-year terms unless dissolved earlier.
The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, is the upper house: a permanent body of up to 245 members, of whom 233 are elected by state and union territory legislative assemblies through proportional representation, and 12 are nominated by the President for distinguished contributions to art, literature, science, or social service. The Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved — one-third of its members retire every two years. The two houses together with the President constitute Parliament, and no bill can become law without passing through both houses and receiving Presidential assent, with defined exceptions for Money Bills.
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| Representational Image: How the Indian Parliament Works Day to Day |
The Constitution requires that no more than six months pass between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next, ensuring Parliament meets at least twice annually. A session consists of multiple sittings, typically two per day — 11 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 6 pm — though adjusted for specific business. Since September 2023, both houses sit in the new Parliament building (Sansad Bhavan), inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi on May 28, 2023, which provides an expanded Lok Sabha hall seating 888 members and a Rajya Sabha hall seating 384.
What You Need to Know
- The
18th Lok Sabha, elected in May 2024, has 543 elected members; the Rajya
Sabha has 245 members, of whom 233 are elected and 12 nominated; the
President of India constitutes the third component of Parliament under
Article 79.
- Parliament
typically meets three times annually: Budget Session (February–May),
Monsoon Session (July–September), and Winter Session (November–December);
the Constitution mandates sessions such that no gap of more than six
months separates them.
- The
first hour of each Lok Sabha sitting is Question Hour (11 am to 12 noon);
in Rajya Sabha it is held from 11 am to 12 noon since 2014; Zero Hour
follows and allows members to raise urgent public issues without advance
notice.
- PRS
Legislative Research data shows the 17th Lok Sabha (2019–2024) held 274
sittings over five years — an all-time low — and functioned at 88% of its
scheduled time, with Rajya Sabha at 73%.
- Quorum
— the minimum number required for business to proceed — is one-tenth of
total membership: 55 in Lok Sabha and 25 in Rajya Sabha; if quorum is not
present, the presiding officer adjourns or suspends proceedings.
How It Works in Practice
1. Opening of a sitting: Each sitting begins with the
national anthem and a prayer. Question Hour follows immediately in Lok Sabha.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chairman of Rajya Sabha preside over their
respective houses; the Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of
Rajya Sabha. On the day the President addresses a joint sitting in the Central
Hall — typically the opening day of the Budget Session — there is no Question
Hour.
2. Question Hour: The first hour is devoted to
questions that MPs raise about any aspect of government activity. Starred
questions (printed on green paper and marked with an asterisk in Lok Sabha) are
those for which oral answers are sought; up to 20 may be listed for oral answer
on any day. Unstarred questions receive written replies; up to 230 may be
listed per day. Each MP may submit up to five question notices for any given
day; questions must be submitted at least 15 days in advance. Ministries
receive questions 15 days in advance and prepare ministers accordingly, with
government officials seated in the gallery to pass notes during the session.
3. Zero Hour and other instruments: Following
Question Hour, the Lok Sabha takes up miscellaneous items before the main
business of the day. These include Calling Attention notices, matters under
Rule 377 (constituency issues), presentation of committee reports, and Zero
Hour — which allows MPs to raise urgent matters of public importance without
advance notice. Zero Hour is not written into the formal rules but has evolved
by convention since the early years of Parliament.
4. Main business: The main business of the day may be
consideration of a bill, financial business (Demands for Grants, Appropriation
Bills), or consideration of motions and resolutions. Bills undergo three
readings in each House. Government business is scheduled by the Leader of the
House; opposition parties coordinate through the Leader of Opposition and their
respective whips.
5. Adjournment: A sitting may be adjourned —
suspended for a period — or adjourned sine die (indefinitely) at the end of
business. The President prorogues a session within a few days of sine-die
adjournment. Only the Lok Sabha can be dissolved; the Rajya Sabha is permanent.
On dissolution, all bills pending in the Lok Sabha lapse; bills pending only in
the Rajya Sabha do not.
What People Often Misunderstand
- The
President does not participate in parliamentary deliberations: As head
of the legislature, the President summons, prorogues, and addresses
Parliament, and gives assent to bills — but does not sit in, vote, or
debate in either house.
- Rajya
Sabha is not simply a rubber stamp: On most ordinary bills it has
equal powers with Lok Sabha; only on Money Bills and in no-confidence
motions is Lok Sabha's authority decisive; the Rajya Sabha has played a
substantive role in amending major legislation.
- Parliament
sitting days are far fewer than in comparable democracies: The 17th
Lok Sabha averaged approximately 55 sitting days per year; the UK
Parliament meets for 150–170 days annually; the US Congress for
approximately 260 days, according to PRS Legislative Research comparisons.
- Zero
Hour is not in the rulebook: It is a convention, not a formal
provision; its continued operation depends on the goodwill of the
presiding officer and cooperation of both sides of the house.
- A
session cut short is not necessarily a failure: Sessions are sometimes
curtailed or extended based on the government's legislative agenda; the
scheduled session duration is not constitutionally fixed.
What Changes Over Time
The new Parliament building inaugurated in May 2023 provides
substantially expanded seating capacity and digital infrastructure, including
an expanded Lok Sabha hall designed to accommodate future delimitation of
constituencies. The NeVA (National e-Vidhan Application) platform is
progressively digitising parliamentary records, proceedings, and question
management across Parliament and state legislatures. PRS data shows a clear
trend of declining sitting days across successive Lok Sabhas since the 1950s —
though productivity measured as percentage of scheduled time has fluctuated
based on disruptions rather than declining uniformly.
Sources and Further Reading
- Lok
Sabha — Official proceedings and questions: https://sansad.in/ls
- Rajya
Sabha — Official website: https://rajyasabha.nic.in
- PRS
Legislative Research — Vital Stats (session data): https://prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/vital-stats
- Ministry
of Parliamentary Affairs — Manual of Parliamentary Procedures: https://www.mpa.gov.in/sites/default/files/Manual2018_0_0.pdf
- Wikipedia
— Parliament of India: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_India