Chapter Overview

Parliament (संसद) is the Union legislature under Part V, Chapter II (Articles 79–122) of the Constitution. It consists of the President, the Rajya Sabha (राज्य सभा) and the Lok Sabha (लोक सभा). It makes laws, controls the purse and holds the Council of Ministers responsible. Polity papers test it every year: Prelims through exact numbers, articles and procedures; Mains through questions on bicameralism, the Speaker, Money Bills and the decline of committee scrutiny.

What You’ll Learn

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

State the composition, strength, election method and duration of both Houses, and Chhattisgarh’s 11 Lok Sabha and 5 Rajya Sabha seats
Explain the powers of the Speaker and the Chairman, disqualification, anti-defection and privileges
Compare ordinary, Money, Financial and Constitution Amendment Bills, the joint sitting and the President’s veto
Walk through the six stages of the budget, cut motions and the grants under Arts 115 and 116
Use Question Hour, Zero Hour and the various motions correctly
Recall the size and role of the PAC, Estimates Committee, COPU and the 24 DRSCs
Write Mains answers on the Rajya Sabha’s federal role, the Money Bill controversy and parliamentary committees

Prerequisites

Preamble and Salient Features — why India chose a parliamentary system
Union Executive — the President and the Council of Ministers that Parliament checks

Learning Path

Follow the topics in this order:

graph TD
    A["1. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Composition, membership,
Speaker, privileges, powers"] --> B["2. Legislative Procedure
Kinds of bills, joint sitting,
veto, lapse of bills"]
    B --> C["3. Budget and Devices
Six stages, cut motions, grants,
Question Hour, motions"]
    C --> D["4. Parliamentary Committees
PAC, Estimates, COPU,
DRSCs, JPCs"]
    D --> E["5. Quick Revision
One-page sheet"]
    E --> F["Next chapter:
Judiciary"]

Topics in This Chapter

#	Topic	What it covers
1	Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha	Arts 79–106: strength (550/543, 250/245), election, duration, sessions, qualifications, disqualification and anti-defection, Speaker and Chairman, privileges, special powers of the Rajya Sabha, Chhattisgarh’s seats
2	Legislative Procedure	Ordinary, Money (Arts 109–110), Financial (Art 117) and Amendment (Art 368) Bills; stages; joint sitting (Art 108); veto (Art 111); lapse of bills; the 131st Amendment Bill vote (2026)
3	Budget and Parliamentary Devices	Arts 112–117, 266–267; charged expenditure; six budget stages; cut motions; supplementary, excess and vote-on-account grants; Question Hour, Zero Hour, motions
4	Parliamentary Committees	Standing vs ad hoc; PAC, Estimates, COPU; 24 DRSCs; other standing committees; JPCs; declining referral of bills
—	Quick Revision	Every number, article and committee on one page

Where It Is Asked

Paper	What to expect
Prelims P-I (Part 1, India GS)	Fact-based MCQs: maximum strength, age limits, articles (85, 108, 110, 249, 312), who presides over a joint sitting, Money Bill rules, lapse of bills, cut motions, committee sizes. Statement-based and match-the-following formats are common
Mains P-III (GS-I), Constitution and Public Administration	Short answers (Money Bill vs Financial Bill, no-confidence vs censure, PAC vs Estimates Committee) and longer analytical answers (Rajya Sabha as a federal chamber, role of the Speaker, parliamentary control of the executive, committees)

Exam focus

High-yield: 550/250 maximum strength; Speaker presides over joint sittings; Money Bill (14 days, no return, no joint sitting); three joint sittings (1961, 1978, 2002); Arts 249 and 312; cut motions (₹1, ₹100); PAC 22, Estimates 30, DRSCs 24 × 31.
Common mistakes: saying the Lok Sabha can have 552 members (outdated); thinking the Rajya Sabha Chairman presides over joint sittings; putting Rajya Sabha members in the Estimates Committee.
Current, dated facts (as of 2026): the Deputy Speaker’s post in the 18th Lok Sabha remained vacant; the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was defeated in the Lok Sabha on 17 April 2026.
Chhattisgarh angle for Mains: the state was created by a simple-majority law (MP Reorganisation Act, 2000); 11 Lok Sabha seats (4 ST, 1 SC) and 5 Rajya Sabha seats; the Vidhan Sabha mirrors Parliament’s procedure and committees.

Quick Reference: Parliament at a Glance

Item	Lok Sabha	Rajya Sabha
Article	81	80
Maximum / present strength	550 / 543	250 / 245
Election	Direct, first-past-the-post	Indirect, by elected MLAs, STV
Nominated	None (Anglo-Indian seats ended 2020)	12 (literature, science, art, social service)
Duration	5 years unless dissolved	Permanent; one-third retire every 2 years; term 6 years
Minimum age	25	30
Presiding officer	Speaker (elected)	Chairman = Vice-President (ex officio)
Money Bills	Introduced only here	14 days, recommendations only
Special powers	No-confidence; votes demands	Arts 249, 312, 67(b)
Chhattisgarh	11 (4 ST, 1 SC)	5

Article	Remember for
85	Sessions; gap not more than 6 months
100	Quorum one-tenth; casting vote
105	Privileges
108	Joint sitting
110	Money Bill definition
111	Assent and veto
112	Annual Financial Statement
116	Vote on account
368	Constitutional amendment

Start Learning

Begin with the first topic:

→ Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha