B.3. Structure and Functioning of the Indian Parliament

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B.3. Structure and Functioning of the Indian Parliament

The Parliament of India consists of three parts: the PRESIDENT OF INDIA, the Council of States and the House of the People.
President, although integral part of parliament but not a member of either house of parliament. The President does not sit in parliament.
In 1954, the Hindi names ‘Rajya Sabha’ and ‘Lok Sabha’ were adopted by the Council of States and the House of People respectively.
The Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber/Popular House), Represents the People of India as a whole.
The Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber/House of Elders), Represents the States and UTs of the Indian Union.
Unlike Britain and India, the American president is not an integral part of the legislature.
The President performs the following functions relating to parliament.
- Summon both houses.
- Prorogue both houses.
- Addressing both the houses.
- Dissolves the Lok Sabha on recommendation of the cabinet.
- Issues ordinances when houses are not in session

In this aspect, the Indian Constitution follows the British pattern rather than the American pattern.

S.No.	American pattern	British pattern
1.	Legislature (known as Congress) consists of the – Senate (Upper House) House of Representatives (Lower House).	Parliament consists of the – Crown (King or Queen) House of Lords (Upper House) House of Commons (Lower House).
2.	The presidential form of government lays stress on the separation of legislative and executive organs.	Parliamentary form of government emphasises on the interdependence and cooperation between the legislative and executive organs.
3.	The American president is not regarded as a constituent part of the Congress.	India has a ‘President-in-Parliament’ like the ‘Crown-in- Parliament’ in Britain.

Important Topics	Details
Composition of Rajya Sabha in the Indian Parliament (Article 80)	Maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is fixed at 250 (238 Members elected indirectly and 12 nominated by the President) Present Rajya Sabha – Total member strength – 245 Representatives of the States – 229 Representatives of the Union Territories – 4 Members nominated by the president – 12
Representation of States in the Indian Parliament’s Rajya Sabha	Representatives of states in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of state legislative assemblies. Method of Election: System of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. The seats are allotted to the states in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of population. India does not have equal representation to the states in Rajya Sabha. In The USA all states are given equal representation in the Senate irrespective of their population.
Representation of Union Territories in the Indian Parliament’s Rajya Sabha	The representatives of each UTs in the Rajya Sabha are indirectly elected by members of an electoral college specially constituted for the purpose. Method of Election: Through a System of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Only Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir have representation in Rajya Sabha (total eight union territories). The other five UTs have too small populations to have any representative in the Rajya Sabha.
Nominated Members in the Indian Parliament’s Rajya Sabha	12 members nominated by President to the Rajya Sabha from people who have special knowledge or practical experience in art, literature, science and social service. Rationale behind provision – to provide eminent persons a place in the Rajya Sabha without going through the process of election. Unlike India, the American Senate has no nominated members.
Composition of Lok Sabha: Representation and Nomination in the Indian Parliamentary System	Maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is fixed at 552. Representatives of the States and UTs (elected indirectly) Total = 530+20 Members nominated by the President :- 2 from Anglo-Indian community.(Now this provision has been deleted by 104th Amendment of the Indian Constitution)
Composition of Lok Sabha	Total member strength – 543 Representatives of the States – 530 Representatives of the Union Territories – 20
Representation of States in the Lok Sabha	The representatives of states in the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people from the territorial constituencies in the states. The election is based on the principle of universal adult franchise. Eligible age for every Indian citizen to vote is 18 year
Representation of Union Territories in the Lok Sabha and Indian Parliament	The Constitution has empowered the Parliament to prescribe the manner of choosing the representatives of the UTs in the Lok Sabha. Parliament enacted UTs (Direct Election to the House of the People) Act, 1965, by which the members of Lok Sabha from the UTs are also chosen by direct election.
Nomination of Anglo-Indian Community Members in the Indian Parliament	In the current 17th Lok Sabha, no member has been nominated from the Anglo-Indian community. Two Anglo-Indian(Art. 331) community members nominated by the president if the community is not adequately represented in the Lok Sabha. Originally, this provision was to operate till 1960 but has been extended till 2020 by the 95th Amendment Act, 2009. The 104th constitutional amendment does not extend the reservation for the Anglo-Indian community for both Lok Sabha and State legislative assemblies. Consequently, the President of India will no longer nominate two members of the Anglo-Indian community.

According to Art. 366 (2) Anglo Indian – A person whose father or any of whose other male progenitors in the male line is or was of European descent but who is domiciled within the territory of India and is or was born within such territory of parents habitually resident therein and not merely established there for temporary purposes.