Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a nation.

Under the Indian

constitution, the term Parliament refers to Indian Legislature. The Parliament of
India is based on the principal of bicameralism (the legislature has 2 houses thus it is
called the bicameral legislature). We have Union legislature or Parliament at the
centre and State legislatures in state to make laws.

The constitution contains three list of subjects :

1. UNION LIST – Consists of subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs,
insurance, currency and coinage, banking etc. Parliament has exclusive authority to make laws on
the subjects contained in this list.
2. STATE LIST – Consists of the matters of state and local importance such as public health and
sanitation. Public order and police, water supply and irrigation, agriculture, local government etc.
The state legislature has extensive powers to frame laws on the listed subjects.
3. CONCURRENT LIST – This list consists of subjects such as economic and social planning, the welfare
of labour, education, newspapers, factories etc. The centre and state have the power to make laws
on the subjects that are mentioned in the concurrent list.

The framers of constitution unanimously decided to strike a balance between the direct representation of
people and the representation of states by establishing two houses ; one representing the people of India
as a whole and the other, the states.

LOK SABHA :- The Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament. Lok Sabha, as the name
signifies, is also known as the house of Parliament because its members are the representatives of
people directly elected by the adult citizens who are eligible to vote.
COMPOSTITION :-
The members of the Lok Sabha cannot be more than 552. The number of seats allotted to the States as well
as Union territories are based on their respective population, out of which :

1. 530 members are to be chosen from the states.

2. 20 members are to be chosen from union territories.
3. If, in the opinion of the President, the Anglo-Indian community is not represented adequately in
the Lok Sabha, he nominates two members from the community.

TENURE :-
1. The members of Lok Sabha are elected for the tenure of five years.
2. The Lok Sabha can be dissolved by the President before its normal tenure expires
3. However, during the period of national emergency, the tenure of Lok Sabha can be extended by a
year by the Parliament.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER – SPEAKER :-

The chief Presiding officer of the Lok Sabha is called the SPEAKER. After a new Lok Sabha is
constituted, the Speaker is elected from the amongst the members of the Lok Sabha. He/she
presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. His/her rulings on the proceedings of the Lok Sabha
are final. It is his/her responsibility to uphold the dignity along with the privileges of the Lok
Sabha. In the absence of the speaker, it is the responsibility of the deputy speaker to carry out the
duties of the speaker.

RAJYA SABHA :- The Rajya Sabha, meaning the council of states, is the upper house of the
Indian Parliament. It represents the states of India. It is an indirectly elected and permanent body
which cannot be dissolved.

COMPOSTITION :-
The members of the Rajya Sabha cannot be more than 250 out of which :

1. 238 members are to be the representatives of the states and the union territories. The
seats are allotted on the basis of population of the state.
2. The representatives of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the Legislative assemblies of various
states.
3. 12 members are to be nominated by the President. These are the persons having practical
experience or specialized knowledge in the fields of science, literature, art and social
service.

TENURE :-
1. Each member of the Rajya Sabha is elected for a tenure of six years.
 2. One third of the members retire every second year and newly elected members replace
them. Thus Rajya Sabha is never fully dissolved and is called the Permanent House of the
Parliament.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER – CHAIRMAN :-

The vice president is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He/she is responsible for
conducting the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha provided that he/she is not acting as the
President of India in the case of vacancy in the office of the president. The Rajya Sabha also
elects a Deputy chairman amongst its members. In the absence of the Chairman, it is the
responsibility of the deputy chairman to preside over the functions and proceedings of the
Rajya Sabha.

SESSIONS OF THE PARLIAMENT :-

The constitution of India states that there should not be an interval of more than six months
between two successive sittings of Parliament. As per parliamentary practices, there are three
types of sessions.

1. BUDGET SESSION : Longest session held between February and May.

2. MONSOON SESSION : This session is held between July and August.
3. WINTER SESSION : Shortest session held from November to December.

FUNCTIONS OF THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA :-

The most significant function of the Parliament is to make laws. The legislative procedure
commences with the introduction of Bill. A bill is a draft statute of a legislative proposal. A Bill
becomes a law only when it is passed by both the houses, LOK SABHA AND RAJYA SABHA, of the
Parliament and assented to by the President of India.

A sample photo of Bill is given below :

OTHER FUNCTIONS OF PARLIAMENT :-