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and two houses i.e., Lok Sabha (Lower House) and Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
2) Lok Sabha (Lower House)
It is the house of people
Its members are directly elected by the people
It represents the people of India
3) Rajya Sabha (Upper House)
It is the second House is the Council of States
Its members are indirectly elected
It represents the states of India
4) Role of President
He / she is not a member of any of the two Houses but is an integral part of the
Parliament
No Bill can become a law without her/his approval.
5) Define the three types of Lists?
Ans. To ensure that the Union and the State Governments have a definite jurisdiction of
legislative powers without any conflict or overlapping of functioning, the makers of our
Constitution enumerated and divided all the subjects on which laws could be made into
three lists –
1) Union List –
This list contains 97 subjects of the national importance
Only the parliament has the exclusive power to legislate to them
Some of the subjects in this list are defence, foreign affairs, war and peace,
railways, post offices, foreign exchange etc.
2) State List –
This list contains 66 subjects of state importance
The state legislature has exclusive power to make laws on these subjects
In some circumstances, the parliament can also make laws on subjects
mentioned in the State List
Some of the subjects in this list are police, local government, public health &
sanitation, agriculture, forests etc.
3) Concurrent List –
This list contains 52 subjects
The Parliament as well as the state Legislatures both make laws on the subjects
enlisted this list
In case of some conflicts, the central law prevails over the state laws
Subjects in this list are agricultural land, adulteration of foodstuffs, drugs and
medicines, labour welfare etc.
4) Residuary subjects
The subjects not included in the above mentioned three lists or any such matter
which will arise with the passage of time
These subjects come under the central government and the Parliament can make
laws on it.
Subjects in this list are computer software and hardware, e-commerce,
information technology etc.
1. The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha shall not exceed 552
2. Out of this 552, 530 members are directly elected by the people from different states
whereas the remaining 20 are elected from the Union Territories and the rest two
members are nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian community.
3. Elections are based on secret ballot and the candidate getting the highest number of
votes in a constituency is declared elected.
4. If the Anglo-Indian Community is not represented adequately in the Lok Sabha, the
President of India has the power to nominate two members from this community
5. Some seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
Tenure
The normal term of Lok Sabha is five years. However the President of India can
dissolve it earlier also on the recommendation of the Prime Minister
The term of Lok Sabha can be extended for a period of one year at a time, if such
a bill is passed by the Parliament to meet some emergency situation
The speaker and the deputy speaker are elected by the members from amongst
themselves
Normally, the speaker is elected from the majority party and the Deputy Speaker
is from the opposition party.
The vice president of India is the ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He/she
presides the meetings of the Rajya Sabha and maintains the decorum & discipline
of the House.
Since he/she is not a member of the House, he/she cannot vote on any issue
unlike the Lok Sabha Speaker
the Deputy Chairman is elected from the members themselves and performs the
duties of the Chairman in his/her absence
Legislative Powers
Financial Powers
The annual budget of the Central Government is passed by the Parliament every
year
The government cannot impose any tax or incur any expenditure if the proposals
are not approved by the Parliament
Regarding money matters, Lok Sabha is much more powerful than Rajya Sabha.
The money bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha
If Rajya Sabha makes any recommendation regarding a money bill, Lok Sabha
may or may not accept it
Regarding amendment of the Constitution, both the houses enjoy equal power.
An amendment bill can be introduced in either House, but it must be passed by
each House separately
The Constitution of India provides three methods of amending the Constitution.
Judicial Powers
Electoral Functions
The members of the Parliament exercise their right to vote to elect the President
the Vice President of India.