Parliament Diary

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die today. 

Some key highlights from this session: 

The highest number of working hours in Lok Sabha in the last 20 years  

• During this session, Lok Sabha worked for 281 hours which is 135% of the scheduled hours.  This is higher than any other session of Parliament in the past 20 years.  On average, Lok Sabha has worked for 81% of its scheduled time in the past 20 years. 

​Lok Sabha spent 46% of its time on legislative business; Rajya Sabha spent 51%

• Lok Sabha spent 46% of its time on legislative business.  The corresponding figure for Rajya Sabha is 51%. 

28 Bills were introduced and passed in the same session; no new Bill referred to committees

• 38 Bills were introduced in Parliament during the Budget Session (excluding the Finance and Appropriation Bills).  28 Bills out of these were passed during this session.  This is the highest for any session in the last 10 years    
• None of the Bills introduced in this session were referred to a Committee. 
• Out of 28  Bills passed by Parliament, 5 bills had been scrutinised by committees in some form during the period of previous Lok Sabha.
• During the Budget Session, 25 Bills (66%) were discussed within five working days from their introduction.  3 Bills were introduced, discussed, and passed on the same day in Rajya Sabha.     

7 Bills in Lok Sabha and 7 Bills in Rajya Sabha had recorded vote at some stage 

• During this session, Lok Sabha passed 33 Bills (excluding Finance and Appropriation Bills), out of which, in 7 cases, division was recorded (21%) at some point during the discussion. 
• This is higher than the 16th Lok Sabha, in which, the division was called for 8% of the Bills.   

36% of questions were answered orally in Lok Sabha; the highest in the last 20 years

• Question Hour functioned for 95% of its scheduled time in Lok Sabha and, 65% in Rajya Sabha during this session.

94% first-term MPs participated in a debate during the session; 96% women MPs participated

Lok Sabha does not have a Deputy Speaker after 50 days

• Article 93 of the constitution states that Lok Sabha is required to elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker as soon as possible.
• From the 9^th Lok Sabha, days to the election of the Deputy Speaker has increased.
• During the 12^th Lok Sabha, the post of the Deputy Speaker was vacant till 269 days after the commencement of the first session. 

The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 was passed by Lok Sabha today. This Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha yesterday. The Bill provides for reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.  

Three Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha today. These include the Consumer Protection Bill, 2019, the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, and the National Institute of Design (Amendment) Bill.