Parliament Diary

Both Houses of Parliament adjourned sine die today, bringing the Winter Session to a close. The session was scheduled to go on till Thursday but was cut short by one day. This makes it the fifth consecutive session of Parliament to be curtailed starting with the 2020 Budget Session. 

Both Houses did not transact their listed business today and adjourned immediately after the closing remarks. 

Our Vital Stats document discusses Parliament’s functioning during the Winter Session. Some highlights:

• Lok Sabha functioned for 77% of its scheduled time and Rajya Sabha functioned for 43% of its scheduled time. 
• Four Bills have been referred to committees including the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and the Mediation Bill, 2021. In the current Lok Sabha, only 13% of the bills have been referred to committees. 
• More than 19 hours in Lok Sabha and one hour in Rajya Sabha were spent on non-legislative debates during this session. The topics discussed include climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Parliament spent 16% of its sitting time on such discussions.