The Rajya Sabha, also known as the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots, while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245, after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past-the-post system to represent their respective constituencies, and they hold their seats for five years or until the body is dissolved by the President on the advice of the council of ministers. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Parliament House, New Delhi.
The Parliament of India or Indian Parliament, is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President of India, in their role as head of the legislature, has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha, but they can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and their Union Council of Ministers.
The Government of India is the government of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territories. The government is led by the prime minister who exercises the most executive power and selects all the other ministers. The country has been governed by a NDA-led government since 2014. The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to the Union Council of Ministers—its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet.
The vice president of India is the deputy to the head of state of the Republic of India, i.e. the president of India. The office of vice president is the second-highest constitutional office after the president and ranks second in the order of precedence and first in the line of succession to the presidency. The vice president is also the ex officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections. The speaker does not enjoy a security of tenure and his term is subjected to the pleasure of the house i.e. can be removed anytime by a resolution of the Lok Sabha by a majority of the all the then members of the house. The longest-serving speaker was Balram Jakhar, whose tenure lasted 9 years and 329 days.
This is a brief description of the lawmaking procedure in India.
The 13th Lok Sabha is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha. It was convened after 1999 Indian general election held during September–October 1999.
Ram Kapse was an Indian politician who was Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He represented Thane from 1989 to 1996, winning the seat in 1989 and 1991. He was Chairman of Lok Sabha Committee on Food, Civil Supplies and Public Distribution during 1993–94. He was born in Nashik.
An ex officio member is a member of a body who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ex officio is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right of office'; its use dates back to the Roman Republic.
Suresh Pachouri is an Indian politician and current member of Bharatiya Janata Party from Madhya Pradesh. He had served as union minister of state in the Ministry of Defence (1995-1996) and in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (2004-2008) in the Government of India.
The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. The deputy chairperson is elected internally by the Rajya Sabha.
The Parliament Security Service, headed by Joint Secretary (Security), looks after the security set up in the Indian Parliament House complex. Parliament Security Service is the In-House system to provides proactive, preventive and protective security to the VIPs/VVIPs, building and its incumbents. Parliament Security Services is solely responsible for management of access control and regulation of people, material and vehicles within the historical and prestigious Parliament House Complex.
Dinesh Bahadur Singh is a career India civil servant, mathematician and a scholar who formerly served as Secretary of Rajya Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Parliament of India, i.e. the Upper House in the Indian Parliament.
The Parliament of India is bicameral. Concurrence of both houses are required to pass any bill. However, the framers of the Constitution of India anticipated situations of deadlock between the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. Therefore, the Constitution of India provides for Joint sittings of both the Houses to break the deadlock.
The Secretary General of the Lok Sabha is the administrative head of the Lok Sabha Secretariat. The secretary general is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The post of secretary general is of the rank of the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of India, who is the senior most civil servant to the Indian government.
The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha is an elected Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Upper House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Rajya Sabha that is not in government.
The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha is an elected Member of Lok Sabha who leads the official opposition in the Lower House of the Parliament of India. The Leader of the Opposition is the parliamentary chairperson of the largest political party in the Lok Sabha that is not in government. Rahul Gandhi is currently serving as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
