Parliament Winter Session: At a Glance

Parliament met for the last sitting of Winter Session on Tuesday, afterwhich both the houses were adjourned Sine Die.
the Opposition put up a united front and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI File Photo)
the Opposition put up a united front and demanded answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI File Photo)

Parliament met for the last sitting of Winter Session on Tuesday, after which both the houses were adjourned Sine Die.

Ten Bills have been passed by Parliament in this Session.  In addition to this, eights Bills have also been passed by Lok Sabha but could not be taken up in Rajya Sabha due to frequent disruptions.

Key second generation economic reform Bills such as the Insurance Laws(Amendment) Bill, 2008 and the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 remain pending in Rajya Sabha. The GST, which requires a constitutional amendment, is also to be taken up in the next session.

The government is seriously considering bringing an ordinance on Insurance as also would re-promulgate the coal ordinance. In total the houses had 22 sittings. The break-up of proceedings this session:

Winter Session 2014Lok SabhaRajya Sabha

Productivity102%61%

Total Hours of Sitting129 Hours75 Hours

Functioning of Question Hour84%27%

Questions answered Orally9844

Bills Passed1710

Bills Introduced151

Important Discussions 44

*Data as of 22nd December

Productivity

Lok Sabha worked beyond scheduled hours to transact its business, while Rajya Sabha witnessed frequent adjournments due to disruptions.

Lok Sabha functioned for 102% of its scheduled time, while Rajya Sabha worked for 61% of its scheduled time.

Lok Sabha spent 14% of productive time on answering questions, 35% on discussing legislation and 44% discussing non-legislative issues. Rajya Sabha spent 8% on answeringquestions, 34% on discussing legislation and 35% discussing non-;legislative issues.

Legislation

Winter Session 2014PlanPerformance

Bills for Passage1810

Bills for Introduction1716

Bills for Withdrawal56

*Data as of 22nd December

10 Bills were passed by Parliament in this Session. Of these 3 were introduced in this Session.

16 Bills were introduced in this Session. 15 in Lok Sabha and one in Rajya Sabha.

8 Bills were passed by Lok Sabha, but could not be passed by Rajya Sabha due to frequent adjournments.

Of the 15 Bills introduced in Lok Sabha in this Session, 2 were referred to Standing Committees.  While discussing Bills related to coal mines, companies, payment and settlements and motor vehicles, MPs requested that the Bills be referred to a Standing Committee. These Bills were passed without reference to a Standing Committee.

A list of Bills passed and introduced in this Session is given at the end.

Question Hour

Question Hour was a casualty to disruptions in Rajya Sabha, functioning for 27% of its scheduled time. The Upper House had changed the timing of its Question Hour from 11am to 12pm in this Session. However, this did not lead to better functioning of Question Hour.

Question Hour functioned for 84% of its scheduled time in Lok Sabha. This Session saw the highest number of Questions answered orally in Lok Sabha across all Sessions of Parliament since 2004.

98 Questions were answered by Ministers in Lok Sabha, while 44 were answered in Rajya Sabha as of December 22, 2014.

Important Discussions

The session also saw discussions related to black money, religious conversions, natural calamities and dilution of MNREGA in Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha discussed issues related to agrarian crisis, black money, sexual assault of a woman by a cab driver and government's stand on WTO.

Legislative Business Undertaken during Winter Session, 2014 Bills Passed by Parliament in Winter Session, 2014

1. The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014

2. The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining

Registers by certain Establishments)Amendment Bill, 2011

3. The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014

4. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Bill, 2014

5. The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2014

6. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014

7. The Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and

Validation) Bill, 2014

8. The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2013

9. The Merchant Shipping (Second Amendment) Bill, 2013

10. The School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014

Bills Passed by Lok Sabha but not passed by Rajya Sabha in Winter Session, 2014

1. The Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2014

2. The Payment and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014

3. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014

4. The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014

5. The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014

6. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2014

7. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2014

8. The Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill, 2014

Bills Introduced in Lok Sabha but not passed in Winter Session, 2014

1. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas and other related Law (Amendment) Bill,

2014

2. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014

3. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014

4. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2014

Bills Introduced in Rajya Sabha but not passed in Winter Session, 2014

1. The Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014

Bills Withdrawn from Rajya Sabha in Winter Session, 2014

1. The Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011

2. The Protection and Utilisation of Public Funded Intellectual Property Bill, 2008

3. The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2000

4. The Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Repeal Bill, 2014

5. The Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014

6. The Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill, 2010

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