At 250th session of Rajya Sabha,Prime minister debate its role

News:The Rajya Sabha chairman has released the first-ever analysis of its legislative work,Rajya Sabha:The Journey since 1952 on the occasion of the 250th session of Rajya Sabha.

Facts:

Key takeaways from the analysis:

• The first sitting of the Rajya Sabha was held on 13th May,1952.The first bill passed by Rajya Sabha was the Indian Tariff (Second Amendment) Bill,1952.
• The first constitutional amendment bill passed by the Rajya Sabha was the Constitution (Second Amendment) Bill,1953 for readjustment of representation in Lok Sabha by increasing the size of population per constituency.
• The Rajya Sabha has passed 3,817 Bills till the end of its 249th session in 2019.
• The representation of women in Rajya Sabha has increased from 15 (6.94%) in 1952 to 31(12.76%) in 2014 but decreased to 26 (10.83%) in 2019.
• The first and the only time when a Presiding Officer of Rajya Sabha cast his vote was for the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance,1991.
• The President Rule approved only by Rajya Sabha has happened only twice in respect of extension of President Rule in Tamil Nadu and Nagaland in 1977 and in case of Haryana in 1991 when Lok Sabha was dissolved.
• The bill passed by Rajya Sabha but rejected by Lok Sabha has happened during the Constitution (Sixty-fourth Amendment) Bill,1990 which had sought to amend Article 356 relating to extension of President’s Rule in Punjab.

Additional information:

About Rajya Sabha:

• The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. 
• Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250 out of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the States and of the two Union Territories.  
• However,the present strength of Rajya Sabha is 245,out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. 
• The members nominated by the President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.
• The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha.The allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State.