Q. With reference to Indian Parliament, Consider the following statements about Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs):
1. They are constitutional bodies mentioned in Part V of the Constitution of India.
2. The term of office of each standing committee is coterminous with the life of Lok Sabha.
3. They secure the accountability of the Council of Ministers towards Parliament.
4. They assist Parliament in scrutinizing the bills referred to it.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are not constitutional bodies. On the recommendation of the Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha, 17 DRSCs were set up in the Parliament in 1993. In 2004, seven more such committees were set up, thus increasing their number from 17 to 24.
Statement 2 is incorrect: The term of office of each standing committee is one year from the date of its constitution.
Statements 3 and 4 are correct: They secure more accountability of the Council of Ministers to the Parliament. They assist the Parliament in thoroughly and systematically scrutinizing the bills and matters which could not be discussed on the floor at length. These bills are referred to the Committee by the Chairman or the Speaker. The Committees also provide the expertise on a matter which is referred to them.
| Important Tips Department Related Standing Committee: • Each Department Related Standing Committee consists of 31 members (21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha). • The members of the Lok Sabha are nominated by the Speaker and the members of the Rajya Sabha are nominated by the Chairman from amongst its members. • A minister is not eligible to be nominated as a member of any of the standing committees. • In case a member, after his nomination to any of the standing committees, is appointed a minister, he then ceases to be a member of the committee |
