15th Lok Sabha last Parliamentary session: Highlights

Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned Sine Die today. This marks the end of the last Parliamentary Session of the 15th Lok Sabha. The Whistleblower Protection Bill, 2014 and The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2014 were passed by Rajya Sabha today. Both Bills had been passed by Lok Sabha previously. This brings the total count of Bills passed during this Session to 12, of which five were Finance and Appropriation Bills. 177 Bills have been passed in total during the 15th Lok Sabha.

The 7 Legislative Bills passed are:

• The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2013
• The National Institutes of Technology, Science Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2013
• The Governors (Emoluments, Allowances and Privileges) Amendment Bill, 2013
• The Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University Bill, 2012
• The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2011
• The Whistleblower Protection Bill, 2014
• The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014

10 Bills were introduced in this Session. They are:

• The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2014
• The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014
• The Acquisition of Certain Area in Mumbai for Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial Bill, 2014
• The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, 2014
• The Delhi High Court (Amendment) Bill, 2014
• The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Bill, 2014
• The Delhi Hotels (Control of Accommodation) Repeal Bill, 2014
• The Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014
• The Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2014

Productivity

The extended Winter Session of Parliament started on the February 5, 2014. In the 12 sittings since then, Lok Sabha has lost 79% of scheduled time to disruptions, while the Rajya Sabha has lost 73% of scheduled time to disruptions. Both Houses together were productive for 24% of the total time. Question Hour functioned for 11% of its scheduled time in Lok Sabha, with only 8 out of 220 listed Starred Questions were answered in Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, no Questions were orally answered at all in Rajya Sabha.

The overall productivity of the 15th Lok Sabha was 61%. A breakdown of productivity from the 3rd to the current Lok Sabha can be seen here and that of the different sessions of the 15th Lok Sabha can be seen here. From 1952 to 1967, each of the three Lok Sabhas sat for an average of 600 days and more than 3,700 hours. In comparison, the 15th Lok Sabha -- from 2009 till 2013 -- has met for 357 days and 1,338 hours.

Comparison of 14th and 15th (current) Lok Sabha

14th Lok Sabha 15th Lok Sabha

Bills passed in both Houses 248 177

Bills pending 37 in RS, 39 in LS 60 in RS, 68 in LS

Time spent in Lok Sabha 1736 hours 1338 Hours

Time spent on budget discussion 300 hours 260 hours

Time wasted in disruption 255 hours 24 mins 803 mins

Percentage of time wasted 13% 39%

Questions (including short notice) 198 hrs 22 mins 125 hrs and 50 mins

Pending Bills

128 Bills are currently pending in Parliament. Of these, 60 are pending in Rajya Sabha, while 68 are pending in Lok Sabha. All Lok Sabha Bills will now lapse. The highest number of lapsing Bills are in the Ministry of Finance (12), followed by Human Resource Development (10), Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (8), Law and Justice (7) and Home Affairs (5).

Important Bills that will lapse are:

• The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010
• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011
• The Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011
• The Micro Finance Institutions (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2012
• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (Amendment) Bill, 2012
• The Civil Aviation Authority of India Bill, 2013
• The Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013
• The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011
• The Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010
• The Foreign Educational Institutions (Regulation of Entry and Operations) Bill, 2010
• The National Accreditation Regulatory Authority for Higher Educational Institutions Bill, 2010
• The Constitution (112th Amendment) Bill, 2009 (Reserves for women 50% of seats in municipalities)
• The Constitution (110th Amendment) Bill, 2009 (Reserves for women 50% of seats in panchayat)
• The Constitution (One Hundred and Fifteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011 (Goods and Services Tax Bill)
• The Educational Tribunals Bill, 2010