Data | 2021 Monsoon session: LS passed 14 Bills after discussing each less than 10 minutes

The average time spent on discussing a Bill dropped from 213 minutes in 2019 to 85 minutes in 2021

A view of the Lok Sabha during the monsoon session of Parliament, in New Delhi on August 9, 2021.

During the latest monsoon session, 15 Bills were introduced and passed by Parliament in the same session, with a minimal amount of time spent on debating them. The Lok Sabha (LS) did not send any of the Bills to a select committee for further scrutiny, which has not been witnessed in any of the past 22 sessions. The latest LS session also recorded a very high number of disruptions. Over 74 hours were lost due to interruptions, the third-highest for any session since 2014.

■ In the latest monsoon session, 14 Bills were passed in the LS after debates spanning 10 minutes or less.

■ In the 15th LS session, 71% of Bills were referred to a committee and only 12% were referred in the 17th LS.

Disrupted sessions

About 74.46 hours were lost to interruptions/forced adjournments during the latest monsoon session (6th session of the 17th LS) of the lower house, the third-highest since 2014. In only three of the past 23 LS sessions, the number of sitting hours (indicated by green) is fewer than the hours disrupted (indicated by red), and the latest session is one among them. Each row represents a session. For instance, the first row corresponds to the 8th session of the 16th LS.

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Discussion time goes down

During the latest monsoon session (MS), as many as 14 Bills were passed by the LS after debating them for 10 minutes or less (indicated by red). In the rest of the 22 sessions since 2014, only 12 such Bills were passed. The average time spent on discussing a Bill dropped from 213 minutes in 2019 to 85 minutes in 2021.

 

Referred to committee

None of the 15 Bills introduced and passed during the latest monsoon session were referred to a select committee, which is a new low. The share of Bills referred to committees have drastically decreased since 2014. About 60% and 71% of Bills were referred to committees in the 14th and 15th LS. This reduced to 27% and 12% in the 16th and 17th LS.

 

Passed in same session

In the recent session, 15 new Bills were introduced in Parliament and all of them were passed in the same session. The share of Bills introduced and passed in the same session has peaked at 100% in the latest session. About 18% of Bills were introduced and passed in the same session during the 15th LS. This increased to 33% and 70% in the 16th and 17th LS.

 

Source: PRS Legislative, Lok Sabha