Departmental Related Standing Committees of Parliament

 

Departmental Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are an important mechanism of parliamentary control over the executive in India. They provide Parliament with an opportunity to examine the policies, programmes, expenditure and functioning of different Ministries and Departments of the Government of India in greater detail. Since Parliament has limited time to discuss every aspect of government administration, these committees undertake detailed and specialised scrutiny and submit their reports to the Houses.

The DRSC system is particularly important for strengthening legislative oversight, financial accountability, transparency and administrative efficiency.

Origin and Development

The system of Departmentally Related Standing Committees was introduced in 1993. Initially, 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees were constituted. The system was subsequently expanded, and since 2004, there have been 24 DRSCs.

These committees cover almost all the major Ministries and Departments of the Union Government. The committees are divided between the two Houses of Parliament. 16 committees are serviced by and associated with the Lok Sabha, while 8 are associated with the Rajya Sabha.

The committees are constituted every year and normally have a one-year tenure.

Composition of DRSCs

Each Departmentally Related Standing Committee consists of 31 members:

21 members from the Lok Sabha

10 members from the Rajya Sabha

Members are nominated by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, respectively.

A significant feature of these committees is that Ministers cannot be nominated as members. This is intended to ensure that the committees can scrutinise the functioning of ministries without the concerned ministers being members of the committee.

If a member of a committee becomes a Minister, he or she ceases to be a member of that committee.

Chairperson of the Committee

The Chairperson of a DRSC is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, as applicable.

The chairperson plays an important role in conducting meetings, guiding discussions, deciding the order of business and ensuring that the committee completes its examination and presents its reports.

The chairperson may belong to either the ruling party or the opposition, depending on the committee and the House concerned.

Major Functions of Departmentally Related Standing Committees

The functions of DRSCs are broad, but their most important responsibility is the scrutiny of the Demands for Grants of Ministries and Departments.

1. Examination of Demands for Grants

Every year, the Government presents its Budget before Parliament. Each Ministry and Department makes demands for funds for carrying out its programmes and activities.

The DRSC examines the Demands for Grants of the ministries and departments assigned to it. It can examine whether the proposed expenditure is justified, whether government programmes are being implemented effectively and whether public money is being utilised properly.

The committee submits its report to Parliament.

However, the committee does not examine the overall policy underlying the Demand for Grants. It focuses on the expenditure and related matters within the scope permitted by the parliamentary rules.

The committee also cannot suggest that the amount of a Demand for Grant should be increased. The final authority regarding voting on Demands for Grants remains with the Lok Sabha.

2. Examination of Bills

DRSCs can examine Bills relating to the ministries and departments under their jurisdiction when such Bills are referred to them by the Presiding Officers.

The committee examines the provisions of the Bill in detail and considers whether changes are necessary.

It may consider:

the objectives of the Bill;

the implications of its provisions;

administrative consequences;

financial implications;

evidence and views from experts or stakeholders, where appropriate; and

whether amendments are necessary.

The committee then prepares and presents a report containing its observations and recommendations.

It is important to remember that not every Bill is automatically referred to a DRSC.

3. Examination of Annual Reports

The committees examine the Annual Reports of the Ministries and Departments assigned to them.

An annual report provides information regarding the activities, achievements, programmes and performance of a ministry or department during a particular period.

By examining these reports, committees can assess whether the ministry has achieved its stated objectives and whether government programmes are functioning effectively.

4. Examination of Long-Term Policy Documents

DRSCs may examine important national basic long-term policy documents presented to Parliament and referred to them by the Presiding Officers.

This enables Parliament to examine major policy initiatives beyond the immediate annual budgetary cycle.

Through such examination, committees can consider the likely impact of government policies and make recommendations for improvement.

What DRSCs Cannot Do

The powers of Departmentally Related Standing Committees are important, but they are not unlimited.

A DRSC generally cannot:

consider matters of day-to-day administration;

consider matters that fall under the jurisdiction of another parliamentary committee;

examine the overall policy underlying a Demand for Grant;

interfere directly in the administration of a Ministry or Department; or

exercise the executive powers of the Government.

The committees are essentially scrutiny and advisory bodies, not executive bodies.

Working of a DRSC

The working of a Departmentally Related Standing Committee can be understood as a continuous parliamentary examination process.

First, the committee receives matters within its jurisdiction. During the Budget session, it examines the Demands for Grants of the concerned Ministries and Departments.

The committee may call officials of the concerned ministry or department to provide information and explanations. It may also obtain information, examine documents and, where appropriate, hear evidence from experts and other stakeholders.

After completing its examination, the committee prepares a report containing its observations and recommendations.

The report is then presented to the concerned House or laid on the Table of the House, according to parliamentary procedure.

The Government is expected to provide a response to the recommendations. The committee can subsequently examine the government's action taken on its recommendations through Action Taken Reports.

DRSCs and Parliamentary Financial Control

One of the most important contributions of DRSCs is strengthening Parliament's control over public expenditure.

The Constitution establishes Parliament's authority over government finances. However, detailed examination of thousands of pages of budgetary demands cannot be effectively conducted only through debates on the floor of the House.

DRSCs therefore act as specialised parliamentary bodies. They examine the expenditure proposals of individual ministries and departments and bring greater attention to financial management.

They help MPs ask important questions such as:

Is the expenditure justified?

Are allocated funds being properly utilised?

Are government schemes achieving their objectives?

Are there delays in implementation?

Is there duplication of expenditure?

Can public resources be used more efficiently?

Thus, DRSCs contribute to financial accountability and parliamentary oversight.

DRSCs and Executive Accountability

India follows a parliamentary form of government in which the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

Parliamentary committees strengthen this principle of responsibility by allowing MPs to scrutinise the functioning of government in greater detail.

Floor debates often involve political discussion and limited time. Committee proceedings, in contrast, provide an opportunity for detailed examination of specific subjects.

Therefore, DRSCs help ensure that the executive remains accountable to the legislature.

Confidential Nature of Committee Proceedings

Parliamentary committee proceedings are generally conducted in a more specialised and comparatively less public manner than debates on the floor of the House.

This enables members belonging to different political parties to examine issues in detail and question officials and experts.

The committee system can therefore facilitate non-partisan and constructive examination, although members may naturally have different political viewpoints.

Recommendations of DRSCs

The recommendations made by DRSCs are generally recommendatory in nature. They do not have the same binding force as a law passed by Parliament.

However, this does not make them unimportant.

The concerned Ministry or Department is required to consider the recommendations and provide an Action Taken Report or a response indicating the action taken or proposed.

The committee can then examine the government's response and prepare further reports where necessary.

Thus, there is a continuing process:

Examination → Report → Government Response → Action Taken Examination → Further Report

This mechanism strengthens accountability.

24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees

There are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees. They are divided between the two Houses.

Committees associated with Lok Sabha

The 16 committees associated with the Lok Sabha cover areas such as:

1. Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing

2. Chemicals and Fertilizers

3. Coal, Mines and Steel

4. Defence

5. Energy

6. External Affairs

7. Finance

8. Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution

9. Health and Family Welfare

10. Home Affairs

11. Information Technology

12. Labour, Textiles and Skill Development

13. Petroleum and Natural Gas

14. Railways

15. Rural Development and Panchayati Raj

16. Water Resources

Committees associated with Rajya Sabha

The 8 committees associated with the Rajya Sabha cover areas such as:

1. Commerce

2. Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports

3. Environment, Forests and Climate Change

4. Industry

5. Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice

6. Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change

7. Transport, Tourism and Culture

8. Housing and Urban Affairs

Note: The exact allocation/nomenclature of subjects can be revised through parliamentary rules and subsequent reorganisation, so for an examination requiring the latest committee-wise ministry allocation, the current Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha Secretariat list should be checked.

Difference Between DRSCs and Other Parliamentary Committees

The DRSC system should not be confused with other important parliamentary committees.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) mainly examines government expenditure and the reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

The Estimates Committee examines estimates included in the Budget and suggests economies and improvements in administration.

The Committee on Public Undertakings examines the functioning and reports of public sector undertakings.

The Departmentally Related Standing Committees, on the other hand, have a broader departmental focus. They examine the Demands for Grants, Bills, annual reports and long-term policy documents relating to the ministries and departments under their jurisdiction.

Importance of DRSCs

DRSCs have become an essential part of India's parliamentary system because modern government administration is highly complex. Ministries deal with subjects ranging from defence and finance to technology, health, education, environment and rural development.

A detailed examination of these subjects is difficult during ordinary parliamentary debates.

The committee system provides MPs with additional time and a specialised institutional mechanism to examine government policies and expenditure.

The major advantages of DRSCs include:

Detailed scrutiny: They allow Parliament to examine government work in depth.

Financial accountability: They scrutinise Demands for Grants and expenditure-related matters.

Executive accountability: They keep Ministries and Departments answerable to Parliament.

Expert examination: Committees can obtain evidence and information from officials, experts and stakeholders.

Continuity: Their work continues beyond individual parliamentary debates.

Better legislation: Examination of Bills can identify technical, legal and administrative problems before legislation is finalised.

Non-partisan discussion: Members from different political parties can participate in detailed committee discussions.

Limitations of DRSCs

Despite their importance, DRSCs also have certain limitations.

Their recommendations are not binding on the Government. A Ministry may accept, partially accept or not accept a recommendation, subject to parliamentary procedure and the requirement to respond.

Another limitation is that the committees have limited time to examine the Demands for Grants. The volume and complexity of government expenditure can make detailed scrutiny difficult.

The committees also cannot examine matters of day-to-day administration, which restricts the extent to which they can directly investigate administrative functioning.

Furthermore, the committees depend significantly on information supplied by government departments and other sources.

Conclusion

Departmentally Related Standing Committees are a vital component of parliamentary democracy in India. They bridge the gap between broad parliamentary debate and detailed legislative and financial scrutiny. Through examination of Demands for Grants, Bills, annual reports and long-term policy documents, they help Parliament exercise effective control over the executive.

Although their recommendations are not binding, their reports provide an important mechanism for improving government policies, ensuring financial discipline and strengthening accountability.

For competitive examinations such as UPSC, UGC-NET, SLET, ADRE and other state-level examinations, the most important facts to remember are: DRSCs were introduced in 1993; there are 24 committees; each normally has 31 members—21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha; ministers cannot be members; their tenure is one year; and their major functions include examination of Demands for Grants, Bills, annual reports and long-term policy documents.

Sources: Constitution of India; Lok Sabha Secretariat, Parliamentary Committees; Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Parliamentary Committees; Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha; Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Rajya Sabha; M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity; IGNOU study material on Indian Parliament and parliamentary committees.