Roadmap for Answer Writing
1. Introduction
- Define Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs).
- Fact: DRSCs are parliamentary committees comprising members from both Houses, cutting across party lines, established to examine bills, budgets, and policies related to various ministries.
- Highlight their importance in addressing legislative complexities due to limited parliamentary sittings.
- Fact: On average, the Parliament met for only 67 days annually over the last 10 years.
2. Contributions of DRSCs
A. Enhancing Legislative Scrutiny
- Explain how DRSCs work throughout the year to scrutinize bills and policies deeply.
- Fact: They ensure legislative quality by addressing the lack of sufficient time during parliamentary sessions.
B. Providing Technical Expertise
- Describe how DRSCs engage with domain experts and government officials for a nuanced understanding of complex issues.
- Example: Committees reviewing policies like GST implementation benefit from expert opinions.
C. Fostering Political Consensus
- Highlight closed-door meetings that encourage bipartisan discussions and depoliticized decision-making.
- Impact: Facilitates better legislative outcomes due to reduced party biases.
D. Ensuring Financial Accountability
- Discuss their role in reviewing the Demand for Grants, budget allocations, and ministry expenditures.
- Fact: DRSCs scrutinize detailed budget estimates, improving fiscal accountability.
E. Strengthening Policy Formulation
- Explain how DRSCs recommend policy changes and evaluate government action through Action Taken Reports (ATRs).
- Example: ATRs track government implementation of recommendations, ensuring accountability.
3. Challenges and Scope for Improvement
- Acknowledge limitations such as the limited discussion of committee reports in Parliament.
- Propose reforms like periodic reviews of DRSC functioning and greater parliamentary debate on their recommendations.
4. Conclusion
- Reiterate that DRSCs are vital to India’s democracy by improving legislative quality, accountability, and efficiency.
- End by emphasizing the need to strengthen DRSCs for a more vibrant parliamentary democracy.
Relevant Facts for the Answer
- Fact: India has 24 DRSCs—16 under the Lok Sabha and 8 under the Rajya Sabha.
- Fact: DRSCs meet throughout the year, unlike Parliament’s limited sessions.
- Fact: Only a fraction of the budget is debated in Parliament; DRSCs examine the rest in detail.
- Fact: Closed-door committee meetings reduce political grandstanding and improve consensus-building.
Role of Departmentally Related Standing Committees in Strengthening Parliamentary Democracy
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are vital to the functioning of parliamentary democracy in India, enhancing legislative scrutiny, accountability, and inclusiveness. These committees, comprising members from both Houses of Parliament, oversee the functioning of ministries and their respective departments.
Key Contributions:
DRSCs examine Bills referred to them in detail, enabling informed debate in Parliament. They recommend amendments, ensuring legislation is well-drafted and inclusive of diverse perspectives.
These committees analyze Demands for Grants, scrutinizing government expenditure and priorities. This ensures funds are utilized efficiently, promoting transparency and fiscal discipline.
DRSCs assess the performance of ministries, implementation of schemes, and adherence to policy objectives. They highlight gaps and suggest improvements, driving accountability.
Unlike the often partisan nature of parliamentary debates, DRSCs work in a more collaborative environment. Members from different political affiliations deliberate constructively, fostering consensus.
By dedicating time to specific sectors, DRSCs provide nuanced insights, strengthening the quality of governance.
Conclusion
DRSCs bridge the gap between executive actions and legislative oversight, enabling informed decision-making and accountability. Their non-partisan, detailed work strengthens Parliament’s role as a cornerstone of democracy.
The answer provided effectively outlines the contributions of Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) to strengthening parliamentary democracy in India. It highlights key areas such as legislative scrutiny, budgetary oversight, policy examination, and fostering a collaborative environment for consensus-building. However, it could benefit from additional details and specific examples to enhance its depth and credibility.
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Missing Facts and Data:
Historical Context: The evolution of DRSCs and their establishment in 1993 could be mentioned to provide context.
Statistical Data: Including statistics on the number of bills referred to DRSCs or the percentage of recommendations accepted by the government would strengthen the argument.
Examples of Impact: Specific instances where DRSC recommendations led to significant legislative changes or improved government accountability should be included, such as the Standing Committee on Finance’s report on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code .
Challenges Faced: Acknowledging the limitations of DRSCs, such as time constraints and the non-binding nature of their recommendations, would present a balanced view.
Incorporating these elements would provide a more comprehensive evaluation of how DRSCs contribute to parliamentary democracy in India.
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are instrumental in enhancing India’s parliamentary democracy by enabling in-depth legislative scrutiny and fostering accountability.
Key Contributions
DRSCs examine bills, budgets, and policies before their presentation in Parliament. This ensures quality debate and minimizes hasty decision-making. For instance, in 2023-24, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence reviewed defense preparedness and funding gaps, bringing critical insights to light.
These committees demand written responses and testimonies from ministries, holding them accountable. For example, the Public Accounts Committee highlighted irregularities in the 2022 PM CARES Fund allocation, ensuring transparency.
Comprising members from diverse political parties, DRSCs promote bipartisan discussion. This reduces adversarial politics, focusing on national interest.
Challenges
Only 25-30% of bills are referred to DRSCs, reducing their impact. In 2022, critical bills like the Farm Laws Repeal Bill bypassed committee review, sparking criticism.
Committees often lack adequate domain experts, hindering complex policy evaluation.
Conclusion
By promoting informed debate, enhancing accountability, and enabling bipartisan cooperation, DRSCs strengthen parliamentary democracy. However, their effectiveness depends on greater legislative reliance and institutional support. Strengthening DRSC mechanisms will ensure robust democratic governance in India.
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) enhance the quality of legislative functioning and ensure accountability in India’s democracy.
Key Contributions
DRSCs examine bills before parliamentary debate, reducing legislative delays. For example, the committee on education in 2023 reviewed amendments to the Right to Education Act, ensuring inclusivity.
Committees analyze departmental budgets, ensuring efficient resource allocation. In 2022, the DRSC on Health flagged low fund utilization in Ayushman Bharat.
DRSCs demand responses from ministries, fostering transparency. In 2023, the Energy Committee scrutinized progress on renewable energy targets, holding the ministry accountable.
Challenges
Only 26% of bills were referred to DRSCs in 2022, reducing their effectiveness. Furthermore, lack of expert inputs hampers robust scrutiny.
Conclusion
DRSCs strengthen democracy by enabling informed decision-making and accountability. Enhancing their role is essential for effective parliamentary governance.
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are parliamentary committees comprising members from both Houses examining bills, budgets and policies related to specific ministries promoting informed decision making.DRSCs mitigate legislative complexities by providing in depth examination of bills, filling gaps left by limited parliamentary sittings (67 days/year).
Contributions of DRSCs –
Challenges and Scope for Improvement –
DRSCs are vital to India’s democracy, enhancing legislative quality, accountability and efficiency by scrutinizing bills, policies and government actions.Strengthening DRSCs is crucial for a more vibrant parliamentary democracy.
Organalized structure of PARLIAMENT- DEPARTMENTALLY RELATED STANDING COMMITTEES
Introduction
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are part of the two Houses of Parliament: This is directories are actually committees within the government structure, subordinated to certain departments and charged with the consideration of the bills, budgets, and policies. These stand with high importance in the constitution of Indian parliamentary democracy especially in view of the scanty period of sitting of the parliament.
Legislative Scrutiny
They contributed markedly to legislative supervision since DRSCs scrutinize bills of detail throughout the year as well as to evaluate their qualities and the interest of the nation. They consult with policy actors and technical specialists to provide technical content to policy questions. The DRSCs promote bipartisan political opinion because all the meetings are closed-door meetings therefore less polarization and production of efficient legislation.
The task of creating institutional mechanisms of financial accountability.
For instance, DRSCs enhance the aspects of financial accountability in relation to Demand for Grants as well as budgetary provisions and Ministry of expenses. It examines government program implementation reviews looking for gaps and lobbying for change recommendation. Action taken Reports – the follow up by DRSCs on the government response to its implementation of the recommendations provide way for accountability.
Enhancing Policy Making
This is because through their peer review, DRSCs evaluate and may recommend changes on government policies. Through participation of the public and obtaining expert opinions, DRSCs to a certain extent prevent the collapse of peoples’ complains as the policy is being implemented. It also has a monitoring role; monitors the working of Government departments to prevent cases of embezzlement.
Challenges and Opportunity to Improve
The role that DRSCs play is even more critical than it; however, as with any other model, it has its downside: Another issue is that the committees and the reports which are produced by the members of the committees receive less parliament time for deliberation or discussion. This should be avoided by a periodic appraisal of DRSC functioning as well as debates on their recommendations in parliament as often as possible.
Conclusion
DRSCs are necessary for a healthy and effective parliamentary democracy in India. Better legislative quality, accountability, and efficiency contribute toward responding to the needs of citizens by making the government more transparent. Strengthening DRSCs is the key to maintaining a healthy parliamentary system.
Model Answer
Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) play a pivotal role in fortifying India’s parliamentary democracy by enhancing legislative scrutiny, enabling informed decision-making, and fostering accountability. Here’s how they contribute:
1. In-depth Legislative Scrutiny
2. Providing Technical Expertise
3. Consensus Building Across Political Lines
4. Ensuring Financial Accountability
5. Policy Recommendations
Scope for Improvement
While DRSCs significantly enhance Parliament’s functioning, periodic reviews of their effectiveness and wider discussion of their recommendations in Parliament can further strengthen their impact.
Thus, DRSCs serve as vital pillars of parliamentary democracy, ensuring informed decision-making, accountability, and cross-party collaboration.