Parliament: Monsoon Session was one of the least productive since 2014

The Rajya Sabha has reported lower productivity than the Lok Sabha consistently in the last few years  (Photo: Reuters)
The Rajya Sabha has reported lower productivity than the Lok Sabha consistently in the last few years  (Photo: Reuters)

Summary

The session was the sixth least productive for the Lok Sabha, and the seventh least productive for the Rajya Sabha

The just-concluded session of Parliament was one of the least productive sessions in the last eight years, with the Lok Sabha sitting for only 47% of its scheduled hours and the Rajya Sabha just 42%, shows data compiled by PRS Legislative Research. This was only the sixth time since 2014 that neither House could clock even half of its scheduled sitting time.

As a result, the Monsoon Session was the sixth least productive for the Lok Sabha and the seventh least productive for the Rajya Sabha since 2014. In the 17th Lok Sabha so far, this was the second worst performance since the Monsoon Session of 2021. The Rajya Sabha has reported lower productivity than the Lok Sabha consistently in the last few years.

Both the Houses were adjourned sine die on Monday, four days ahead of schedule. A series of protests by the Opposition parties against price rise, the Enforcement Directorate's action against the Nehru-Gandhi family and the suspension of Opposition MPs robbed the session of crucial work hours.

The Monsoon and Winter Sessions of Parliament have been less productive in recent years as compared to the Budget Sessions, a comparison of productivity data across sessions of Parliament revealed. The analysis is based on data compiled by PRS Legislative Research.

The Budget Session earlier this year was the third-most productive session in the last eight years, when it clocked a productivity of 123% in terms of hours of sitting. The Monsoon Session of 2020 reported the highest productivity of 145% since 2014.

In terms of legislation passed, the Parliament put up a lacklustre show. The government had planned to introduce 24 bills and pass 32 bills at the beginning of the session, but just six bills could be introduced, while five were passed, according to PRS Legislative Research.

The Monsoon Session was also the session that saw the third fewest bills being passed (five) in the last eight years. This was way below the second Budget Session of 2019, when 30 bills were passed. During the analysis period, the 2015 Monsoon Session was the least productive in terms of passage of bills, when a mere three bills could be passed.

 

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