Parliament — The Two Houses and How a Bill Becomes Law

Parliament Has Three Parts, Not Two

Article 79 says Parliament means the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The President sits in neither House, yet no bill becomes law without assent — so dropping the President from the definition is the first mistake candidates make.

• ›Lok Sabha — the House of the People. Directly elected. Maximum strength 550: up to 530 from the states and up to 20 from the Union Territories. Present strength 543. Term of five years, but it can be dissolved earlier.
• ›Rajya Sabha — the Council of States. Maximum 250: 238 elected by the elected members of state and UT legislatures, and 12 nominated by the President from literature, science, art and social service. Present strength 245.

Every recruitment paper — teacher, SSC, Railway, state services — carries two to four marks from this chapter, and the marks go to numbers and article names, not to opinions.

1. Which Article of the Constitution defines a Money Bill?

2. What is the maximum permitted strength of the Rajya Sabha?

3. Who presides over a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament?

4. For how long can the Rajya Sabha retain a Money Bill sent to it by the Lok Sabha?

5. Which of the following can be introduced ONLY in the Lok Sabha?

6. How many times has a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament been convened since 1950?

7. Under Article 75(3), the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to —

8. Which power belongs exclusively to the Rajya Sabha?