PARLIAMENTARY SESSION - POLITY
News: President’s
address likely to be held in new Parliament
What's in the news?
● The
President’s Address to the joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha
is likely to be held in the new
Parliament, while the rest of the first part of the Budget Session may
continue at the old Parliament, according to sources.
● The
Budget Session of the Parliament commences on January 31 and the first part
will go on till February 10. The Parliament will reconvene on March 12 and go
on till April 6.
Sessions
of Parliament:
●
A session of the Indian
Parliament is the period during which a House meets almost every day
uninterruptedly to manage the business.
●
There are typically three sessions in a year.
●
A session contains many
meetings.
Provisions:
●
The summoning of
Parliament is specified in Article 85 of
the Constitution.
●
The power to convene a
session of Parliament rests with the Government.
●
The decision is taken by
the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs which is formalized by the
President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session.
●
India
does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar.
●
By convention (i.e. not
provided by the Constitution), Parliament meets for three sessions in a year.
Summoning:
●
Summoning is the process
of calling all members of the Parliament to meet.
●
The President summons each House of the Parliament from time to time.
●
The
gap between two sessions of the Parliament cannot exceed 6 months, which means
the Parliament meets at least two times in one year.
●
In general, the sessions
are as follows:
1. Budget
session (February to May)
2. Monsoon
session (July to September)
3. Winter
session (November to December)
Budget
Session:
●
The budget session is
held in February to May every year.
●
It is considered to be a
highly crucial session of the
Parliament.
●
The Budget is usually
presented on the last working day of the month of February.
●
Here, the members discuss
the various provisions of the budget and matters concerning taxation, after the
Finance Minister presents the budget.
●
The budget session is
generally split into two periods with a gap of one month between them.
●
This
session every year starts with the President’s Address to both Houses.
Monsoon
Session:
●
The monsoon session is
held from July to September every year.
●
This is after a break of
two months after the budget session.
●
In this session, matters
of public interest are discussed.
Winter
Session:
●
The winter session of
Parliament is held in mid-November to mid-December every year.
●
It is the shortest session of all.
●
It takes up the matters
that could not be considered upon earlier and makes up for the absence of
legislative business during the second session of the Parliament.