Which are various Standing Committees?
Q. Which of the following are Standing Committees?
1) Joint Committee on Offices of Profit.
2) General Purposes Committee.
3) Business Advisory Committee.
4) Railway Convention Committee.- Published on 03 Mar 17a. 1, 2, 3
b. 2, 3, 4
c. 3, 4
d. All of the above
ANSWER: 1, 2, 3
- The functions of the Parliament are varied, complex and voluminous.
- It has neither the adequate time nor necessary expertise to make a detailed scrutiny of all legislative measures and other matters.
- Hence, it is assisted by a number of committees in the discharge of its duties.
- The Constitution of India mentions these committees, but without any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions etc.
- All these matters are dealt by the rules of two Houses.
Accordingly, a parliamentary committee means a committee that -
(a) Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman 1.
(b) Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
(c) Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
(d) Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.
- The consultative committees, which also consist of members of Parliament, are not parliamentary committees as they do not fulfill above four conditions.
- A Minister is not eligible for election or nomination to the Financial Committees, Departmental Standing Committees, Committees on Empowerment of Women, Government Assurances, Petitions, Subordinate Legislation and Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
- Broadly, Parliamentary Committees are of 2 types - Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
- Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
- Ad hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
Standing Committees - On basis of the nature of functions, standing committees can be classified into six categories -
1. Financial Committees -
(a) Public Accounts Committee.
(b) Estimates Committee.
(c) Committee on Public Undertakings.
2. Departmental Standing Committees (24 in number).
3. Committees to Inquire -
(a) Committee on Petitions.
(b) Committee of Privileges.
(c) Ethics Committee.
4. Committees to Scrutinize and Control-
(a) Committee on Government Assurances.
(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
(c) Committee on Papers Laid on the Table.
(d) Committee on Welfare of SCs and Sts.
(e) Committee on Empowerment of Women.
(f) Joint Committee on Offices of Profit.
5. Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House -
(a) Business Advisory Committee.
(b) Committee on Private Members’ Bills and Resolutions.
(c) Rules Committee.
(d) Committee on Absence of Members from Sittings of the House.
6. House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees (i.e., Committees concerned with the Provision of Facilities and Services to Members) -
(a) General Purposes Committee.
(b) House Committee.
(c) Library Committee.
(d) Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members.
