Why do you think the committees are considered to be useful for parliamentary work? Discuss, in this context, the role of the Estimates Committee.
Approach · directive: “why / discuss”
What it asks · Explain why committees help Parliament do detailed, expert and continuous scrutiny, then set out the composition and functions of the Estimates Committee.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Why committees are useful for parliamentary work: detailed, expert, continuous and less partisan scrutiny
- Discuss the role of the Estimates Committee: composition, functions and its working
Open with · Woodrow Wilson wrote that Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at work; India's Parliament, short of floor time and heavy with business, relies on committees in the same way.
Cover
- Time and detail: committees save floor time, scrutinise Bills and demands for grants closely, and sit between sessions.
- Expertise and consensus: closed, less partisan sittings hear ministries, experts and stakeholders.
- Continuous accountability: financial committees and the DRSCs (rules adopted on 29 March 1993) keep the executive under year-round check.
- Caveat: since then, PRS data show Bill referrals fell from about 71 per cent (15th Lok Sabha) to about 28 per cent (16th); reports are advisory.
- Estimates Committee: Rule 310; 30 Lok Sabha members elected yearly by PR-STV; Speaker names the Chairperson; Ministers ineligible.
- Functions: economies, organisational improvement, efficiency and administrative reform; alternative policies; money well laid out; form of estimates; a sub-committee for Defence estimates.
Close with · Regular referral of Bills and time-bound action-taken replies would make Wilson's insight true of Parliament: in committee it does its real work, and the Estimates Committee guards economy in spending.
Add value (verified)
- The Lok Sabha's own description of the Committee on Estimates lists its functions, beginning with economies, better organisation, efficiency and administrative reform consistent with the policy behind the estimates.Parliamentary Committees, Chapter III (Committee on Estimates) — Lok Sabha, Parliament of India (sansad.in) ↗“to report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency or administrative reform, consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, may be effected”
- Woodrow Wilson, in Congressional Government, contrasted Congress in session with Congress in its committee rooms.Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics (Project Gutenberg eBook #35861) ↗“Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at work.”
- The Committee on Estimates is constituted under Rule 310 of the Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure.Lok Sabha Secretariat: Parliamentary Committees (Chapter 3) ↗“The Committee on Estimates is constituted under provisions of Rule 310 for examination of the estimates as may seem fit to the Committee or are specifically referred to it by the House or the Speaker.”
- The Departmentally Related Standing Committees were set up under rules adopted by both Houses on 29 March 1993.Lok Sabha Secretariat: Parliamentary Committees (Chapter 3) ↗“The Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) are constituted under Rule 331-C of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. On 29th March, 1993 the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adopted Rules”
- The Public Accounts Committee is constituted under Rules 308 and 309 to examine the appropriation accounts of the Government.Lok Sabha Secretariat: Parliamentary Committees (Chapter 3) ↗“Committee on Public Accounts is constituted under the provisions of Rules 308 and 309. Its function is to examine the accounts showing the appropriation of the sums granted by the House to meet the expenditure”
- A sub-committee of the Estimates Committee examines the estimates of the Ministry of Defence.Lok Sabha Secretariat: Parliamentary Committees (Chapter 3) ↗“Whenever estimates relating to the Ministry of Defence are taken up for examination a sub-Committee is constituted from amongst the members of”
- PRS: the share of Bills referred to committees was 60% in the 14th Lok Sabha, 71% in the 15th, 28% in the 16th and 16% in the 17th.Functioning of the 17th Lok Sabha - PRS Legislative Research (February 2024) ↗“60% 71% 28% 16% 0% 50% 100% 14th 15th 16th 17th % Bills referred to Committees”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2018, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 217words · Minimalist IAS
Woodrow Wilson wrote that 'Congress in its committee-rooms is Congress at work'. India's Parliament, short of floor time, relies on committees just as much.
Why committees are useful for parliamentary work
- Time and detail: they save floor time, examine Bills and demands for grants closely, and sit between sessions.
- Expertise and consensus: closed, less partisan sittings hear ministries, experts and stakeholders.
- Continuous accountability: financial committees and the Departmentally Related Standing Committees (rules of 29 March 1993) keep the executive under year-round check.
- Caveat: since then, PRS data show Bill referrals fell from about 71 per cent (15th Lok Sabha) to about 28 per cent (16th); reports bind no one.
Role of the Estimates Committee
- Composition: under Rule 310, 30 Lok Sabha members elected yearly by proportional representation; the Speaker names the Chairperson; Ministers are excluded.
- Economy and efficiency: reports on economies, better organisation, efficiency and administrative reform; suggests alternative policies; checks that money is well laid out; proposes the form of estimates.
- Working method: examines such estimates as it sees fit, with a sub-committee for Defence estimates.
| Committee | Rule | Task |
|---|---|---|
| Estimates | Rule 310 | Economy in estimates |
| Public Accounts | Rules 308–309 | Accounts, CAG reports |
Regular referral of Bills and time-bound action-taken replies would make Wilson's insight true of Parliament, with the Estimates Committee guarding economy in public spending.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 3 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
