Do Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees keep the administration on its toes and inspire reverence for parliamentary control? Evaluate the working of such committees with suitable examples.
Approach · directive: “evaluate”
What it asks · Assess how effective the DRSCs are as instruments of oversight, weighing strengths and weaknesses with examples, and give a reasoned verdict.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Evaluate whether DRSCs keep the administration on its toes: structure, functions and strengths, with examples
- Evaluate their weaknesses and whether they inspire reverence for parliamentary control
- Give a reasoned verdict and improvements
Open with · Both Houses adopted rules on 29 March 1993 creating 17 DRSCs; they grew to 24 in July 2004 and now carry scrutiny into every ministry.
Cover
- Structure: 24 committees of 31 members (21 Lok Sabha, 10 Rajya Sabha), one-year terms; a Minister cannot be a member.
- Functions: Demands for Grants, referred Bills, annual reports and long-term policy, followed up through action-taken reports.
- Strengths: technical, evidence-based, cross-party scrutiny away from floor partisanship; e.g. the Home Affairs Committee on the 2023 criminal law Bills, later withdrawn and redrafted.
- Weaknesses: recommendations are not binding, one-year terms break continuity, research support is thin and attendance uneven.
- Declining referral (PRS): 60% of Bills in the 14th Lok Sabha, 71% in the 15th, 28% in the 16th and 16% in the 17th.
- Verdict and way forward: effective where Bills and budgets reach them; needs routine referral, longer terms, research staff and time-bound action-taken reports.
Close with · Parliamentary control is revered when it is used: restoring routine referral, as in the 15th Lok Sabha, would let DRSCs keep the administration on its toes.
Add value (verified)
- There are 24 Department-related Standing Committees covering all ministries, each with 31 members (21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha) and a term not exceeding one year.Parliamentary Committees: membership and tenure - Lok Sabha Secretariat (sansad.in) ↗“There are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees covering under their jurisdiction all the Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India. Each of these Committees consists of 31 Members - 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha”
- PRS Legislative Research: only 16 per cent of Bills in the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24) were referred to committees for detailed scrutiny, lower than in the previous three Lok Sabhas.Functioning of the 17th Lok Sabha - PRS Legislative Research (10 February 2024) ↗“16% of Bills were referred to Committees for detailed scrutiny. This is lower than corresponding figures for the previous three Lok Sabhas.”
- The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha adopted rules on 29 March 1993 establishing 17 DRSCs, formally constituted from 8 April 1993; in July 2004 the number rose to 24.Parliamentary Committees, Chapter III - Lok Sabha Secretariat (sansad.in) ↗“After experiencing the working of the DRSC system for over a decade, the system was re-structured in July, 2004 wherein the number of DRSCs was increased from 17 to 24.”
- A Minister is not eligible to be a member of a DRSC, and each committee considers the Demands for Grants of its ministries.Parliamentary Committees, Chapter III - Lok Sabha Secretariat (sansad.in) ↗“A Minister is not eligible to be elected as a member of the Committee”
- 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”
- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 went to the Standing Committee (report 10 November 2023) and was withdrawn in the Lok Sabha on 12 December 2023.The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 - PRS Legislative Research bill track ↗“In Committee Standing Committee Aug 11, 2023 Report Standing Committee Nov 10, 2023 Withdrawn Lok Sabha Dec 12, 2023”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 317words · Minimalist IAS
On 29 March 1993 both Houses adopted rules creating 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs); in July 2004 they grew to 24. They carry Parliament's scrutiny from the floor of the House into the detailed working of every ministry.
How DRSCs keep the administration on its toes
- Full coverage: 24 committees of 31 members each (21 Lok Sabha, 10 Rajya Sabha); a Minister cannot be a member, so the executive cannot judge itself.
- Budget scrutiny: each considers the Demands for Grants of its ministries, questioning under-spending and scheme design before the vote.
- Bill scrutiny: officials and experts give evidence that the floor of the House never hears.
- Illustration: the Home Affairs Committee reported on the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill in November 2023, and the Government withdrew it in December and redrafted it (since then).
- Cross-party consensus: closed-door deliberation softens partisanship, giving reports weight with ministries.
Where reverence for parliamentary control weakens
- Advice, not command: recommendations are not binding, and action-taken replies often come late or dilute them.
- Shrinking referral: PRS data show the share of Bills sent to committees falling steeply.
- 14th Lok Sabha: 60% of Bills referred
- 15th: 71%
- 16th: 28%
- 17th: 16%
- Short tenure: one-year terms break continuity and expertise.
- Thin support: limited research staff and uneven attendance weaken scrutiny of technical Bills.
- Low visibility: closed proceedings limit public pressure on ministries.
Verdict
- Effective but underused: DRSCs keep the administration on its toes where Bills and budgets reach them; reverence for parliamentary control falls when the executive bypasses them.
Way forward
- Routine referral: send every major Bill to a committee unless the House records reasons.
- Capacity: two-year terms, dedicated research staff and published evidence.
- Accountability: time-bound action-taken reports, debated in the House.
Parliamentary control is revered when it is used: restoring the referral habit of the 15th Lok Sabha, when 71% of Bills went to committees, would let DRSCs keep the administration on its toes.
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.
