To what extent, in your view, the Parliament is able to ensure accountability of the executive in India?
Approach · directive: “to what extent”
What it asks · Assess the tools Parliament has to hold the executive to account and how effective they are today, reaching a reasoned view.
The question has 2 parts — answer each
- Assess the instruments through which Parliament holds the executive accountable and how far they work in practice
- Take a clear position on the extent of accountability, with steps to strengthen it
Open with · In a parliamentary system the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; how far this holds depends on how well Parliament's tools work in practice.
Cover
- Questions and debates: Question Hour, Zero Hour, calling-attention notices, adjournment motions and the debate on the President's Address let members seek answers and expose lapses.
- Confidence: a no-confidence motion or defeat on a money bill can remove a government, but disciplined party majorities and the anti-defection law make this rare.
- Financial control: Budget discussion, cut motions, appropriation, and the Public Accounts, Estimates and Public Undertakings Committees, with CAG reports, scrutinise spending.
- Committees: Department-related Standing Committees and committees on subordinate legislation and assurances allow detailed scrutiny, though fewer Bills are now referred to them.
- Weaknesses: frequent disruptions, few sitting days, Bills passed with little debate, heavy use of ordinances, and executive dominance through the party whip.
- Improvements: more sitting days, routine committee referral, time-bound answers, stronger opposition space, and closer review of delegated legislation.
Close with · Parliament has strong instruments on paper but uses them only to a moderate extent; restoring debate, committee scrutiny and cross-party norms would make accountability real.
Add value (verified)
- Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, the constitutional root of parliamentary control over the executive. The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 75(3) - Legislative Department ↗“The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2021, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 221 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; how far this holds depends on how well Parliament's instruments of accountability work in practice.
Instruments that work
- Questions and debates: Question Hour, Zero Hour, calling-attention notices, adjournment motions and the debate on the President's Address force ministers to answer and expose lapses.
- Financial control: Budget discussion, cut motions and appropriation, backed by the Public Accounts, Estimates and Public Undertakings Committees working on CAG reports.
- Committees: Department-related Standing Committees, and committees on subordinate legislation and government assurances, allow detailed, largely non-partisan scrutiny.
- Confidence: a no-confidence motion or defeat on a money Bill can bring a government down.
Why accountability is partial
- Party whips and the Tenth Schedule make the defeat of a government rare, so accountability works through exposure rather than removal.
- Disruptions, fewer sitting days, Bills passed without debate, heavy use of ordinances and declining referral of Bills to committees weaken scrutiny.
Extent and way forward
- Verdict: Parliament ensures accountability to a moderate extent, strong on paper but uneven in use.
- Fixes: more sitting days, routine committee referral, time-bound replies to assurances, protected opposition time and closer review of delegated legislation.
Parliament's instruments are adequate; what is missing is their regular use. Restoring debate, committee scrutiny and cross-party norms would make executive accountability real rather than formal.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.