Explain the structure of the Parliamentary Committee system. How far have the financial committees helped in the institutionalisation of Indian Parliament?
Approach · directive: “explain / how far”
What it asks · Explain the types of committees (standing and ad hoc) and then assess how the three financial committees have strengthened Parliament's scrutiny and institutional maturity.
It asks 3 things — answer each
- Explain the structure of the parliamentary committee system: standing committees (financial, departmental, others) and ad hoc committees
- How far the financial committees have helped institutionalise Parliament: their contribution
- Limits of the financial committees and the way forward
Open with · Article 151 sends the CAG's audit reports to each House, which cannot examine them on the floor; committees, cross-party 'mini-Parliaments', give Parliament continuity, expertise and memory.
Cover
- Standing committees: permanent, such as Business Advisory, Privileges, Rules, Petitions, Ethics and the financial committees, constituted annually or periodically.
- Departmentally related standing committees: 24 committees (since 1993, in the present form since 2004), each with members from both Houses, to examine demands for grants, Bills, and reports of ministries.
- Ad hoc committees: Select and Joint Committees on Bills, and committees of inquiry, which cease after their task.
- Financial committees: the Public Accounts Committee (examines CAG audit reports, chaired by an opposition member by convention), the Estimates Committee (Lok Sabha only) and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
- Contribution: they check spending after the event, check waste and irregularity, secure ministerial accountability and build bipartisan working habits.
- Limits: recommendations are not binding, action-taken follow-up is slow, timeliness suffers, and Bills increasingly bypass committees.
- Reforms: mandatory referral of major Bills, timely reports, expert assistance and stronger follow-up mechanisms.
Close with · The financial committees turned Article 151's audit reports into a working check on the executive; restoring committee referral of Bills would extend that institutional habit to law-making.
Add value (verified)
- The Public Accounts Committee is Parliament's oldest committee (first constituted in 1921) and has 22 members: 15 elected by the Lok Sabha and 7 associated from the Rajya Sabha.Legislation Committees - Public Accounts Committee - Comptroller and Auditor General of India ↗“The Committee on Public Accounts is the oldest Parliamentary Committee and was first constituted in 1921. The Committee consists of 22 Members, 15 Members are elected by Lok Sabha and 7 Members of the Rajya Sabha are associated with it”
- PRS found that only 16% of Bills were referred to committees in the 17th Lok Sabha, lower than in the previous three Lok Sabhas.Functioning of the 17th Lok Sabha - PRS Legislative Research ↗“16% of Bills were referred to Committees for detailed scrutiny. This is lower than corresponding figures for the previous three Lok Sabhas.”
- Article 151(1): the CAG's audit reports on Union accounts go to the President, who has them laid before each House of Parliament, the constitutional basis of the PAC's work.The Constitution of India (Legislative Department) ↗“The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor- General of India relating to the accounts of the Union shall be submitted to the President, who shall cause them to be laid before each House of Parliament.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2023, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 3 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 363words · Minimalist IAS
Article 151 requires the CAG's audit reports on Union accounts to be laid before each House of Parliament. The floor cannot examine them, or every Bill, in detail; so Parliament works through cross-party committees, 'mini-Parliaments' that give it continuity, expertise and memory.
Structure of the parliamentary committee system
- Standing committees: permanent or annual: the three financial committees and the 24 departmentally related standing committees (in present form since 2004), drawn from both Houses, which examine demands for grants, Bills and ministry reports.
- Other standing committees: Business Advisory, Rules, Privileges and Ethics run the House; Subordinate Legislation and the SC/ST Welfare committee watch the executive.
- Ad hoc committees: Select and Joint Committees on Bills and inquiry committees, dissolved once their task ends.
| Financial committee | Members | Core task |
|---|---|---|
| Public Accounts (1921) | 22: 15 LS, 7 RS | CAG audit reports |
| Estimates | 30, Lok Sabha only | Economies in estimates |
| Public Undertakings | Both Houses | PSU reports, accounts |
How far financial committees have institutionalised Parliament
- Audit to accountability: the Public Accounts Committee, Parliament's oldest, examines CAG reports and summons secretaries, so audit findings carry consequences.
- Bipartisan convention: an opposition member chairs the PAC by convention, making scrutiny a shared duty rather than a party contest.
- Economy before spending: the Estimates Committee suggests economies and policy alternatives in the estimates themselves.
- Arm's-length bodies: the Committee on Public Undertakings extends accountability to public enterprises that the floor rarely reaches.
- Institutional memory: action-taken reports and follow-up on earlier recommendations give Parliament continuity beyond the life of one House.
Where the institutionalisation falls short
- Advisory status: recommendations bind no one, and action-taken replies are often slow.
- After the fact: audit reaches past and partial spending; members lack research staff and technical support.
- Shrinking referral: only 16% of Bills went to committees in the 17th Lok Sabha, lower than in the previous three (PRS).
Way forward
- Mandatory referral of major Bills and the budget; time-bound action-taken reports with a House debate on key reports; dedicated research staff for members.
The financial committees turned Article 151's audit reports from papers laid on the table into a working check on the executive. Restoring committee referral of Bills would extend that institutional habit from spending to law-making.
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.
