Indian Parliament – Structure of Indian Parliament

The Indian parliament is considered as a bicameral structure. It consists of Lok Sabha, president, and Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha represents the council of states and the upper house. While Lok Sabha represents the house of people and the lower house. Lok Sabha represents the Indian people while Rajya Sabha represents the union territories and states.

Indian Parliament

To know more about the structure of the Indian parliament, you need to know more about the composition of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

The Composition of Lok Sabha

The maximum number of people that can be elected in Lok Sabha is 552. Out of these 552 people, 530 are elected to be members of the states. While 20 are the members represented in the union territories. The remaining 2 people are from the Anglo-Indian community that is elected by the president of India.

The current structure of Lok Sabha consists of 530 members. Also, the state representatives are directly elected by the people from their respective constituencies. Furthermore, under the constitutional amendment act of 1988, the voting age was reduced to 18 years from 21 years.

Browse more Topics under Indian Constitution

• Constitution of India: Historical Background
• Features of the Indian Constitution
• Preamble
• Union and Its Territory (Article 1 – 4)
• Citizenship (Article 5-11)
• Fundamental Rights – Right to Equality
• Fundamental Rights – Right to Freedom
• Fundamental Rights – Right against Exploitation (Very Short Article)
• Fundamental Rights – Right to Freedom of Religion
• Fundamental Rights – Cultural and Educational Rights
• Fundamental Rights – Saving of Certain Laws
• Fundamental Rights – Right to Constitutional Remedies
• Directive Principles of State Policy
• Emergency Provision and Special Provisions of the Indian Constitution
• Indian Parliament – Functions of Indian Parliament

The Composition of Rajya Sabha

The maximum people that can be elected in Rajya Sabha is 250. Out of this, 238 are elected as the state representatives. While the remaining 12 are nominated by the president. The 238 people also consist of representatives from union territories.

Currently, there are 245 members of Rajya members. Also, 229 of them are the state representatives. While 12 are nominated by the president and 4 are elected from union territories. For the allocation of seats in Rajya Sabha to states and union territories, the fourth schedule of the constitution is used.

The elected members that are elected for the state legislative assemblies elect the state representatives in Rajya Sabha. Also, these seats are given in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of the population.

For both the houses, the duration or tenure of their MP’s is different. Lok Sabha does not follow continuous members. The normal term in Lok Sabha is of 5 years. Thus, it is from the date of it’s first meeting to the general elections. The committee dissolves thereafter.

While Rajya Sabha is considered as a permanent body. Thus, it is not subjected to dissolution. Also, 1/3rd members of the Rajya Sabha retire every 2nd year. These retiring members can stand for re-election as well as for re-nomination any number of times they want.

Speaker and deputy speaker of Lok Sabha

In Lok Sabha, the speaker is elected from amongst it’s elected members. Also, the date for the election of the speaker is fixed by the president. The speaker decides if a bill is a money bill or not. Also, the decision of the speaker is considered as final within any question.

Like the election of the speaker, the deputy speaker is also elected by the members of Lok Sabha. However, the election date is fixed by the speaker. In the case of resignation, the deputy speaker offers his resignation to the speaker of Lok Sabha.

Practice Questions on Indian Parliament and it’s structure

Q. Which of the following member is authorized to decide about the disqualification of a member for the parliament

A.Election committee

B. President

C. Lok Sabha speaker

D. Special committee

Answer: B. President

Q. In India, the upper of the people can be called

A. Lok Sabha 

B. Rajya Sabha

C. Parliament

D. None of the above

Answer: A. Lok Sabha