What are the various terms of Indian Parliament and its functions?

Answer 1

Some of the Parliamentary terms are listed below:

Question Hour:

The day's business normally begins with the Question Hour during which questions asked by the members are answered by the Ministers. The different types of questions are:

1. Starred Question: is one for which an oral answer is required to be given by the Minister on the floor of the House. Supplementary questions may be asked based on the Minister's reply. The Speaker decides if a question should be answered orally or otherwise. One member can ask only one starred question in a day.
2. Unstarred Question: is one for which the Minister lays on the table a written answer. A 10 day notice has to be given to ask such questions and no supplementary questions can be asked with regard to such questions.
3. Short Notice Question: is one which can be asked by members on matters of public importance of an urgent nature. It is for the Speaker to decide whether the matter is of urgent nature or not. The member has also to state reasons for asking the question while serving notice.

Zero Hour:

This period follows the Question Hour and it generally begins at noon and its duration is one hour [from 12 noon to 1 P M]. Usually the time is used by members to raise various issues for discussion.

Cut Motions:

The motion that seeks reduction in the amount of a demand presented by the government is known as the cut motion. The Speaker has the discretion to admit a cut motion. He may or may not admit it. This device is used by the members of the legislature to draw the attention of the government to a specific grievance or problem. There are three types of cut motions:

1. Disapproval of policy cut, which is to express disapproval of the policy underlying a particular demand, says that 'the amount of the demand be reduced by Re 1'
2. Economy cut asks for a reduction of the amount of the demand by a specific amount. The aim is to affect economy in the expenditure.
3. Token cut is a device to ventilate specific grievances within the sphere of the Govt's responsibility. The grievance has to be specified. Usually the motion is in the form, "the amount of the demand be reduced by Rs 100"

Adjournment Motion:

It is a motion to adjourn the proceedings of the House so as to take up for discussion some matter of urgent public importance. Any member can move the motion and, if more than fifty members support the demand, the Speaker grants permission for the motion. The notice for such a motion has to be given before the commencement of the sitting on that day.

Call Attention Motion:

With the prior permission of the Speaker, any member of the Parliament may call the attention of a Minister to a matter of urgent public importance. The Minister may make a brief statement about the matter or he may ask for time to make a statement later.

Privilege Motion:

It is a motion moved by a Member of Parliament if he feels that a Minister has committed a breach of the privilege of the House or of anyone or more of its members by withholding or distorting facts.

Point of Order:

A Member of Parliament may raise a point of order if he feels that the proceedings of the House do not follow the normal rules. The presiding officer decides whether the point of order raised by the member should be allowed.

Vote on Account:

There is usually a gap between the presentation of the budget and its approval. Sometimes, particularly in an election year, the budget may not be passed before the end of the current financial year and the beginning of the next financial year.

To meet this contingency, the vote on account is taken normally for two months for a sum equivalent to one sixth of the estimated expenditure for the entire year under demand grants. This enables the government to draw this amount from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the expenses in the intervening period.

Guillotine:

On the last day of the allotted days at the appointed time the Speaker puts every question necessary to dispose of all the outstanding matters in connection with the demands for grants. This is known as Guillotine.

Quorum:

It is the minimum number of members of a legislature that must be present to make the proceedings valid. In case of the Parliament, the quorum of either House shall be one-tenth of the total number of members of the House.

No-Confidence Motion:

It is a resolution introduced by the Opposition claiming that the House has lost its confidence in the government.

Censure Motion:

This motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha and by the opposition of the house. It can be moved against the ruling government or against any minister for the failure to act or seeking disapproval of their policy. No leave of the House is required for moving a censure motion but it must specify the charges against the government for which it is moved. If the censure motion is passed, the Council of ministers is bound to seek the confidence of the Lok Sabha as early as possible.

Whip:

Each party appoints a whip to control and discipline its members elected the legislature (either House of the Parliament or of the State Legislature). He is called party whip and he must be a member of the legislature.

Prorogue:

'Prorogue' means the ending of a session of the Parliament. The President of India has the discretion to do it.

Dissolve:

To 'dissolve' means to end the life of the Parliament. The President has" the discretion to do it.