Parliament of India
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The Parliament of India (or Sansad) is bicameral. It is located in New Delhi at Sansad Marg. This is the federal and supreme legislative body of the Republic of India.
The Indian Parliament consists of two houses - the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Any bill can become an act only after it is passed by both the houses of the Parliament and assented by the President.
The Central Hall of the Parliament is used for combined sittings of the lower and upper houses and is of historical significance.
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[edit] Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha is also known as the "House of the People" or the lower house. Almost all of its members are directly elected by citizens of India. It is the more powerful of the two houses since it can precede or overrule the upper house in many matters.
The Lok Sabha can have up to 552 members as envisaged in the Constitution of India (Article 81). It has a term of 5 years but it may be dissolved earlier by the President in the event of no party getting a majority. To be eligible for membership of Lok Sabha, a person should be a citizen of India and be not less than 25 years of age. Up to 530 members can be elected from the states, up to 20 members from the Union territories and no more than two members can be nominated by the President of India.
As of now, the Lok Sabha has 545 members, 530 members from the states, 13 members from the Union territories and 2 members of the Anglo Indian community.
The representatives from States and Union Territories are directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult suffrage. Every citizen who is over 18 years of age is eligible to vote. There is reservation of some seats for members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes but not for members of any other community.
[edit] Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha is also known as "Council of States" or the upper house. Its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the States.
The Rajya Sabha has 250 members in all. Elections to it are scheduled and the chamber cannot be dissolved legally. Each member has a term of 6 years and elections are held for one-third of the seats after every 2 years. The composition is specified in Article 80 of the Constitution of India.
- 12 members are nominated by the President from people having special knowledge or experience in literature, science, art or social services.
- Representatives of States are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of the State in accordance with system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
- Representatives of Union Territories are indirectly elected by members of an electoral college for that territory in accordance with system of proportional representation.
The Council of States is designed to maintain the federal character of the country. The number of members from a state depends on the population of the state (e.g. 31 from Uttar Pradesh and 1 from Nagaland).
The minimum age for a person to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years
[edit] Houses of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament (Sansad Bhavan) is a circular structure designed by the South African Architect Herbert Baker in 1911. The roof of the outer circle of the structure is supported by 257 granite pillars. The Houses are located on Janpath, a stone's throw away from the presidential palace (Rashtrapati Bhavan).
