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©Jatin Verma All Rights Reserved. https://www.jatinverma.org

SYNOPSIS

Intro

• The Pre- Legislative Consultation Policy was formulated taking

into consideration the recommendations of the National Advisory

Council and the National Commission to Review the Working of

the Constitution in February 2014.

• The policy lists out various mandates requiring departments to

proactively publish proposed legislations on the internet and/or

other public domains with additional details such as a brief

justification for the legislation, its' essential elements, broad

financial implications, an estimated assessment of the impact of

such a legislation on the environment, fundamental rights, lives

and livelihoods of the concerned/affected people, etc.

• These details are required to be kept in the public domain for a

minimum period of thirty days, accompanied by an explanatory

note on the key legal provisions in a simpler language.

Body Part

Significance • Will foster, vibrant, rights based participatory policy making process

in India

• Will enable discourse across multiple stakeholders as well as a fuller

realization of citizen rights and human potentials.

• Proper consultation results in the enhancement of the quality of

parliamentary discourse and legislature.

• The Second Administrative Reforms Commission had emphasised

that public consultation in decision making and social auditing through

institutionalized mechanisms is vital for the effective functioning of a

democracy.

Debates on the Kerala Police Legislation, Land Acquisition Bill 2013,

Lokpal Bill 2011 etc. have successfully demonstrated the same.

However, the transition from a representative democracy to deliberative

one has failed to take off.

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Q1.What do you understand by the term ‘Pre-legislative

consultation policy’? What are its significance? Do you agree

with the view that Pre-legislative consultation policy is being

ignored while policy making. Comment.

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Recent Examples: Where Pre-legislative consultation is neglected

1. The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019,

o Government deemed a consultative process outside

of the government as unnecessary since the

"proposed amendments did not involve any social or

financial costs".

2. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill,

2017 was drafted behind closed doors.

3. The electoral bond scheme; no civil society organisations were

consulted for the same.

4. Since 2014 a total of 186 bills were introduced in the

Parliament, out of which 142 saw no consultation.

5. In most cases, other aspects of the PLCP were also completely

ignored such as the addition of explanations of key provisions,

summary of feedback received etc.

Way forward

• The TRAI consultation model which uploads comments to

solicit comments and the like could be developed.

• In order to enable wider comprehensibility, the policies and

their addendums ought to be made available in regional

languages too.

• Finally, the country needs to develop a social audit legislation

which imposes a legal obligation on policymakers to consult the

public, thereby providing citizens, a right to participate in the

policymaking process while at the same time penalising officers

for finalising the bill without scrutiny or invalidating the laws

for flawed policy making process etc.



SYNOPSIS

Intro

Earlier, the Parliamentary panel had summoned Dorsey chief executive

officer (CEO) of Twitter to appear before it over concerns that, Twitter

may be used to interfere in the Lok Sabha elections.

Body Part

• The Committee apparently felt humiliated, when Dorsey refused to

appear following, an earlier summons issued to discuss the issue of

'safeguarding citizens' rights on social/online news media

platforms’. In this context, it is pertinent to examine the functions

and powers of Parliamentary Committees

• Departmentally Related Standing Committees of Parliament are

formed with the broad objectives to give expert opinion on drafting

of bills, and to exercise parliamentary review of executive actions.

• In other words, they function to support legislative actions, and to

check executive decisions.

Their functions, as stated in Rule 331E of the Rules relating to

Departmentally Related Standing Committees, are:

• To consider the Demands for Grants of the concerned

Ministries/Departments and make a report on the same to

the Houses.

• To examine such Bills pertaining to the concerned

Ministries/Departments as are referred to the Committee by

the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha as the

case may be, and make report thereon

• To consider annual reports of Ministries/Departments and

make reports thereon.

• To consider national basic long term policy documents

presented to the Houses.

• The Parliamentary rules and procedure further state that

Committees should not consider the matters of day-to-day

administration of the concerned Ministries/Departments

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Q2.The parliamentary panel has summoned the chief executive

officer (CEO) of Twitter, Jack Dorsey .In this context Examine

the functions and powers of Parliamentary Committees.



In order to carry out the above functions, the Committee has

the power to

• Summon officials of the government and also private

individuals, largely with the objective of obtaining expert

opinion on its assigned area.

• A Committee can take evidence of experts, public bodies,

associations, individuals or interested parties suo motu or on

requests made by the persons or bodies interested in or affected

by the subject matter under consideration or examination of the

Committee (Rule 269).

• The Committee has the power to issue summons to a

representative of a Ministry, Department, Public Undertaking or

any Organisation or any other person to give evidence before a

Committee and/or to produce before it any document required

by the Committee. For example,

o The standing committee which examined the Citizenship

Amendment Bill solicited views and suggestions from

various stakeholders before giving its views on the bill.

o The Standing Committee on demonetization had questioned

the former RBI Governor Urjit Patel regarding the policy.

• Often, committees undertake enquiry, much like a quasi-judicial

proceeding. Joint Parliamentary Committees have enquired

issues like

o Bofors scam, 2G scam, Harshad Mehta stock exchange

scam, VVIP Chopper scam etc. These were cases of

alleged abuse of power by executive on a major scale,

involving the complicity of ministers and high ranking

executive officials, affecting larger interests of the country

as a whole.

Conclusion

Enforcement and protection of fundamental rights are functions of the

executive and judiciary. The legislature's function is only to lend

statutory support in that exercise. The Committee, which is a subset of

the legislative body, cannot seek to exercise executive or quasi-judicial

functions over this issue of perceived arbitrariness by a social media

platform.



SYNOPSIS

Intro

Article 142 of the Indian Constitution gives the Supreme Court a power to

pass suitable decree or order for doing complete justice in any pending

matter. Based on this the Supreme Court has brought changes in

significant policy issues to affect the public at large.

Body Part

Article 142 has been invoked for the purpose of doing tremendous good to

large sections of the population. For example,

• The cleansing of the Taj Mahal, -whose marble was yellowing

on account of sulphur fumes from the surrounding industries.

Today, on account of the court’s efforts over a period of years, we

have had our heritage restored to its original beauty.

• Similarly, under trials were rotting in jails for greater periods than

the maximum punishment which could have been inflicted on

them, as their very existence was forgotten by the criminal justice

system. With a single stroke of the pen, thousands of them were

released.

• The Union Carbide case: Supreme Court, while awarding

compensation of $470 million to the victims, went to the extent of

saying that to do complete justice, it could even override the laws

made by Parliament by holding that, “prohibitions or limitations or

provisions contained in ordinary laws cannot, ipso facto, act as

prohibitions or limitations on the constitutional powers under

Article 142

However, in recent years, several judgments of the Supreme Court were

interfering into other domains of which had long been forbidden to the

judiciary by reason of the doctrine of ‘separation of powers’, which is part

of the basic structure of the Constitution.

For example,

• In State of Tamilnadu v K. Balu, the Supreme Court banned

liquor shops within 500 m of highways, which was a legislative

order.

• In K. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, it created a right to privacy,

which is nowhere mentioned in the fundamental rights laid down

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Q3.Law-making should be left to the Parliament and judges

should respect the constitutional principle of separation of

powers. Comment



in the Constitution. In Subhash Kashinath Mahajan case it

amended the SC/ST Act.

• In the NCT, Delhi, Sabarimala and LGBT cases it laid down the

‘constitutional morality’ test.

• In other decisions, the court fixed timings for bursting crackers on

Deepavali, directed interlinking rivers and laid down regulations

for the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

• In the Judges cases it created the collegium system for judicial

appointments.

Conclusion:

• There is no dispute on the fact that the judiciary should also

self-regulate itself. It should also put some restraints on its

powers, whenever it is required.

• The Supreme Court in Divisional Manager, Aravali Golf

Course Chander Haas observed that: “Judges must know their

limits and must not try to run the Government.

• There is broad separation of powers under the Constitution and

each organ of the State-the legislature, the executive and the

judiciary must have respect for the others and must not encroach

into each other’s domains



SYNOPSIS

Legislative Functions of the Parliament:

• To make rules and regulations for good governance of the country.

• The constitution also provides certain powers to the parliament to

make laws on the subjects enumerated in the State list under some

irregular circumstances which include situations

o When Rajya Sabha passes a resolution to that effect,

o when a proclamation of national emergency is in effect,

o when two or more states make a collective appeal to the

parliament,

o when it is essential to give effect to international

conventions, agreements, and treaties,

o When President’s Rule is imposed in the state.

• Ordinance making power of the parliament.

Executive Functions of the Parliament:

• The Parliament of India performs supervision over the Executive

through question-hour, zero hours, half-an-hour discussion, short

duration, calling attention motion, censure motion and contrasting

discussions.

• In addition, it also supervises the movements and actions of the

Executive with the aid of committees like committee on government

assurance, the committee on subordinate legislation, the committee on

petitions, etc.

Financial Functions of the Parliament:

• The parliament possesses powers over the control of the financial

matters.

• It operates in two stages, namely the “budgetary control” which

means that the parliament would have control before the

appropriation of grants through the enactment of the budget and

“post-budgetary control” which means that the government would

exercise control after the appropriation of grants through the three

financial committees.

• The Parliament of India has some exclusive powers to provide

sources and ways via which revenue has to be raised for public

services. For that, it imposes taxes and also safeguards that the

money authorized for expenditure to different departments of the

government has been spent on the endorsed aspirations.

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Q4.Enumerate the essential functions of the parliament of

India?



Judicial Functions of the Parliament:

• The Parliament is endowed with some competence of the utmost

importance to perform certain judicial functions.

• These powers of performing the judicial functions enable the

parliament to have a power of impeaching the President of India

for acting against the provisions or not acting in accordance with

the Constitution of India.

• The Parliament also holds the power to detach the Vice-President

from his office for not performing his/her duties in accordance

with the constitution of India.

• The Parliament of India can recommend the removal of judges

(including Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of High courts)

Chief Election Commissioner, Comptroller and Auditor General to

the President. In addition, the Parliament of India also has the

power to mete out punishment to its members or outsiders for the

breach of its privileges or its contempt.

Electoral Functions of the Parliament:

• The Parliament of India participates in the elections of the

President and Vice President of India.

• All the Members of the Parliament goes on to vote for the election

of the President and the Vice President of India.

• The Lok Sabha which is also known as the house of the people and

the lower house of the Indian Parliament elects its speaker and

Deputy Speaker and the Rajya Sabha which is also the council of

states and the upper house of the Indian Parliament elects its

Deputy Chairman.

There are many other salient functions of the Parliament of

India such as the following ( value addition)

1. Parliament of India serves as the highest deliberative body

in the nation.

2. It engages in the discussion of varied issues having national

and international significance.

3. The Indian Parliament gives assent to all the three kinds of

Emergency which are National Emergency, State

Emergency and Financial Emergency which are proclaimed

by the President of India.

4. The Parliament can also make or remove the state legislative

councils on the advice of the concerned state legislative

assembly.



5. The Parliament also performs the function of increasing or

decreasing the area, alter the boundaries or rename the states

of Union of India.

6. The Parliament of India is also responsible for regulating the

jurisdiction and organization of the High Courts and

Supreme Court of India and also owns the power of

establishing one common high court for two or more states

of India.

7. The system of the Parliament of India puts together the

legislative and the executive organs of the state as much as

the executive power is exercised by a group of Members of

the Legislature who control a majority in the Lok Sabha.

8. To come up in a more specified manner the government

functions through different ministries under the control of

different Ministers. The Indian Parliament has provisions for

the Ministers and considers them accountable to the elected

representatives of the people. The Ministers could be

Member of either of the two Houses of the Parliament. The

true implementation of the policies of the government as

determined by the Parliament is carried out by the

bureaucracy supervised by a Secretary of the Department.

9. The Parliament has provisions for the forum by way of

which it is shielded that the Cabinet stays in power only as

long as it possesses majority support in the Lok Sabha

which consists elected representatives of the people. It is

one of the most vital and essential duties of the Parliament

to bring about consultations, deliberations and reproving

analysis of the functions of the government departments.

10. The discussions safeguards that the flaws in terms of

performance are brought to notice of the Ministers and

through them the collective executive machinery functions

in a good manner.

11. The existence of opposition is also necessary as it certainly

ensures that the entire population of the country gets to

know about the other substitute and possible thoughts.

12. The Indian Parliament is the strongest organ as far as the

information about the performance of the duties and tasks of

the government is concerned. The information presented in

the Houses is reliable and dependent and it is obligatory for

the ministers to provide information on affairs concerning

government when so wanted and preferred by the members.

13. The power to amend the Constitution vests with the

Parliament. It is essential for the constitutional amendments



to be passed by each house by a majority of the total

membership and by the two-thirds majority of members

present in voting as well.

14. In some cases, amendments need ratification from half of

the Legislative Assemblies of the States.

15. The Parliament of India can as well penalize a person for

defamation or contempt of the House.

16. The Indian Parliament also possesses a power to form new

states or make changes in the boundaries of the states which

are in existence by legislation.



SYNOPSIS

Intro

• Parliamentary privileges are defined in Article 105 of the Indian

Constitution.

• The members of Parliament are exempted from any civil or

criminal liability for any statement made or act done in the course

of their duties.

• The privileges are claimed only when the person is a member of

the house. As soon as he ends to be a member, the privileges are

said to be called off.

• The privileges given to the members are necessary for exercising

constitutional functions.

Body

The privileges individually enjoyed by the members are

1. Freedom of speech in parliament: anything said by them expressing

their views and thoughts are exempted from any liability and cannot be

tried in the court of law.

o This right is given even to non-members who have a right to speak

in the house. Example, attorney general of India.

2. Freedom from arrest: The members enjoy freedom from arrest in any

civil case 40 days before and after the adjournment of the house and also

when the house is in session.

o No member can be arrested from the limits of the parliament

without the permission of the house to which he/she belongs so

that there is no hindrance in performing their duties.

3. Freedom from appearing as a witness: They are given complete

liberty to attend the house and perform their duties without any

interference from the court.

Privileges enjoyed by the members collectively as part of parliament.

Right to prohibit the publication of proceedings: If any deleted

proceedings are published or any misrepresentation or misreporting is

found, it is held to be the breach of the privilege and contempt of the

house.

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5. Discuss the powers, privileges and immunities of the Indian

Parliament.



Right to exclude strangers: the members of the house have the power

and right to exclude strangers who are not members of the house from the

proceedings. If any breach is reported then the punishment in the form of

admonition, reprimand, or imprisonment can be given.

The right to punish members and outsiders for breach of its

privileges: This right has been defined as ‘keystone of parliamentary privilege’

because, without this power, the house can suffer contempt and breach and is

very necessary to safeguard its authority and discharge its functions

o The house can put in custody any person or member for contempt

till the period the house is in session.

The right to regulate the internal affairs of the house: Under Article

118 of the Constitution, the house have been empowered to conduct its

regulation for proceedings and cannot be challenged in the court of law on

the ground that the house is not in accordance with the rules made under

Article 118.

o The Supreme Court has also held that this is general provision and

the rule is not binding upon the house. They can deviate or change

the rule anytime accordingly.

Conclusion

The privileges are conferred on the members for smooth functioning of the

parliament. The members should also use their privileges wisely and not

misuse them. They should always keep in mind that the powers do not

make them corrupt.



SYNOPSIS

Intro

The term ‘knowledge economy’ was coined in the 1960s to describe a

shift from traditional economies to ones where the production and use of

knowledge are paramount.

Academic institutions and companies engaging in research and

development are important foundations of such a system.

According to the World Bank, knowledge economies are defined by

four pillars.

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Q6. What is Knowledge-Based Economy? What are its benefits

for India?



Benefits for India

1. India with the onset of globalization, gigantic youth population and

massive growth in IT sector perfectly fits the bill for evolving into a

knowledge based economy. It will help in creating new better

paying jobs, good infrastructure and technology upgrade.

2. The knowledge based economy uses modern Information

&Communication Technologies principles, innovation and research,

specialized skills to create, disseminate and apply knowledge. It

works towards reducing poverty through inclusive economic

growth.

3. All the leading developed countries like USA, Japan, South Korea,

France have either migrated or migrating towards Knowledge

economy in order to make the most of their resources and brightest

minds.

4. Indian Economy will rely more on intellectual capabilities than on

physical inputs or natural resources. The overall ability of

employees acts as the business product as well as the asset. It

promises to be more stable than the other two forms of economy.

5. With the advent of newer and advanced technologies like Artificial

Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things

(IOT), conventional manual jobs would easily get replaced. Newer

jobs requiring specialized skills will be created. Therefore,

Knowledge economy is the way ahead for India as well as the

globe.

6. Knowledge economy will foster the ever growing entrepreneurial

spirit among the Indian people. It will help in establishment and

growth of many startups especially service based startups and IT

focused startups.

7. With Earth’s depleting natural resources and value of typical

manual labor going down. An economy that relies on knowledge,

innovation and problem solving abilities only makes much sense.

8. Successful places or trade zones where Knowledge based economy

has thrived are -Silicon Valley in USA, Aerospace and Automotive

Engineering industry in Munich, Germany. Electronics and Digital

media industry in Seoul, South Korea and Biotechnology industry

in Hyderabad, India they are also successfully working in

Knowledge based Economy model.

9. A shift to Knowledge based economy is required for India since

with changing times it is comparatively advantageous in Labor

intensive and Capital intensive markets which are fading.

10. New technologies most notably, Robotics and increasing stress on

resources like water and energy, have emerged as threat to India’s

competitive edge. A proper shift to knowledge based growth will

allow India to rise over the problems of middle income trap and

income inequality.


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