Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs)

Departmentally Related Standing Committees, or DRSCs, are small permanent groups of MPs that closely examine the work of government ministries. There are 24 of them, and each looks after one or more ministries. Each has 31 members: 21 from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. They study budgets, bills and policies in detail, and then give reports with suggestions to Parliament.

Why do they exist?

Parliament meets for only around 60 to 70 days a year, and most of that time goes into debates, questions and passing laws. There is no time for the full House to study every ministry's spending or every bill line by line. So Parliament divides the work among small committees, like a large school dividing subjects among different teachers.

Committees work all year, even when Parliament is not in session. In a committee room, MPs can call officials, experts and citizens, ask detailed questions and study documents calmly.

Where did they come from?

Before 1993, Parliament had financial committees (like the Public Accounts Committee) and ad hoc committees (temporary committees formed for one job), but no full system of committees matched to ministries. The Rules Committee of the Lok Sabha recommended such a system, and 17 DRSCs started working in April 1993. In 2004, the system was restructured and the number was raised to 24, and each committee's size was fixed at 31 members.

In the Lok Sabha, they are provided for under Rules 331C onwards of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.

How are they made up?

• 24 committees: 16 work under the Lok Sabha and 8 under the Rajya Sabha. The Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports is one of the 8 under the Rajya Sabha.
• 31 members each: 21 Lok Sabha MPs nominated by the Speaker and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs nominated by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The chairperson is appointed by the Speaker (for Lok Sabha committees) or the Chairman (for Rajya Sabha committees).
• A minister cannot be a member.
• The term of members is up to one year, and committees are reconstituted regularly.

What do they do?

• Demands for Grants: They examine how much money each ministry asks for in the Budget and report on it. They cannot propose cut motions (motions to reduce a demand).
• Bills: They examine bills referred to them by the Speaker or Chairman, clause by clause, and suggest changes.
• Annual reports of ministries.
• Long-term policy papers referred to them.
• Action Taken Reports: After a report, the government must reply on which suggestions it accepted. The committee then presents an action taken report on that reply.

Their reports are advisory: the government is not bound to accept them. But they are presented to Parliament, become public and carry weight in debates.

How does a committee examine a subject?

Here is a typical flow:

1. The committee picks a subject or receives a bill.
2. It invites written comments from the public, experts and organisations.
3. It calls ministry officials and other witnesses for oral evidence.
4. Its meetings are closed-door and records are confidential until the report is out, so MPs can speak freely beyond party lines.
5. It adopts a report, usually by consensus, and presents it to Parliament.

Why are they considered important?

Because meetings are private and away from TV cameras, members of different parties often work together and agree on practical suggestions. Committees also bring in expert and public views, which the full House cannot easily do. Some call them "mini-Parliaments".

Commonly confused concepts

• DRSCs vs financial committees: The three financial committees are the Public Accounts Committee (checks government spending after it happens, using CAG reports; 22 members: 15 Lok Sabha, 7 Rajya Sabha), the Estimates Committee (suggests economy in spending; 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha) and the Committee on Public Undertakings (examines public sector companies; 22 members). DRSCs are separate from these.
• Standing vs ad hoc committees: Standing committees are permanent and work continuously. Ad hoc committees are formed for one task and end when it is done.
• DRSC vs Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC): A JPC is an ad hoc committee formed by a motion in Parliament for one specific bill or issue. DRSCs are permanent and cover a ministry's work broadly.
• Select Committee vs DRSC: A Select Committee is an ad hoc committee of one House formed to study one bill. A DRSC has members of both Houses.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Fewer bills referred: Sending a bill to a committee is not mandatory. According to PRS Legislative Research, about 71% of bills were referred to committees in the 15th Lok Sabha (2009-14), about 25% in the 16th (2014-19) and about 16% in the 17th (2019-24).
• Advisory only: Governments can ignore recommendations.
• Short terms: A one-year term makes it hard for members to build deep expertise.
• Low attendance and limited research staff have been flagged by many studies.
• Way forward suggested by experts: make referral of major bills compulsory, give committees longer terms and more research support, and track how many recommendations governments actually accept.

Concepts to Know

• Demands for Grants: The formal request in the Budget, ministry by ministry, for the money each ministry wants to spend in the year. Parliament votes on these.
• Cut motion: A motion moved in the Lok Sabha to reduce the amount of a demand for grant. It is used to discuss or disapprove a policy.
• Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business: The rulebook each House follows for how it works.
• Presiding Officer: The person who runs the House: the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha.
• Consensus: When all members agree, or at least do not object, without needing a formal vote.