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  • Performance of MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha
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Performance of MPs in the 16th Lok Sabha

The Monsoon Session of Parliament concluded on August 11, 2017.  This marks the end of the third year of the 16th Lok Sabha.  In this context, this note analyses data related to the participation of MPs in both Houses of Parliament. 

MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have 80% attendance

Note: Parties in the graphs are those with more than 10 MPs.
  • The average attendance of MPs in Lok Sabha was 81%, while in Rajya Sabha it was 80%.

In Lok Sabha, MPs from the North have 86% attendance; from South have 78%
  • MPs under the age of 40 years had an attendance of 74%, while MPs between 40-70 years had an attendance of 82%.

In Rajya Sabha, male MPs have 80% attendance, while female MPs have 75%

  • MPs above the age of 55 years attend Rajya Sabha more than their younger counterparts.

Lok Sabha MPs in the 55-70 year age group participate in more debates
  • Debates are of two types: (i) those where an MP may participate voluntarily such as under rule 377, matters of public importance and, private member business, and (ii) those where the MP is nominated by the party to speak, such as for discussions on government Bills, and budget. The above debates represent both these categories.
     
  • MPs in the age group of 55 to 70 years participated in 40 debates on average. In comparison, younger MPs (below 40 years) participated in 23 debates.

In Lok Sabha, MPs from the West and South ask more questions
  • In Parliament, MPs may pose questions to ministers to hold the government accountable for implementing laws and policies. Over the last three years, Lok Sabha MPs in the age group of 40-55 years asked 242 questions.  In comparison, MPs above the age of 70 years, asked 133 questions. 
     
  • MPs from the West asked 290 questions, followed by MPs from the South (272 questions). In comparison, MPs from the East asked 138 questions.

Younger MPs in Rajya Sabha participate in more debates
  • Debates include participation of MPs in both voluntary and party nominated debates. Though they make up for 2% of composition in Rajya Sabha, MPs under the age of 40 participated in 96 debates on average.  This was higher than their older counterparts, who participated in less than 60 debates.
     
  • MPs from the South participated in 67 debates on average, while those from the West participated in 50 debates.

In Rajya Sabha, MPs from the West ask the highest questions; MPs from the North the lowest
  • In Rajya Sabha, MPs above the age of 70 years asked the most number of questions on average (261 questions).
     
  • MPs from West asked the highest number of questions (336 questions per MP), while MPs from the North asked 191 questions. Both male and female MPs asked similar number of questions. 

Notes:

  1. Data includes sitting MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. It excludes the Speaker, Ministers, and the Leader of the Opposition (Rajya Sabha).
  2. Data for Lok Sabha MPs from 2014 onwards; Data for Rajya Sabha MPs from the beginning of their term, and includes MPs whose term may have started before 2014.
  3. Classification of regions- (i) North: Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Chandigarh, (ii) East: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, (iii) West: Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and (iv) South: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, and Puducherry.
  4. Graphs based on regions do not include data for nominated MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Data sources: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha websites.  Data for: (i) questions as on August 11, 2017, (ii) debates as on August 9, 2017, (iii) attendance for Lok Sabha as on August 4, 2017, and (iv) attendance for Rajya Sabha as on August 10, 2017. 

 

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