Indian Constitution and Polity 4

Hi everyone.

This is the fourth post on Indian Constitution and Polity. In this post, I shall discuss the Parliamentary System of India. This part is almost indispensable for preparation of Govt. job examinations.

1. The Article 79 of the Indian Constitution describes the Parliamentary system.
2. The Parliament of India consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
3. Although the President does not sit in Parliament, he or she is a part of the Legislature.
4. The main functions of the Parliament are I) Legislation (law making) II) Financial Control III) Control of the Cabinet IV) Criticism of the Cabinet.
5. Without the President's assent, the bill passed by the House of Parliament can not become a law.
6. The Lok Sabha currently consists of five hundred and forty three members among which five hundred and thirty members are from different states and thirteen members are from different Union Territories. According to the official website, loksabha.nic.in, "The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, which is made up by election of upto 530 members to represent the States, upto 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than two members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the Hon'ble President, if,  in his/her opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House."
7. The representatives of the States are directly elected by the people of the States.
8. The normal term of the Lok Sabha is five years. However, the President has the power to dissolve it earlier.
9. The normal term can be extended during emergency. To do that, the parliament has to pass an act and the period of extension can not be more than one year at a time.
10. The Parliament must meet at least twice a year and there can not be a difference of more than six months between two successive sessions of the Parliament.