Question map
With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc. conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation ?
Explanation
The correct answer is option B - Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
This committee examines and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules and bye-laws delegated by the Parliament or conferred by the Constitution to the Executive are being properly exercised by it.[2] The Committee scrutinizes all 'Orders' whether laid on the Table of the Council or not, issued in exercise of powers delegated by the Parliament as also those framed in exercise of powers conferred by the Constitution of India.[3] In both the Houses, the committee consists of 15 members and it was constituted in 1953.[1]
In contrast, the Committee on Government Assurances scrutinises the assurances, promises, and undertakings given by Ministers on the floor of the House[4], which is a different function altogether. The Rules Committee and Business Advisory Committee deal with procedural and scheduling matters of Parliament, not the scrutiny of delegated legislation. Therefore, the Committee on Subordinate Legislation is specifically designed to ensure that the Executive exercises delegated legislative powers within constitutional and statutory limits.
Sources- [1] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 24: Parliamentary Committees > Committee on Subordinate Legislation > p. 278
- [2] Indian Polity, M. Laxmikanth(7th ed.) > Chapter 24: Parliamentary Committees > Committee on Subordinate Legislation > p. 278
- [3] https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Procedure/HandBookForMembers/English/Handbook2022.pdf
- [4] https://prsindia.org/files/parliament/discussion_papers/Parliamentary%20Committees%20Increasing%20their%20effectiveness.pdf
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'reward question' for reading standard static sources (Laxmikanth) faithfully. It tests the core definition of a standing committee without any twist. If you missed this, your static polity revision is dangerously weak.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Does the Committee on Government Assurances of the Parliament of India scrutinize and report to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
- Statement 2: Does the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the Parliament of India scrutinize and report to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
- Statement 3: Does the Rules Committee of the Parliament of India scrutinize and report to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
- Statement 4: Does the Business Advisory Committee of the Parliament of India scrutinize and report to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation?
- States the function of scrutinising whether powers to make rules, regulations, byeâlaws, schemes or other statutory instruments conferred by the Constitution or delegated by Parliament have been properly exercised.
- Specifically says the Committee scrutinizes all 'Orders' issued in exercise of powers delegated by Parliament or conferred by the Constitution.
- Confirms the Committee examines rules, regulations, byeâlaws, schemes or other statutory instruments framed pursuant to the Constitution or powers delegated by Parliament.
- Specifies the Committee's remit is to see that such delegated powers are being properly exercised within the scope of the delegation.
- Identifies the Committee on Government Assurances as a separate committee and defines its function â scrutinising assurances, promises and undertakings given by Ministers on the floor of the House.
- By distinguishing its role, this passage implies that scrutiny of subordinate legislation is the remit of a different committee (see other passages).
Explicitly states that the Committee on Subordinate Legislation examines and reports whether delegated powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules and bye-laws are properly exercised by the Executive.
A student could use this to infer that the task described is associated with the Committee on Subordinate Legislation (not Government Assurances) and thus test the statement by checking which committee has that remit.
Repeats the rule that the committee examining delegated rule-making powers is the Committee on Subordinate Legislation and gives its composition and date of constitution.
Use the committee name and role here to contrast with the Committee on Government Assurances and query official listings or rules to see which committee holds the stated function.
Notes that examining whether powers to make rules and regulations delegated by Parliament are properly exercised is the function of a committee (identified as Committee on Subordinate Legislation in nearby text).
A student could map the exact phrasing of the task to this committeeâs described function and thereby suspect the statement misattributes the function to Government Assurances.
Contains a multiple-choice question that contrasts 'Committee on Government Assurances' with 'Committee on Subordinate Legislation' for the same description, indicating this is a commonly tested point about which committee does that work.
Recognize from the question format that the correct answer is likely the Committee on Subordinate Legislation; a student could verify by consulting the rules/official committee descriptions.
Explains that Parliament uses specialized committees (created under House rules) to scrutinize detailed matters it cannot handle directly.
Use this general rule to understand that specific scrutiny tasks (like checking delegated rule-making) are allocated to a specifically named committeeâso one should check which committeeâs remit matches the task.
This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
Login with Google to unlock all statements.
This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
Login with Google to unlock all statements.
This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
Login with Google to unlock all statements.
This tab shows concrete study steps: what to underline in books, how to map current affairs, and how to prepare for similar questions.
Login with Google to unlock study guidance.
Discover the small, exam-centric ideas hidden in this question and where they appear in your books and notes.
Login with Google to unlock micro-concepts.
Access hidden traps, elimination shortcuts, and Mains connections that give you an edge on every question.
Login with Google to unlock The Vault.