Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha's Productivity Lowest In 6 Sessions Since 2019

Parliament's Monsoon Session registered the lowest productivity since Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government returned to power in May 2019.

Lok Sabha witnessed a productivity of only 21% and 29% productivity for the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session of Parliament this year, showed data by PRS Legislative.

Both Houses adjourned sine die on August 11, two days earlier than planned. The session started on July 19.

The productivity of a House of Parliament is measured as the number of hours it has worked as a percentage of the number of hours it is scheduled to work. Should a House work more than the stipulated time, it is possible to have a productivity exceeding 100%, as conveyed by the table later in this story.

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In the Monsoon Session of 2021, Lok Sabha worked for 21.3 hours, while Rajya Sabha worked 29 hours. This session of Parliament witnessed frequent disruptions by the opposition over the Pegasus security breach issue and farm laws, with the proceedings of both Houses being subject to frequent sloganeering, demonstrations and interruptions.

In the Lok Sabha, 49.2% of its business went towards legislation, 0.7% towards financials, 27.6% towards questions, 6% towards non-legislative business and 16.5% towards others. In the Rajya Sabha, 46% of its business went towards legislation, 14.7% towards questions, 17.8% towards non-legislative business and 21.3% towards others.

The productivity of this session compared to the other five sessions can be seen below.

The presiding officers of both Houses expressed their lament over the poor productivity seen in this session.

Om Birla, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, quoted numbers similar to those recorded by PRS Legislative and said that Lok Sabha functioned for 21 hours of a planned 96, which has a 22% productivity. "I am pained with continuous disruptions of the House. I don't have words to express my anguish over the ruckus in the House… I am extremely hurt," Birla is quoted saying. Later, Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress' Sonia Gandhi and the legislative leaders of other parties met Birla in his chambers.

M. Venkaiah Naidu, Vice-President of India and the ex-officio presiding officer of the Rajya Sabha addressed the House over their behaviour, where he said he is anguished at the performance of the House, condemned its behaviour, started sobbing and said that he spent a sleepless night. In his speech, however, he did not present any figures like Birla.

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