The Monsoon session of Parliament was held from July 19, 2021 to August 11, 2021. The session was scheduled to end on August 13, 2021. In this Lok Sabha, this is the fourth consecutive time when a session has been cut short of the scheduled date, in addition to Winter session 2020 not being held. Proceedings of Parliament were interrupted regularly as members protested inside both Houses. Parliament functioned for less than a quarter of the scheduled time, and several Bills were passed within minutes without any discussion. Parliament adjourned sine die on August 11, 2021 having sat for a total of 17 days.
Lok Sabha was scheduled to work for six hours per day for 19 days. However, proceedings were interrupted on multiple occasions as members demanded discussions on surveillance using Pegasus and repealing the farm laws. The House sat for 21 hours which is 21% of the scheduled time. This is the lowest since winter 2016 session, when Lok Sabha worked for 15% of its scheduled time.
Rajya Sabha was scheduled to meet for 112 hours over 19 days. However, it sat for 29 hours which is 29% of the scheduled time. In the past ten years, Rajya Sabha has functioned for less than 25% of its scheduled time during five sessions.
Lok Sabha did not debate any non-legislative issue. Nine minutes were spent discussing and passing the supplementary budget of Rs 23,675 crore (an increase of 0.7% in expenditure over the budget estimate). This amount includes Rs 15,750 crore for the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package. Rajya Sabha had only one major debate (non-legislative) on the management of COVID-19 pandemic.
Question hour functioned for 35% of the scheduled time in Lok Sabha and 25% in Rajya Sabha. Only 20% questions received an oral answer from ministers in both Houses.
In the current Lok Sabha, Lok Sabha has not had a Deputy Speaker for over two years. This is the longest vacancy ever, more than two years from the commencement of the first session.
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