Question

UPSC Prelims 2014 Question:

Which one of the following is the largest Committee of the Parliament?

1. The Committee on Public Accounts
2. The Committee on Estimates
3. The Committee on Public Undertakings
4. The Committee on Petitions

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 2: The Committee on Estimates

Detailed Solution

Explanation:

The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied and complex in nature, but also considerable in volume. A good deal of its business is, therefore, transacted in the Parliamentary Committees. Parliamentary Committee means a Committee which is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker and which works under the direction of the Speaker and presents its report to the House or to the Speaker and the Secretariat which is provided by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

- Estimates Committee: The origin of this committee can be traced to the standing finance committee set up in 1921. The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister. Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30.

The functions of the committee are:

- To report what economies, improvements in organization, efficiency, and administrative reform consistent with the policy underlying the estimates, can be affected
- To suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration
- To examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates
- To suggest the form in which the estimates are to be presented to Parliament.

Therefore, option (2) is the correct answer.

Knowledge Box

- Public Accounts Committee - It consists of 22 members (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The function of the committee is to examine the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) i.e. Audit report on appropriation accounts, financial accounts, and public undertakings.
- Committee on Public Undertakings - It consists of 22 members (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). Its function is to examine the reports and accounts of Public Undertakings and to examine the reports of CAG on public undertakings.
Committee on Petitions - This committee examines the petitions on bills and on matters of general public importance. The Lok Sabha Committee has 15 members, while the Rajya Sabha Committee consists of 10 members.