Parliamentary Committees function as specialized working units of Parliament, conducting detailed scrutiny that the full House cannot easily undertake due to time constraints. Often described as “mini-parliaments”, they are constituted under the authority of Article 118(1) of the Constitution.

Structure of the Parliamentary Committee System

• 1. Standing Committees (Permanent Bodies):
  • Financial Standing Committees: Scrutinize public finances, expenditures, and state-owned commercial undertakings (Public Accounts Committee, Estimates Committee, Committee on Public Undertakings).
  • Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs): 24 joint committees (each comprising 31 MPs: 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha) examining Demands for Grants, reviewing ministerial policies, and scrutinizing proposed bills.
  • Committees to Inquire / Scrutinize: Committee on Petitions, Committee of Privileges, and Committee on Subordinate Legislation.
  • House Service Committees: Business Advisory Committee, Rules Committee, and General Purposes Committee.
• 2. Ad-hoc Committees (Temporary Bodies):
  • Constituted for a specific task and dissolved once their report is submitted, such as Select Committees formed to scrutinize specific bills or Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPCs) established to investigate issues of national public interest.

Role of Financial Committees in Institutionalising Parliament

• 1. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC):
  • Examines the audited appropriation and finance accounts certified by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
  • Chaired by convention by an Opposition leader, the PAC investigates financial propriety, wastefulness, and regulatory compliance in state expenditures, translating technical CAG reports into parliamentary accountability.
• 2. The Estimates Committee:
  • Comprising 30 Lok Sabha members, it examines whether public funds are spent effectively within authorized budget limits and suggests organizational economies in administrative operations (“continuous economy committee”).
• 3. Committee on Public Undertakings (CoPU):
  • Scrutinizes the commercial autonomy, management efficiency, and financial health of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), examining whether they operate on sound commercial principles.
• 4. Developing Institutional Bipartisanship:
  • Committee proceedings operate in camera without public posturing or party whips, enabling constructive, evidence-based cross-party legislative evaluation.

Limitations and Constraints

• Post-Mortem Review: Financial committees review expenditures after funds have been disbursed, limiting their ability to prevent real-time fiscal misallocations.
• Advisory Authority: Recommendations are advisory and not legally binding on government ministries.
• Inability to Question Underlying Policy: Committees evaluate financial execution rather than broader political policy approved by the Cabinet.

Financial committees provide structured oversight of public expenditures, holding the executive accountable to legislative authority and strengthening parliamentary governance.