CDS (I) 2023 General Knowledge · Question 93 of 120

Correct — C, The Estimates Committee. The Estimates Committee is drawn entirely from the Lok Sabha. Its thirty members are all elected by the Lok Sabha, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote, for a term of one year, and no Minister may be a member. That makes it the largest of the parliamentary committees and the only one of the four listed here with no Rajya Sabha presence at all. The reason is constitutional in spirit: the Estimates Committee examines the demands for grants and suggests economies in expenditure, and financial control over the executive is the special preserve of the popular House.

• (a)The Public Accounts Committee — The Public Accounts Committee has twenty-two members — fifteen elected by the Lok Sabha and not more than seven by the Rajya Sabha. It examines the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General after they are laid before Parliament.
• (b)The Committee on Public Undertakings — The Committee on Public Undertakings is built on the same pattern as the Public Accounts Committee — twenty-two members, fifteen from the Lok Sabha and seven from the Rajya Sabha.
• (d)The Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes — The Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is also a joint committee of both Houses, with thirty members in its standard composition, twenty from the Lok Sabha and ten from the Rajya Sabha.

Parliament works through committees because the House itself cannot scrutinise the detail of expenditure and administration. Three financial committees carry most of that load. The Estimates Committee, thirty members, all from the Lok Sabha, examines the budget estimates and suggests economies. The Public Accounts Committee, twenty-two members from both Houses, examines the Comptroller and Auditor General's audit reports after the money has been spent. The Committee on Public Undertakings, twenty-two members from both Houses, scrutinises public sector enterprises. Members are elected annually by proportional representation with the single transferable vote, and Ministers are excluded from all three.

The item is a straight composition check, and the memorable fact is that exactly one of the standing financial committees is single-House. Fix it by the numbers: 30 all-Lok-Sabha for Estimates, 22 split fifteen and seven for both the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings. That also answers the other common question on this material, which is which committee is the largest — the Estimates Committee, because 30 beats 22. Two further points are worth carrying. Since 1967 the chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee has by convention been drawn from the Opposition, which is what gives it its bite; and the Estimates Committee's remit is forward-looking, since it examines the estimates before the money is voted, while the Public Accounts Committee's is backward-looking, working from the audited account.

• The Estimates Committee has thirty members, all elected from the Lok Sabha, for a term of one year.
• The Public Accounts Committee has twenty-two members — fifteen from the Lok Sabha and not more than seven from the Rajya Sabha.
• The Committee on Public Undertakings also has twenty-two members, fifteen from the Lok Sabha and seven from the Rajya Sabha.
• The Estimates Committee is the largest of the parliamentary committees.
• Ministers cannot be members of these financial committees, and members are elected annually by proportional representation through the single transferable vote.

• Reversing the numbers — 30 belongs to the Estimates Committee and 22 to the other two financial committees.
• Assuming a committee with no Rajya Sabha members must be small; the single-House committee here is the largest of all.
• Confusing the forward-looking work of the Estimates Committee with the post-audit work of the Public Accounts Committee.

As a composition question, as a which-is-largest question, or as a statements item mixing the membership of two committees.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following is the largest committee of the Indian Parliament?

  • (a)The Public Accounts Committee
  • (b)The Estimates Committee
  • (c)The Committee on Public Undertakings
  • (d)The Business Advisory Committee

  Answer(b) The Estimates Committee — thirty members, against twenty-two each for the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Public Accounts Committee of Parliament examines primarily

  • (a)the budget estimates before they are voted
  • (b)the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General
  • (c)the working of departmentally related standing committees
  • (d)petitions submitted to the Lok Sabha

  Answer(b) the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General — its work begins after the money has been spent and audited.