In the execution of which of the following functions, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have equal powers?
- (a)Passage of money bill
- (b)Creation of new All India Service
- (c)Passage of no-confidence motion against the Government
- (d)Passage of a Constitution Amendment Bill
Correct — D, passage of a Constitution Amendment Bill. Under Article 368 an amendment must be passed in each House separately by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of that House plus at least two-thirds of the members present and voting. There is no joint-sitting mechanism to break a deadlock on an amendment bill (Article 108 covers only ordinary bills), so if the Rajya Sabha does not pass it, the amendment simply fails. On this function the two Houses stand exactly equal, and the Rajya Sabha holds an effective veto.
- (a)Passage of money bill — Powers here are deliberately unequal. A money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha can neither reject nor amend it — it may only return the bill with recommendations within 14 days, which the Lok Sabha is free to accept or ignore (Articles 109 and 110).
- (b)Creation of new All India Service — This is an exclusive power of the Rajya Sabha, not a shared one. Under Article 312, Parliament may create a new All India Service only if the Rajya Sabha has first passed a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting, declaring it necessary in the national interest.
- (c)Passage of no-confidence motion against the Government — Only the Lok Sabha can pass a no-confidence motion. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People alone (Article 75(3)), so the Rajya Sabha cannot remove a government.
The two Houses of Parliament are equal in most legislative and constituent business, but deliberately unequal wherever the government's survival or the public purse is at stake. Equal powers cover ordinary bills, constitutional amendment bills, the election and impeachment of the President, the election of the Vice-President, the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and the approval of proclamations of Emergency. The Lok Sabha alone controls money bills and can pass a no-confidence motion; the Rajya Sabha alone can act under Article 249 (authorising Parliament to legislate on a State List subject in the national interest) and Article 312 (creating a new All India Service).
The question is a sorting exercise. Three options are one-sided powers and only one is genuinely shared, and each has a give-away word: 'money' means Lok Sabha, 'no-confidence' means Lok Sabha, 'All India Service' means Rajya Sabha. Whatever survives is the equal power. A useful cross-check: no joint sitting is possible for either a money bill or a constitutional amendment bill, but for opposite reasons — on a money bill the Lok Sabha's will simply prevails, whereas an amendment cannot move at all without the Rajya Sabha's assent.
- Article 368: a Constitution Amendment Bill must be passed in each House separately by a special majority; no joint sitting is provided, so the Rajya Sabha has an effective veto.
- Money bill (Articles 109-110): introduced only in the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha has 14 days and can only recommend.
- Article 312: a new All India Service requires a Rajya Sabha resolution supported by two-thirds of members present and voting — an exclusive Rajya Sabha power.
- A no-confidence motion lies only in the Lok Sabha, because of collective responsibility to the House of the People under Article 75(3).
- A joint sitting under Article 108 can be summoned only for ordinary bills — never for money bills or amendment bills.
Only the constitutional amendment sits in the 'equal' row; the other three are one-sided by design — two tilted to the Lok Sabha, one reserved to the Rajya Sabha.
- Believing the Rajya Sabha can block a money bill — it can only delay it by 14 days.
- Reading Article 312 (All India Services) as an 'equal' power when it is an exclusive Rajya Sabha power.
- Expecting a joint sitting to resolve a deadlock on a constitutional amendment — Article 108 does not apply to amendment bills.
Both UPSC and MPPSC phrase this as 'Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in ___' or its inverse. Memorise three buckets — Lok Sabha only (money bills, no-confidence), Rajya Sabha only (Articles 249 and 312), and equal (ordinary bills, amendments, President's election and impeachment, removal of judges, approval of Emergency).
Rajya Sabha has equal powers with Lok Sabha in
- (a) the matter of creating new All India Services
- (b) amending the Constitution
- (c) the removal of the government
- (d) making cut motions
Answer(b) amending the Constitution
Effectively the same question with three of the same four options — UPSC 2020 also required the candidate to see that only a constitutional amendment is a genuinely shared power.
Which of the following special powers have been conferred on the Rajya Sabha by the Constitution of India?
- (a) To change the existing territory of a State and to change the name of a State
- (b) To pass a resolution empowering the Parliament to make laws in the State List and to create one or more All India Services
- (c) To amend the election procedure of the President and to determine the pension of the President after his/her retirement
- (d) To determine the functions of the Election Commission and to determine the number of Election Commissioners
Answer(b) To pass a resolution empowering the Parliament to make laws in the State List and to create one or more All India Services
Locks the distractor in option (b) of this MPPSC question — Articles 249 and 312 are the Rajya Sabha's exclusive powers, which is precisely why creating an All India Service is not an 'equal' power.
A deadlock between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha calls for a joint sitting of the Parliament during the passage of 1. Ordinary Legislation 2. Money Bill 3. Constitution Amendment Bill
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer(a) 1 only
The mechanism behind the answer — because no joint sitting exists for an amendment bill, the Rajya Sabha's consent is indispensable, which is exactly what makes the two Houses equal on Article 368 business.
- practice — not a real PYQ
A Constitution Amendment Bill under Article 368 must be passed:
- (a)by a simple majority in both Houses
- (b)by a special majority in each House separately
- (c)by a special majority in a joint sitting of both Houses
- (d)by the Lok Sabha alone with a special majority
Answer(b) by a special majority in each House separately — there is no joint sitting for amendment bills.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Parliament can create a new All India Service under which Article, and on whose resolution?
- (a)Article 249, on a Lok Sabha resolution
- (b)Article 312, on a Rajya Sabha resolution
- (c)Article 312, on a joint resolution of both Houses
- (d)Article 315, on the recommendation of the UPSC
Answer(b) Article 312, on a Rajya Sabha resolution supported by two-thirds of the members present and voting.