Parliamentary productivity
Topic: Parliament: Composition, Powers and Law-making · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"
Meaning
Parliamentary productivity is the share of a House's scheduled time that it actually spends working. When members disrupt proceedings and the House is adjourned (stopped for the day or for a while), that time is lost and productivity falls. Groups such as PRS Legislative Research track this figure after every session. It is one of the main signs used in the debate on the decline of Parliament.
Example
Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said in 2021 that the House's productivity was about 78% in 2004-14 and about 65% after that. It hit a record low of 35.75% in 2018. Sittings have also fallen: the 1st Lok Sabha held 677 sittings, while the 17th (2019-24) held only 274.
Don't confuse with
- Number of sittings: how many days a House meets. Productivity measures how much of the scheduled time is actually used once the House does meet.