Discuss the constitutional and administrative significance of Parliamentary Consultative Committees. How do they differ from Departmental Standing Committees?

Q. Discuss the constitutional and administrative significance of Parliamentary Consultative Committees. How do they differ from Departmental Standing Committees? (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Parliamentary Consultative Committees (PCCs) are informal fora of MPs attached to each Union Ministry, chaired by the Minister concerned and constituted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. They are instruments of consultation, not scrutiny — a distinction that defines both their value and their limits.

Constitutional and legal standing - PCCs have no constitutional or statutory basis; they rest on executive practice and MPA guidelines. Departmental Standing Committees, by contrast, flow from the Rules of Procedure framed under Article 118 [1]. - Membership is capped at 40 MPs with a quorum of 10, drawn from both Houses; no decisions or votes are taken, though the government may accept a unanimous view [2]. - Their real constitutional worth is in operationalising executive accountability to the legislature outside the formal committee system.

Administrative significance - They provide a continuous, non-adversarial channel between Ministers and MPs. The MHA has held 12 such meetings since 2019; the January 2026 meeting at Sri Vijaya Puram deliberated on CFSL–NFSU expansion, cybersecurity and disaster management [3]. - They act as a policy sounding board — the target of completing the judicial process from FIR to Supreme Court within three years by 2029 was placed before MPs here [3]. - Holding meetings outside Delhi, in a strategic island UT, extends federal and regional voice into ministerial decision-making.

How they differ from Departmental Standing Committees - Basis and vintage: DRSCs were created in 1993 as permanent committees of Parliament; PCCs are ministerial creations [4]. - Chair and composition: a Union Minister chairs a PCC; each of the 24 DRSCs has 31 members (21 Lok Sabha + 10 Rajya Sabha) chaired by an MP [4]. - Mandate: DRSCs examine Bills, Demands for Grants and policy, and table reports — 503 Action Taken Reports in the 16th Lok Sabha — while PCCs produce no report [4]. - Nature: oversight and scrutiny versus advice and information-sharing.

Both mechanisms are therefore complementary rather than competing: DRSCs supply rigour, PCCs supply access and continuity. Strengthening PCCs — regular meetings, wider subject coverage and published minutes — would deepen the deliberative culture that Article 118 committees already anchor, advancing responsive and consultative governance.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. The Constitution of India — Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice — Article 118 (power of each House to make rules of procedure) 2. Guidelines on Constitution of Consultative Committees — Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs — chairmanship, 40-member limit, quorum of 10, no decisions taken 3. Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah chairs a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Home Affairs at Sri Vijaya Puram — PIB — 12 MHA PCC meetings since 2019; forensics, cybersecurity agenda; 2029 justice-delivery target 4. The Importance of Parliamentary Committees — PRS Legislative Research — DRSCs since 1993, 24 committees of 21+10 members, scrutiny of Bills and Demands for Grants, 503 Action Taken Reports