UPSC Prelims 2026 Q59: Parliament's Committee on Welfare of SCs and STs
Consider the following statements about the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the Parliament of India:
1. Although members of this Committee are elected from both Houses of Parliament, the Chairperson of this Committee is appointed by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
2. Twenty members are elected by the Rajya Sabha and ten members by the Lok Sabha.
3. No Minister, except for the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, is eligible to be a member of this Committee.
4. Members are elected for a fixed term of two years from the date they enter their office.
Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct?
- There are four correct statements.
- There is only one correct statement, that is statement 2.
- There are two correct statements, that include statement 1.
- There is no correct statement.
Answer: (d) There is no correct statement.
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Members do come from both Houses, but the Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, not by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The committee works under the Lok Sabha's Rules of Procedure (Rule 331B onwards). Its secretariat is the Lok Sabha Secretariat.
- 2: incorrect — The statement reverses the numbers. The committee has 30 members: 20 elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members by proportional representation through the single transferable vote, and 10 from the Rajya Sabha.
- 3: incorrect — No Minister can be a member, and the rules make no exception for the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. If a member becomes a Minister after being elected, they stop being a member from the date of that appointment. The committee scrutinises that Ministry, so having its Minister as a member would defeat the purpose.
- 4: incorrect — The term of office does not exceed one year. Like the Public Accounts and Estimates Committees, it is reconstituted every year. No two-year term exists.
How to eliminate
Statement 3 can be ruled out on principle. Parliamentary financial and welfare committees exist to scrutinise the executive, so Ministers are kept off them. The words 'No Minister, except for…' are a planted exception and a warning sign. Statement 2 should also raise a flag. Joint committees of this type (the Public Accounts Committee, the Committee on Public Undertakings, this committee) always have a 2:1 ratio in favour of the Lok Sabha, because the Lok Sabha creates them under its own rules. A 20:10 split favouring the Rajya Sabha breaks that pattern. Once statements 2 and 3 are gone, the options claiming four correct statements or 'only statement 2' are eliminated. You are left choosing between 'two correct, including statement 1' and 'none correct'. To decide that, you need two facts: the Lok Sabha Speaker appoints the Chairperson, and the term is one year. Both follow the same Lok Sabha-led pattern, so a candidate who remembers the 2:1 logic can get there. Facts to memorise: 30 members (20 LS + 10 RS), Chairperson appointed by the Speaker, one-year term, Ministers barred.
Know more
Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
The Lok Sabha set up this committee in 1968 to watch over the constitutional safeguards for SCs and STs. It works under Rules 331B onwards of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. It is a standing committee, not an ad hoc one. It is joint in composition but Lok Sabha-led.
| Feature | Position |
|---|---|
| Strength | 30 members |
| Lok Sabha | 20, elected by proportional representation (single transferable vote) |
| Rajya Sabha | 10, from that House |
| Chairperson | Appointed by the Lok Sabha Speaker from among the members |
| Term | Not more than one year; reconstituted every year |
| Ministers | Not eligible; a member who becomes a Minister leaves the committee |
Functions
- Considers the reports of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Art. 338) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Art. 338A), and reports on the action the Union should take.
- Examines how reservation in Union services and posts, and in PSUs and autonomous bodies, is being implemented.
- Reviews how welfare programmes for SCs and STs work in Union Ministries and Union Territories.
Same pattern in other committees. The financial committees follow the same Lok Sabha-led design:
| Committee | LS + RS | Chair appointed by |
|---|---|---|
| Public Accounts | 15 + 7 | Speaker |
| Public Undertakings | 15 + 7 | Speaker |
| Estimates | 30 + 0 | Speaker |
| Welfare of SCs & STs | 20 + 10 | Speaker |
All of them bar Ministers and have a one-year term. Most State legislatures have their own SC/ST welfare committees, and in August 2025 their chairpersons met with the Parliament committee at a national conference.
In the news
On 29 August 2025 the Lok Sabha Speaker opened a National Conference of Chairpersons of Committees on the Welfare of SCs and STs of Parliament and State Legislatures in Bhubaneswar. The event put this committee in the news ahead of the 2026 Prelims. The facts tested, though, are static rules of procedure.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Parliamentary committee: Explains what a parliamentary committee is and why its membership, term and Minister rules are fixed by the House.
- Speaker of the Lok Sabha: Statement 1 turns on which presiding officer appoints this committee's Chairperson.
- National Commission for Scheduled Tribes: This committee examines the reports of the NCST and the NCSC, which is a core part of its work.
- Ad hoc committee: Statement 4 is about the term; knowing whether this committee is ad hoc or standing helps you judge it.