New Delhi: The installation of Sengol in the Lok Sabha and a marshal carrying it in the President’s procession to Parliament, the merger of the Union Budget and Railway Budget, the provision of sending SMS alerts to the MPs about their questions, the AI-based facility for making the parliamentary proceedings available in multiple regional languages, and an app for accessing all information about a session – these are all part of the parliamentary procedures now, featuring in the latest edition of M N Kaul and S L Shakhder’s “Practice and Procedure of Parliament”.
The changes that have occurred after the inaugration of the new Parliament building in 2023 are included in this edition edited by the Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh.
Recording several additions to the parliamentary practice, the 2025 edition – released after nine years – says: “The President arrives at the Gaja Dwar (north-west portico) in the State coach or Limousine attended by the Secretary and Military Secretary to the President and escorted by the President’s Bodyguard mounted on horses. Before the arrival of the President, Marshal of Lok Sabha lifts the Sengol installed in the Lok Sabha Chamber respectfully in an upright position and proceeds towards the Gaja Dwar… The entourage enters the Gaja Dwar and forms a procession at the foyer facing the staircase leading to the Lok Sabha lobby with the Marshal holding the Sengol at the front of the procession… The procession is led by the Marshal of Lok Sabha holding Sengol in an upright position.”
Giving details about the presidential procession when the President comes to Parliament to address the joint sitting of the two Houses, the book says the MPs are not allowed to take pictures of the event. “No photograph of the ceremony is permitted to be taken. However, since 20 December 1989, the ceremony has been televised live.”
As the Covid-19 pandemic ushered in multiple changes in the conduct of the parliamentary proceedings after 2020, the book noted that it has made “paperless Parliament” a reality “from Fourth Session of Seventeenth Lok Sabha i.e., Monsoon Session, 2020”. “Provision of sending SMS alerts to the Members on their phones about their questions in Starred as well as Unstarred List has been made operational from the 5th session of 17th Lok Sabha and the first such SMS was sent on 05.03.2021 for the Lists of Questions for 08.03.2021,” it notes.
The e-office system in the Lok Sabha Secretariat – which includes electronic file tracking system, electronic file management system, electronic leave management system, among other things – has also become a part of Indian parliamentary practice.
In his introduction to the book’s new edition, Speaker Om Birla stated that using digital platforms for parliamentary functioning has enabled a stronger and effective connect with the people. “With the help of robust amalgamation infrastructure and technology, the Parliament of India took significant steps in using information and communication technology effectively in its functioning.”
The book has also recorded the integration of the General and Railway Budgets. “A significant step taken during the Sixteenth Lok Sabha was reflected in the initiation of the new practice of presenting a single, integrated Budget. For the first time, the Railway Budget and General Budget were merged and presented by the Government as a single Budget in Parliament,” it says.
The Practice and Procedure of Parliament, published by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, gives a thorough description of the nature and powers of Indian Parliament as well as the rights and duties of its members, and will be a key reference for all the lawmakers, officials said.
Originally compiled by Kaul and Shakdher, the first edition of the book came out in 1968. Both Kaul and Shakdher had been former Secretary Generals of the Lok Sabha in the wake of Independence, who were credited for creating an efficient administration for Parliament and shaping provisions for its functioning.
The revised editions of the book were published in 1972,1978, 1991, 2001, 2009 and 2016.
Since it was last published, Indian Parliament has witnessed several epochal changes including the sitting of both the Houses during the Covid pandemic and shifting the chambers to the new Parliament building.
“Published since 1968, it has evolved a comprehensive reference guide for lawmakers, experts, scholars and the average reader alike,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote in his message for the book’s latest edition.
(The Indian Express)
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