Parliamentary sessions

• The summoning of Parliament is specified in Article 85 of the Constitution which it is based on a provision of The Government of India Act, 1935, which specifies that the central legislature be summoned at least once a year, and that not more than 12 months elapsed between two sessions.
• Dr B R Ambedkar, however, said that the purpose of that provision had been to summon the legislature only to collect revenue, and that the once-a-year meeting was designed to avoid scrutiny of the government by the legislature.
  • His drafting of the provision reduced the gap between sessions to six months, and specified that Parliament should meet at least twice a year.

Sessions

• India does not have a fixed parliamentary calendar.
• By convention, Parliament meets for three sessions in a year.
• The longest, the Budget Session, starts towards the end of January, and concludes by the end of April or first week of May.
  • The session has a recess so that Parliamentary Committees can discuss the budgetary proposals.
• The second session is the three-week Monsoon Session, which usually begins in July and finishes in August.
• The parliamentary year ends with a three week-long Winter Session, which is held from November to December.
• The power to convene a session of Parliament rests with the government.
  • The decision is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, and formalised by the President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session.