UPSSSC PET · Bite-size lessons
Indian Parliament Structure
About 7 min · General Awareness · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 539 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
The Indian Parliament is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India, modelled on the Westminster system of the United Kingdom. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of two houses: the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), along with the President of India who is an integral part of Parliament. Understanding Parliament's structure, composition, tenure, and electoral processes is critical for UPSSSC PET General Awareness because questions frequently appear on the number of seats, reservation provisions, qualifications for membership, session types, and differences between the two houses.
Key ideas
- Bicameral Legislature: India's Parliament has two houses—Lok Sabha (lower house, directly elected) and Rajya Sabha (upper house, indirectly elected)—along with the President, forming a three-tier legislative structure.
- Article 79: Establishes the Constitution of Parliament as comprising the President, Rajya Sabha, and Lok Sabha; Parliament exercises legislative power under Part V of the Constitution.
- Lok Sabha Primacy: In money bills and confidence motions, the Lok Sabha holds superiority; the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend money bills, only recommend changes within 14 days.
- Rajya Sabha Permanence: The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body, never subject to dissolution; one-third of its members retire every two years, ensuring continuity.
- Representation Principle: Lok Sabha represents the people directly (population-based seats); Rajya Sabha represents the states and union territories (federal principle).
Watch out for
- Confusing Maximum and Current Strength: Students often cite 552 for Lok Sabha without noting that current strength is 543 (Anglo-Indian nomination ended). Fix: Remember 543 elected seats as the current figure; 552 was the constitutional maximum.
- Mixing Up Age Limits: Writing 25 years for both houses. Fix: Lok Sabha = 25 years; Rajya Sabha = 30 years. Mnemonic: "Rajya is senior, so 30."
- Assuming Rajya Sabha Can Be Dissolved: Thinking Rajya Sabha dissolves like Lok Sabha. Fix: Rajya Sabha is a permanent body; only individual members' terms end, with one-third retiring every two years.
Quick reference
- Lok Sabha: 543 seats, 5-year term, directly elected, minimum age 25, SC/ST reservation (84 + 47).
- Rajya Sabha: 245 seats, permanent body, 6-year terms (1/3 retire every 2 years), indirectly elected, minimum age 30, 12 nominated.
- Money Bills: Only Lok Sabha can originate; Rajya Sabha can recommend changes within 14 days, but Lok Sabha can reject recommendations.
- Speaker & Chairman: Lok Sabha elects a Speaker; Rajya Sabha is chaired by the Vice-President of India (ex-officio Chairman).
- Quorum: One-tenth of total members in each house.
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. What is the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha as per the Constitution of India?
2. The term of Rajya Sabha is
3. Which of the following statements about representation in Rajya Sabha is correct? 1. The allocation of seats to states is based on their population. 2. Sikkim has one seat in Rajya Sabha. 3. Members are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies. 4. Union Territories have no representation in Rajya Sabha.
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
Read the full noteFlashcards for this topic
Saves this lesson and its 3 questions in this browser on this phone. No sign-in; nothing about you is saved or sent. A saved copy is not updated until you save it again. Parts that load from the server when you use them (the AI tutor, adaptive practice, sign-in) still need a connection.