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Question 48 of 98 · Parliament
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A minister cannot be a member of which of the following Parliamentary committees?

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Answer: Option B — Public Accounts Committee

Detailed Solution

A minister cannot be elected as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). If a member becomes a minister after being elected to the committee, he ceases to be a member from the date of his appointment.

Why ministers are excluded:

  • The PAC examines the accounts of the government and checks how ministries have spent public money.
  • Ministers are in charge of these ministries, so they cannot sit in judgement on their own work.
  • Keeping ministers out ensures that the committee works as an independent watchdog over the executive.

Other financial committees:

  • The same rule applies to the Estimates Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings.
  • None of the three financial committees can have a minister as a member.

About the PAC:

  • It has 22 members, 15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha.
  • Its chairman is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
  • By convention, a senior member of the opposition is appointed as chairman.
  • It examines the audit reports on the government's accounts and points out irregularities.
  • It is the oldest of the parliamentary financial committees.

About the Estimates Committee:

  • It has 30 members, all from the Lok Sabha.
  • It examines the estimates included in the Budget and suggests economies in public expenditure.
  • It is often called a "continuous economy committee".

Committees where ministers can be members:

  • The Business Advisory Committee includes representatives of the government, including the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
  • The Rules Committee and other housekeeping committees may also have ministers.

Departmentally related standing committees:

Ministers cannot be members of these committees either, because they examine the work of ministries.

Purpose of parliamentary committees:

They allow detailed scrutiny that the full House cannot do because of lack of time.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Ministers are not barred from the Business Advisory Committee, the Rules Committee or the Committee on Petitions in the same way.

Quick tip

Remember: No minister can be a member of the PAC, Estimates Committee or Committee on Public Undertakings.

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Parliament — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Parliament, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Parliament of India: the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, their composition, powers and officers, sessions, the law-making process, money bills, joint sittings, parliamentary committees, and devices such as question hour, zero hour and the various motions. Typical questions ask about the maximum strength of each house, the minimum age for members, who certifies a money bill (the Speaker), who presides over a joint sitting, and which committee is chaired by a member of the opposition (the Public Accounts Committee, by convention). Note the special powers of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 249 and 312. Practise the Parliament questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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