Parliament of India - Wikipedia Parliament of India Coordinates : 28 ° 37 ′ 2 '' N 77 ° 12 ′ 29 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 28.61722 ° N 77.20806 ° E ﻿ / 28.61722 ; 77.20806 Parliament of India Emblem of India Type Type Bicameral Houses Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha History Founded 26 January 1950 ( 68 years ago ) ( 1950 - 01 - 26 ) Preceded by Constituent Assembly of India Leadership President Ram Nath Kovind Since 25 July 2017 Chairman of Rajya Sabha ( Vice President ) Venkaiah Naidu Since 11 August 2017 Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha P.J. Kurien, INC Since 21 August 2012 Speaker of the Lok Sabha Sumitra Mahajan, BJP Since 6 June 2014 Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha M. Thambidurai, AIADMK Since 13 August 2014 Leader of the House ( Lok Sabha ) Narendra Modi, BJP Since 26 May 2014 Leader of the House ( Rajya Sabha ) Arun Jaitley, BJP Since 2 June 2014 Structure Seats 790 245 Members of Rajya Sabha 545 Members of Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha political groups NDA ( Majority ) UPA Lok Sabha political groups NDA ( Majority ) UPA Elections Rajya Sabha voting system Single transferable vote Lok Sabha voting system First past the post Rajya Sabha last election 21 July and 08 August 2017 Lok Sabha last election 7 April -- 12 May 2014 Rajya Sabha next election 16 January, 23 March and 21 June 2018 Lok Sabha next election April -- May 2019 Meeting place Sansad Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi, India Website parliamentofindia.nic.in Constitution Constitution of India India This article is part of a series on the politics and government of India Constitution and law Constitutional amendment Basic structure doctrine Fundamental rights Human rights -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 Uniform civil code Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Indian Penal Code Law enforcement Government of India President ( Head of state ) ( List ) Vice president ( List ) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Executive : Prime minister ( Head of government ) ( List ) Union Council of Ministers Cabinet secretary Secretaries : ( Defence Finance Foreign Home ) Civil services All India Services ( IAS IFS / IFoS IPS ) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Legislature : Parliament Rajya Sabha ( Chairman ) Lok Sabha ( Speaker ) Judiciary : Supreme court ( Chief justice ) High courts ( Chief justices ) District courts Elections Election commission : Chief Election Commissioner ( Election commissioners ) Recent general elections : 2009 2014 2019 Recent state elections : 2017 2018 2019 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Political parties National parties State parties National coalitions : National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) United Progressive Alliance ( UPA ) Federalism Administrative divisions -- -- -- -- -- -- -- State governments Governors ( List ) Chief ministers ( List ) Chief secretary ( Principal secretaries ) Field - level officers Divisional commissioners District magistrates Sub-divisional magistrates Legislatures : Vidhan Sabha Vidhan Parishad -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Local governments : Rural bodies : District councils Block panchayats Gram Panchayats Urban bodies : Municipal corporations Municipal councils Nagar panchayats Other countries Atlas The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses. It is a bicameral legislature with two houses : the Rajya Sabha ( Council of States ) and the Lok Sabha ( House of the People ). The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and his Union Council of Ministers. Those elected or nominated ( by the President ) to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of parliament ( MP ). The Members of Parliament, Lok Sabha are directly elected by the Indian public voting in Single - member districts and the Members of Parliament, Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of all of the State Legislative Assembly by proportional representation. The Parliament has a sanctioned strength of 545 in Lok Sabha including the 2 nominees from the Anglo - Indian Community by the President, and 245 in Rajya Sabha including the 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of science, culture, art and history. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi. Contents 1 History 2 Parliament House 2.1 General layout of the parliament 2.2 Proposal for a new building 3 Composition 3.1 President of India 3.2 Lok Sabha 3.3 Rajya Sabha 4 Session of parliament 5 Lawmaking procedures 6 Parliamentary committees 7 Incidents 8 Parliament Session and debates 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links History Main articles : Imperial Legislative Council and Constituent Assembly of India Parliament House Main article : Sansad Bhavan The Sansad Bhavan ( Parliament House ) is located in New Delhi. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who were responsible for planning and construction of New Delhi by British government. The construction of buildings took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927 by the then Viceroy and Governor - General of India, Irwin. The construction costs for the building were ₹ 8.3 million ( US $120,000 ). The parliament is 560 feet ( 170 m ) in diameter and covers an area of 6 acres ( 2.4 ha ). The Central hall consists of the chambers of Lok sabha, Rajya Sabha and the Library hall. Surrounding these three chambers is the four storied circular structure providing accommodations for members and houses Parliamentary committees, offices and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. General layout of the Parliament The centre and the focus of the building is the Central Hall. It consists of chambers of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the Library Hall and between them lie garden courts. Surrounding these three chambers is the four storyed circular structure providing accommodations for Ministers, Chairmen, Parliamentary committees, Party offices, important offices of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariats and also the offices of the ministry of Parliamentary affairs. The Central Hall is circular in shape and the dome is 29.87 m ( 98 feet ) in diameter. It is a place of historical importance. The Indian Constitution was framed in the Central Hall. The Central Hall was originally used in the library of erstwhile Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. In 1946, it was converted and refurbished into Constituent Assembly Hall. At present, the Central Hall is used for holding joint sittings of both the houses of parliament and also used for address by the President in the commencement of first session after each general election. Proposal for a new building A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex. The new building is being considered on account of the stability concerns regarding the current complex. A committee to suggest alternatives to the current building has been set up by the Former Speaker, Meira Kumar. The present building, an 85 - year - old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage tag. Composition The Indian Parliament consists of two houses called the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head. President of India Main article : President of India The President of India, the Head of state is a component of Parliament. Under Article 60 and Article 111, President 's responsibility is to scrutinise that bills / laws passed by the parliament are in accordance with constitutional mandate and stipulated procedure is followed before according his / her approval to the bills. The President of India is elected by the members of Parliament of India and the state legislatures and serves for a term of 5 years. Lok Sabha Main article : Lok Sabha Lok Sabha ( House of the People ) or the lower house has 545 members. 543 members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of universal adult franchise representing Parliamentary constituencies across the country and 2 members are appointed by the President of India from Anglo - Indian Community. Every citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion or race, who is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for the Lok Sabha. The Constitution provides that the maximum strength of the House be 552 members. It has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt and should not be criminally convicted. The total elective membership is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States. Rajya Sabha Main article : Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha ( Council of States ) or the upper house is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One third of the members retire every second year, and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of six years. Its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members. It currently has a sanctioned strength of 245 members, of which 233 are elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President. The number of members from a state depends on its population. The minimum age for a person to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years. Session of Parliament The period during which the House meets to conduct its business is called a session. The Constitution empowers the president to summon each House at such intervals that there should not be more than a six - month gap between the two sessions. Hence the Parliament must meet at least twice a year. In India, the parliament conducts three sessions each year : Budget session : February to May Monsoon session : July to September Winter session : November to December Lawmaking procedures Main article : Lawmaking procedure in India Legislative proposals are brought before either house of the Parliament in the form of a bill. A bill is the draft of a legislative proposal, which, when passed by both houses of Parliament and assented to by the President, becomes an Act of Parliament. Money bills must originate in the Lok Sabha. The council of states can only make recommendations over the bills to the House, within a period of fourteen days. Parliamentary committees Parliamentary committees are formed to deliberate specific matters at length. The public is directly or indirectly associated and studies are conducted to help committees arrive at the conclusions. Parliamentary committees are of two kinds : Ad hoc committees and the Standing committees. Standing committees are permanent committees constituted from time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an act of Parliament or rules of procedure and conduct of business in Parliament. The work of these committees is of a continuing nature. Ad hoc committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submits a report. Incidents Main article : 2001 Indian Parliament attack On 13 December 2001, Indian Parliament was attacked by an Islamic terrorist group. The perpetrators were Lashkar - e-Taiba ( Let ) and Jaish - e-Mohammed ( JeM ) terrorists. The attack led to the deaths of five terrorists, six Delhi Police personnel, two Parliament Security Services personnel and a gardener, which totalled 14 fatalities. It also led to increased tensions between India and Pakistan, resulting in the 2001 - 2002 India - Pakistan standoff. Parliament session and debates On 16 November 2016, The winter session of Indian Parliament had started and during the sittings in both Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament, observed strong opposition, and uproar by political parties, on note ban initiative by Narendra Modi Government on 8 November 2016. Jawaharlal Nehru and other members taking pledge during the midnight session of the Constituent Assembly of India held on 14 and 15 August 1947. Constituent Assembly of India Jawaharlal Nehru addressing the Constituent Assembly in 1946. Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai listens to Jimmy Carter as he addresses the Indian Parliament House. President of the United States, Barack Obama addressing Joint Session of the Parliament in 2010. See also Politics of India Election Commission of India Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha PRS Legislative Research Indian Parliamentary Group List of legislatures by country List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha References Jump up ^ `` Live : Ram Nath Kovind becomes the 14th President of India ''. The Hindu. New Delhi, India. 25 July 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Jump up ^ `` Venkaiah Naidu sworn in as Vice-President ''. The Hindu. New Delhi, India. 11 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Jump up ^ `` P.J. Kurien is Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman ''. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` Sumitra Mahajan elected speaker ''. Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016. Jump up ^ `` M Thambidurai elected deputy speaker of Lok Sabha ''. Times of India. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` Narendra Modi is sworn in as the 15th Prime Minister of India ''. The Times of India. 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014. Jump up ^ `` PIB Press Releases ''. Pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012. Jump up ^ `` Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Parliament of India ''. Archived from the original on 1 July 2012. Jump up ^ `` History of the Parliament, Delhi ''. delhiassembly.nic.in. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Delhi may see a new Parliament building ''. timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013. Jump up ^ Firstpost ( 13 July 2012 ). `` Speaker sets up panel to suggest new home for Parliament ''. Firstpost. Archived from the original on 11 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012. Jump up ^ Constitution of India ( PDF ). Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India. 1 December 2007. p. 26. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2013. Jump up ^ `` Lok Sabha ''. parliamentofindia.nic.in. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2011. Jump up ^ `` Parliament -- Government : National Portal of India ''. Home : National Portal of India. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 10 May 2011. Jump up ^ `` Our Parliament '' ( PDF ). New Delhi : Lok Sabha Secretariat. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 6 September 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2012. Jump up ^ `` How bill becomes act ''. parliamentofindia.nic.in. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015. Jump up ^ Parliamentary Committee. `` Parliament of India ''. Indian Parliament. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Jump up ^ Committees of Rajya Sabha. `` General Information ''. Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Jump up ^ Lok Sabha - Committee Home. `` Introduction ''. Lok Sabha Secretariat. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Jump up ^ `` Terrorists attack Parliament ; five intruders, six cops killed ''. rediff.com. 13 December 2001. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013. Further reading `` The Parliamentary System '' by Arun Shourie, Publisher : Rupa & Co External links Media related to Parliament of India at Wikimedia Commons Works written on the topic Parliament of India at Wikisource Parliaments of Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor ( Timor - Leste ) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos ( Keeling ) Islands Hong Kong Macau National bicameral legislatures Federal Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Canada Ethiopia Germany India Malaysia Mexico Nigeria Pakistan Russia Somalia South Sudan Sudan Switzerland United States Unitary Afghanistan Algeria Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belarus Belize Bhutan Bolivia Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Chile Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Czech Republic Dominican Republic Equatorial Guinea France Gabon Grenada Haiti Indonesia Ireland Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Lesotho Liberia Madagascar Morocco Myanmar Namibia Netherlands Oman Palau Paraguay Philippines Poland Romania Rwanda Saint Lucia Slovenia South Africa Spain Swaziland Tajikistan Trinidad and Tobago United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Zimbabwe Dependent and other territories American Samoa Bermuda Isle of Man Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Non-UN states Somaliland Historical Soviet Union Czechoslovakia ( 1920 -- 1939 ) Czechoslovakia ( 1969 -- 1992 ) Yugoslavia Related Unicameralism List of legislatures by country National unicameral legislatures National lower houses National upper houses Parliament of India President of India President of India ( List ) Lok Sabha Speaker Leader of the Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Constituencies 1st LS ( 1952 -- 57 ) ( Members ) 2nd LS ( 1957 -- 62 ) ( Members ) 3rd LS ( 1962 -- 67 ) ( Members ) 4th LS ( 1967 -- 71 ) ( Members ) 5th LS ( 1971 -- 77 ) ( Members ) 6th LS ( 1977 -- 80 ) ( Members ) 7th LS ( 1980 -- 84 ) ( Members ) 8th LS ( 1984 -- 89 ) ( Members ) 9th LS ( 1989 -- 91 ) ( Members ) 10th LS ( 1991 -- 96 ) ( Members ) 11th LS ( 1996 -- 98 ) ( Members ) 12th LS ( 1998 -- 99 ) ( Members ) 13th LS ( 1999 -- 2004 ) ( Members ) 14th LS ( 2004 -- 09 ) ( Members ) 15th LS ( 2009 -- 14 ) ( Members ) 16th LS ( 2014 -- 19 ) ( Members ) Rajya Sabha Members Chairman Leader of the Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Parliament_of_India&oldid=848091267 '' Categories : 1952 establishments in India Bicameral legislatures National legislatures Parliament of India Parliaments by country Politics of India Hidden categories : Wikipedia semi-protected pages Coordinates on Wikidata Use dmy dates from April 2018 Use Indian English from January 2018 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Talk View source Contents About Wikipedia অসমীয়া Asturianu বাংলা भोजपुरी Català Cymraeg Deutsch Español فارسی Français ગુજરાતી 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ಕನ್ನಡ ქართული മലയാളം मराठी მარგალური Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Português Русский संस्कृतम् සිංහල Simple English Suomi Svenska தமிழ் తెలుగు ತುಳು Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 37 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 June 2018, at 18 : 46 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many times should the parliament meet in a year
Answer: at least twice a year