Monsoon Session: Lok Sabha's productivity higher than Rajya Sabha

The productivity of the Lok Sabha was higher than the Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon session which ended today but its performance was less than what it had achieved in the Budget session.

Terming the performance of the two Houses as "good", Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said while the productivity of the Lok Sabh was recorded at 110.84 per cent, that of the Rajya Sabha was 99.54 per cent.

But according to data compiled by PRS Legislative, the productivity of the lower house in the Budget session was 121 per cent. The Rajya Sabha had recorded a productivity of 91 per cent, lower than what it achieved in the latest session.

The highlights of the Monsoon session were passage of the GST bill and unanimous resolutions in both Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Kashmir, he said.

"Each week, there was one discussion," he said adding that Lok Sabha took up four discussions -- on situation in Kashmir Valley, price rise, atrocities on Dalits and Sustainable Development Goals.

The Rajya Sabha, he said, took up six short duration discussions on situation in the Kashmir Valley, price rise, atrocities on Dalits, status of implementation of the AP Reorganisation Act, developments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh leading to change in governments and the draft National Education Policy.

While 14 bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, 15 were passed. The Rajya Sabha passed 14 bills, while one -- The Maternity Benefit (amendment) Bill, 201 was introduced.

Parliament passed a total of 15 bills, including the one on GST.

While two bills which replaced as many ordinances on the common medical entrance exam were passed, the one which sought to replace an ordinance on amendments to the Enemy Property Act could not be cleared. The ordinance is set to lapse in the coming days.