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		<img align="" alt="Parliament" class="imgCont" height="464" src="https://bsmedia.business-standard.com/_media/bs/img/article/2017-11/14/full/1510600778-2255.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-right: 10px; padding: 1px; float: left; z-index: 0;" title="Parliament" width="620" />
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			The last monsoon session of the current National Democratic Alliance government kicks off today. Some political pundits are betting on the possibility that this may well be the last Parliament session under this government, making it pertinent to have a look at its parliamentary performance vis-&agrave;-vis that of its predecessors.&nbsp;</div>
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			The four-year stint of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA fared better than its predecessors in terms of converting introduced bills into law, but on the other hand, had fewer sittings and introduced fewer new legislation than its predecessors, a <em>Business Standard </em>analysis of data maintained by PRS Legislative Research shows.&nbsp;</div>
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			The current government was able to pass 74 per cent of the bills it introduced, up from 51 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha led by UPA-II. In comparison, UPA-I was better, having passed 71 per cent of the bills it introduced, reflecting the policy paralysis that had hit the government hard under UPA-II.&nbsp;</div>
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			In terms of sittings and intent for new legislation, the UPA scores better. Its first avatar introduced 245 bills and passed 173, while UPA-II sat for 357 days, introduced 228 bills and passed 116 bills.&nbsp;</div>
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			The Modi-led NDA, however, has sat for 287 days till the budget session of 2018, and introduced 148 bills. The number of bills passed in the 16th Lok Sabha, at 110, is close to that under UPA-II, reflecting a better strike rate as mentioned above.<br />
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			The reason behind this could be the strong single-party majority the BJP enjoys in the Lok Sabha and its relative success in building consensus with regional parties in the Rajya Sabha, said experts.&nbsp;</div>
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			Further, the Lok Sabha used 89 per cent of its time productively, compared to 61 per cent under the previous government. However, the NDA passed 39 ordinances in its four years, compared to 36 in United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-I and 25 in UPA-II, reflecting a higher propensity to bypass Parliament than its predecessor.</div>
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			It must be noted here, however, that not all the bills passed under NDA rule were introduced by it, and some were, in fact, carried forward from the previous government. If this is factored in, the percentage figures above could change a bit, That said, the broad trend remains, researchers who maintained the data, said.</div>
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			One thing to be noted here is that the numbers above do not include finance and appropriation bills, which are common for any particular year under any government.&nbsp;</div>
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			While not directly comparing the two tenures, but throwing light on the current state of affairs in Parliament, Surendra Nath Tripathi, secretary, parliamentary affairs ministry, said that stronger digital presence has improved the quality of members&rsquo; participation in legislative affairs.&nbsp;</div>
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			He suggested that the tendency to have a better-informed debate has increased during the past few years. But he also cautioned on the nature of the legislative performance.&nbsp;</div>
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			&ldquo;The issue today is more of consensus than numbers (of members),&rdquo; he told <em>Business Standard</em>, underlining BJP&rsquo;s simple majority in the Lok Sabha.&nbsp;</div>
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			After the 2018 budget, the appropriation bill, the one that gives a nod to spend public money from budget coffers and clears specific fund demands of all ministries, was passed amid din, without any discussion.&nbsp;</div>
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			&ldquo;Exceptional situations need exceptional measures at times,&rdquo; he said. It was only for the third time in the history of Indian Parliament that the appropriation bill after the budget was passed without discussion, he added.&nbsp;</div>
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			Further, the proportion of bills referred to various committees of both the houses has reduced substantially, to 28 per cent under the NDA, from 71 per cent under UPA-II.&nbsp;</div>
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			A bill referred to a committee represents a deeper consideration of the bill, and takes more factors into account, parliamentary experts say. Tripathi, however, said that the low proportion under NDA represents a near consensus on most bills, citing examples like the constitutional amendment that laid the foundation of goods and services tax.</div>
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			The nature of legislations that defined the three tenures UPA-I, UPA-II and Modi-led NDA is different, say experts. The UPA was characterised by a rights-based approach, giving individual citizens rights to information, education and employment, and entitlement to basic food.&nbsp;</div>
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			The nature of rights extended under NDA can be observed to be different. Strengthening the rights of a consumer, amending the human rights act in lieu of upholding the rights of backward classes are some of the pending bills listed for the monsoon session.&nbsp;</div>
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			In addition, as the soon-to-retire chief economic adviser puts it, the NDA government is marked by public provision of private goods -&mdash; toilets, LPG to name a few -&mdash; deviating from the UPA model.</div>
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			In a sort of a balancing act, both political dispensations were equally poor in terms of the time spent on legislation. Only about 22-24 per cent of the total session time (average of session-wise percentages) was spent on legislations, while the remainder was either consumed in debates, questions and zero-hour, or lost to adjournments and interruptions.
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BJP-led NDA scored higher than its predecessor on conversion of bills into law, but had fewer sittings and introduced fewer new legislation than both UPA-I and UPA-II

NDA's parliamentary performance: Better strike rate but fewer new bills

BJP-led NDA scored higher than its predecessor on conversion of bills into law, but had fewer sittings and introduced fewer new legislation than both UPA-I and UPA-II