• Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri briefed the Standing Committee on External Affairs on the India-Pakistan military conflict in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor.

• The military confrontation between India and Pakistan was always in the conventional domain, and there was no nuclear signalling by Islamabad, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told the panel on May 19.

• The meeting was chaired by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

• According to reports, the Foreign Secretary reiterated the government’s stand that the decision for ceasefire was taken at a bilateral level. 

• India and Pakistan reached an understanding on halting all military actions on May 10.

• The Standing Committee on External Affairs is one of the 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs), which has been constituted to examine matters pertaining to the Ministry of External Affairs and the institutions/organisations failing under its purview. 

• The panel consists of 31 members out of which 21 members are nominated by the Lok Sabha Speaker from amongst the members of Lower House (Lok Sabha) and 10 members are nominated by Rajya Sabha Chairman from amongst the members of the Upper House (Rajya Sabha). 

Parliament Committees

• The work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied and complex in nature, but also considerable in volume. The time at its disposal is limited. 

• It cannot, therefore, give close consideration to all the legislative and other matters that come up before it. A good deal of its business is, therefore, transacted in Committees of the House, known as Parliamentary Committees. 

• Parliamentary Committee means a committee which is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker and which works under the direction of the Speaker and presents its report to the House or to the Speaker and the Secretariat for which is provided by the Lok Sabha Secretariat.

By their nature, Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds: Standing Committees and Ad hoc Committees. 

1) Standing Committees are permanent and regular committees which are constituted from time to time in pursuance of the provisions of an Act of Parliament or Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha. 

The work of these Committees is of continuous nature. The Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) and some other Committees come under the category of Standing Committees. 

2) Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Railway Convention Committee, Joint Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex etc also come under the category of ad hoc Committees.

Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs)

• In 1989, three Standing Committees were constituted which dealt with Agriculture, Science and Technology and Environment and Forests. 

• In 1993, it was finally decided to set up 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees (DRSCs) each consisting of 15 members of Rajya Sabha and 30 from Lok Sabha to cover various ministries/departments of the Union government. 

• With the addition of seven more Committees in July 2004 and reduced membership of 10 from Rajya Sabha and 21 from Lok Sabha, the number of DRSCs was raised to 24. 

• Out of these 24, eight were placed within the jurisdiction of the Rajya Sabha Chairman and 16 within the jurisdiction of Lok Sabha Speaker.

• Rules 268 to 277 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Conduct of States and Rules 331 C to 331 N of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha govern the Constitution and functioning of these Committees.

• The term of Office of these Committees does not exceed one year. 

• A minister is not eligible to be nominated as a member of any of the Committees. If a member, after nomination to any of the Standing Committee, is appointed a minister, such member ceases to be a member of the Committee from the date of such appointment.

These 24 Committees are:

1) Committee on Commerce

2) Committee on Home Affairs

3) Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports

4) Committee on Industry

5) Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forest and Climate Change

6) Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture

7) Committee on Health and Family Welfare

8) Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice

9) Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing

10) Committee on Communications and Information Technology

11) Committee on Defence

12) Committee on Energy

13) Committee on External Affairs

14) Committee on Finance

15) Committee on Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution

16) Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development

17) Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas

18) Committee on Railways

19) Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs

20) Committee on Water Resources

21) Committee on Chemicals and Fertilizers

22) Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj

23) Committee on Coal, Mines and Steel

24) Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment.

Functions of DRSCs are:

i) To consider the Demands for Grants of the concerned ministries/departments and make a report on the same to the Houses. The report shall not suggest anything of the nature of cut motions.

ii) To examine such Bills pertaining to the concerned ministries/departments as are referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, as the case may be, and make a report thereon.

iii) To consider annual reports of ministries/departments and make a report thereon.

iv) To consider national basic long term policy documents presented to the House, if referred to the Committee by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or Speaker, as the case may be, and make reports thereon.

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