January 22, 2026

Parliamentary Committees Decoded PAC, JPC, Estimates & Standing Committees

Parliamentary Committees Decoded: PAC, JPC, Estimates & Standing Committees description: "The definitive guide to Parliamentary Committees in India. Understand the difference between Standing and Ad-hoc Committees, the powerful role of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), how a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigates scams, and how DRSCs scrutinize bills." date: 2026-01-13 author: Civics Desk | Sansad Online tags: [Parliamentary Committees, PAC, Public Accounts Committee, JPC, Joint Parliamentary Committee, Estimates Committee, Departmental Standing Committees, DRSC, Legislative Scrutiny]

🏛️ Parliament 101: Parliamentary Committees (The Mini-Parliaments)

The Engine Room

Where the real work of democracy happens.

The Watchdog: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) (Audits the expense).
The Investigator: Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) (Probes the scam).
The Policy Maker: Departmentally Related Standing Committee (DRSC) (Vets the Bills).
The Accountant: Estimates Committee (Checks the Budget).

🗣️ THE "NO-CAMERA" RULE: Inside the Parliament House chamber, MPs often shout for the cameras to please their voters. But inside a Committee Room, cameras are banned. The meetings are confidential. This changes everything. Ruling party MPs and Opposition MPs sit together, drink tea, and actually cooperate to fix bad laws. This is why Committees are called the "Mini-Parliaments."

Introduction: Why Do We Need Committees?

(The Limitation of the 543)

The Lok Sabha has 543 members. It meets for only about 70-80 days a year. It is impossible for 543 people to scrutinize a complex law like the Data Protection Bill or the Nuclear Liability Bill line-by-line in a few hours. They lack the time, and often, the technical expertise.

This is where Parliamentary Committees come in.

Expertise: They can summon experts (e.g., the RBI Governor or Cyber Security experts) to testify.
Time: They can work throughout the year, even when Parliament is not in session.
Non-Partisanship: Since the meetings are private, MPs are less likely to play political games and more likely to focus on the issue.

This guide breaks down the complex web of committees—from the powerful PAC that exposed the 2G Scam to the JPC that investigated the Stock Market Crash.

📂 Part 1: Types of Committees

Broadly, there are two types:

1. Standing Committees (Permanent)

They exist permanently. They are reconstituted every year.
Examples: PAC, Estimates Committee, Ethics Committee, and the 24 DRSCs.

2. Ad-hoc Committees (Temporary)

Created for a specific task. Once the report is submitted, they cease to exist.
Examples: Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G Scam, or the Select Committee on the Surrogacy Bill.

💰 Part 2: The Financial Committees (The Big Three)

These are the guardians of the public purse. They ensure the government doesn't waste your tax money.

1. Public Accounts Committee (PAC)

Role: The Post-Mortem Doctor. It examines the CAG Reports.
The Logic: The CAG finds the fault; the PAC grills the officers about it.
Composition: 22 Members (15 Lok Sabha + 7 Rajya Sabha).
The Chairman: By convention (since 1967), the Chairman is always from the Opposition Party. This ensures the government cannot hide its mistakes.
Famous Moment: The PAC under Murli Manohar Joshi played a key role in highlighting the 2G Spectrum allocation irregularities.

2. Estimates Committee

Role: The Economy Advisor. It examines the "Estimates" (Budget) after they are voted on to suggest "economies" (how to save money).
Composition: 30 Members.
Exclusive: All 30 members are from Lok Sabha only. (Rajya Sabha has no power over money estimates).
Function: It suggests alternative policies to bring efficiency in administration.

3. Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU)

Role: The PSU Watchdog. It examines the reports and accounts of PSUs like LIC, Air India (formerly), ONGC, etc.
Composition: 22 Members (15 LS + 7 RS).
Function: checks if the PSUs are being run on sound business principles or if they are being mismanaged.

This is where the legislative grinding happens. There are 24 DRSCs covering all Ministries.

Example: The Standing Committee on Finance scrutinizes the Ministry of Finance, NITI Aayog, and Corporate Affairs.
Example: The Standing Committee on Defence scrutinizes the Army, Navy, and Air Force budgets.

Functions of a DRSC:

Scrutinize Bills: When a Bill is referred to them, they invite public comments, talk to stakeholders (NGOs, Industry leaders), and suggest amendments. The Government often accepts these amendments.
Scrutinize Budget: During the Budget session, the House goes into recess for 3-4 weeks. During this time, the DRSCs study the "Demand for Grants" of each Ministry in detail.

Composition:

Each DRSC has 31 Members (21 LS + 10 RS).
They are nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.

🕵️ Part 4: Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) - The Investigator

When a scandal is too big for a normal committee, Parliament sets up a JPC.

Formation: Created by a motion passed in one House and agreed to by the other.
Objective: To investigate a specific issue of massive public importance.
Powers:
- It can summon anyone (except the President of India). It has summoned Prime Ministers, Bankers, and Generals.
- It can access confidential files.
Why the Opposition demands it: A JPC keeps the issue in the news for months. The daily leaks from JPC hearings damage the government's image.
Notable JPCs:
- Bofors Scandal (1987): The first major JPC.
- Harshad Mehta Stock Scam (1992).
- Soft Drink Pesticide Issue (2003).
- 2G Spectrum Scam (2011).

🏛️ Other Important Committees

1. Business Advisory Committee (BAC)

Role: The Scheduler. It decides the timetable of the House (e.g., "We will discuss the Budget on Tuesday for 4 hours").
Chairman: The Speaker acts as the ex-officio Chairman.

2. Ethics Committee

Role: The Moral Police. It investigates complaints of unethical conduct by MPs.
Example: It investigated the "Cash for Query" scandal (2005) and the Mahua Moitra case (2023), recommending expulsion.

3. Committee on Subordinate Legislation

Role: The Fine-Print Reader. Parliament passes a law (Skeleton), but the Bureaucracy writes the Rules (Flesh). This committee checks if the Bureaucrats are writing rules that go beyond the power given by the Parliament.

4. Committee on Government Assurances

Role: The Promise Tracker. If a Minister says "I will look into it" during Question Hour, this committee tracks if they actually did.

🛠️ Select Committee vs. Joint Committee

When a Bill is contentious, it can be referred to:

Select Committee: Made up of members from one House only. (e.g., Rajya Sabha Select Committee on Surrogacy Bill).
Joint Committee: Made up of members from both Houses.

Why refer to them? Often, this is a political tactic. If the Opposition wants to delay a Bill, they demand: "Send it to a Select Committee!" This pushes the Bill out of the current session, buying time.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Are Committee recommendations binding?

No. They are advisory.

The Government can reject the recommendations.
However, by convention, the Government accepts most technical changes to avoid embarrassment. If they reject a recommendation, they must give a written explanation ("Action Taken Report").

Q2. Why is the PAC Chairman from the Opposition?

This is not in the Constitution. It is a Convention established in 1967. Before that, a ruling party member headed it. The logic is that the "Auditor" should not be a friend of the "Spender."

Q3. Can a Minister be a member of the PAC?

No. A Minister cannot be a member of the PAC, Estimates, or COPU. These committees are meant to check the government, so the government (Ministers) cannot sit on them.

Q4. What is the "Consultative Committee"?

Do not confuse this with Standing Committees.

Consultative Committee: A forum where MPs interact informally with Ministers.
Difference: It does not scrutinize or summon witnesses. It is just a discussion group. It is chaired by the Minister (unlike Standing Committees which are chaired by regular MPs).

Q5. Why is attendance in Committees low?

This is a major concern. Since Committee meetings are held behind closed doors and there is no media coverage, MPs often skip them to focus on constituency work. The Vice President has often flagged the issue of MPs staying absent from DRSC meetings scrutinizing the Budget.

Bookmark this page. If you want to influence a law, don't write to the Minister; write to the Chairman of the Standing Committee.