Budgeting For Democracy – The Indian Express
Written by Chakshu Roy | Published:February 7, 2017 2:08 am More money will also allow the deploying of digital infrastructure to facilitate and encourage citizens engagement with the institution.
It is the season of the Union budget. The focus of discussion within and outside Parliament is about allocation, spending, taxation and reform. Missing from the public discourse is a conversation about Parliaments budget. This year, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been allocated Rs 1,052 crore. It is a 3 per cent increase over last years estimates and 0.049 per cent of our total budget. A 2012 report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union puts this number in perspective: In 2010, the US Congress had a budget of $5.12 billion, followed by the Parliament of Japan at $1.71 billion and France at $1.17 billion. In the same year, the average budget of 110 parliaments was 0.49 per cent of the countrys budget.
Our Parliament is the focal point of our democracy. It shoulders the responsibility of enacting a robust legal framework and holding the government accountable. The houses of Parliament are also supposed to be at the forefront of thought leadership on policy issues. To do its job effectively, Parliament needs adequate resources. However, there has been almost no focused debate about Parliaments financial needs. Public discussion has centred around the salaries and allowances of MPs. And while deriding the free air tickets and housing in Lutyens Delhi makes for entertaining reading, it does not address the gap that exists in Parliaments intellectual and infrastructure requirements.
The Library and Reference, Research, Documentation and Information Service (LARRDIS) is the research arm of Parliament. Its job is to provide research and reference materials to MPs on legislative and other issues. It has a sanctioned strength of 231 staffers. But as per numbers from August 2016, it discharges its duties with a reduced number of 176. Thats about 8 per cent of the strength of the Lok Sabha secretariat, which has about 2,300 staffers. Increased budgetary support to Parliament can be used to increase LARRDISs staff strength, enable professional development of its researchers and allow MPs to employ professional research staff .
This is not a new idea. The Congressional Research Service housed in the Library of the US Congress employs 600 people. According to its website, more than 400 of these employees are policy analysts, attorneys and information professionals working across a variety of disciplines. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office employs another 200 professionals. Many other parliaments recognise the importance of providing MPs with non-partisan research. These supplement MPs intellectual depth by giving them funds to hire research teams.
Our Parliament is one of a handful which has a wealth of information available on its website. More money will also allow the deploying of digital infrastructure to facilitate and encourage citizens engagement with the institution. For example, debates are available in text form. Linking them to recorded video proceedings available with the television channels of both houses will draw in a younger generation.
Somnath Chatterjee, speaker of the 14th Lok Sabha, wrote in his memoirs: The greatness of Parliament lies not just in its majestic building, but is derived from and sustained by the quality of debates that take place inside it. Investing in Parliament will deepen and sharpen its deliberations, resulting in effective governance frameworks. After all, we shouldnt expect a great Parliament without providing the money for one.
More:
Budgeting For Democracy - The Indian Express
- Democracy Gave Us This. There Has To Be a Better Way. - The Nation - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Hong Kongs light fades as another pro-democracy party folds - The Conversation - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- How America forgot the best way to defend its democracy - vox.com - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democracy in action: Self-determination in William & Marys residence halls - W&M News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- What Democracy Promised Us and What We Got Instead - The Fulcrum - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- This July 4, the nations top trial lawyers warn of threats to democracy | Opinion - Bergen Record - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Is the growth of executive power a threat to constitutional democracy? - Brookings - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Opinion: Lets look beyond the fireworks and recommit to democracy - Bangor Daily News - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Capitalism and democracy are weakening reviving the idea of calling can help to repair them - The Conversation - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- DOJ Sides With Wyoming in Proof of Citizenship Voting Lawsuit - Democracy Docket - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Progress in key areas would benefit Trinidad and Tobago democracy, says Commonwealths final report on 2025 parliamentary elections -... - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Making Democracy Work: Having the right to choose with the Death with Dignity Act - TBR News Media - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Palestine Action isnt a danger to British democracy but this repressive government is | George Monbiot - The Guardian - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Not a Done Deal: After Senate Passes Big, Ugly Bill, Progressives Fight to Stop It in the House - Democracy Now! - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Koreas democracy and alliance with the U.S. are in good hands, not in peril - Washington Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- EU Should Act Against El Salvadors Dismantling of Democracy - Human Rights Watch - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Democracy's Discontent: Why Are We So Polarized, and What Can We Do About It? - Ideastream - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Another Tale of Two Uncle Sams: Mamdanis Unexpected Win and Hope for a Democratic Democracy - Counterpunch - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The Tech Elites Takeover of Crypto is a Growing Threat to European Democracy - Tech Policy Press - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- We at Mountain Dew Would Like to Apologize for Our Role in the Destruction of American Democracy - McSweeneys Internet Tendency - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Descent into Kleptocracy: The Corruption of America and Trumps systematic looting of Democracy - Milwaukee Independent - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- On this July 4th, celebrate our democracy and tend toward the light | Column - Tampa Bay Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Election Matters 2025: Year in Review: Democracy Litigation in SCOTUS and the States - WisconsinEye - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The Make America Healthy Again report shows how AI can undermine the US Official Record, and democracy - LSE Blogs - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- New Lancaster Museum to Explore Reconstruction Era and the Fight for Democracy - WITF - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The Institutions Protecting US Democracy Have Turned Into Traps - Bloomberg.com - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Dissatisfaction with democracy remains widespread in many nations - Pew Research Center - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: Most feel democracy is threatened and political violence is a major problem - NPR - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: What Americans think about the state of democracy and how Trump is doing - VPM - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - CNN - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- They Demanded Democracy. Years Later, They Are Still Paying the Price. - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- New poll finds about three-quarters of Americans say democracy under threat : Trump's Terms - NPR - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Ford Foundation selects Yale dean and democracy scholar Heather Gerken to succeed Darren Walker - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Why democracy hinges on respect for the court and the rule of law - Deseret News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Bill Moyers journalism strengthened democracy by connecting Americans to ideas and each other, in a long and extraordinary career - The Conversation - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: What Americans think about the state of democracy and how Trump is doing - KUOW - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Damaging and Deadly Heat Domes Nearly Tripled, from Europe to the U.S.: Climatologist Michael Mann - Democracy Now! - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poorly led, strategically inept and shorn of democracy. Now I truly fear for this Labour government | John McDonnell - The Guardian - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- More Americans think the U.S. is in a constitutional crisis than think the U.S. is a democracy - YouGov - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Five years on, Hong Kongs national security law extinguishes last standing pro-democracy party - The Guardian - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Comprehensive Road Repairs Begin on Democracy Boulevard, Expected to Last 10-12 Weeks - The MoCo Show - - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- We the People includes all Americans but July 4 is a reminder that democracy remains a work in progress - WSOC TV - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Right to Democracy and the America the Beautiful for All Coalition Stand with American Samoa in Opposing Unilateral Proposals for Deep Seabed Mining -... - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- In-Depth Exploration of Participatory Democracy and Local Governance Practices in Spain - United Nations Development Programme - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Information overload: Can we keep our minds and our democracy? - Lowy Institute - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Democracy Forward Boosts Appellate Bench With Latest Hires - Law360 - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Tens of Thousands Flee Gaza City as Israel Issues New Forced Evacuation Orders - Democracy Now! - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Poll: What Americans think about the state of democracy and how Trump is doing - New Hampshire Public Radio - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Top justice decries injury to democracy as hecklers disrupt hearing on Shin Bet appointment - The Times of Israel - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- One of Hong Kong's last major pro-democracy parties disbands - BBC - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Hong Kong's last active pro-democracy group says it will disband amid security crackdown - Reuters - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - AP News - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Forging a future for democracy: Highlights from International IDEA's 30th Anniversary - International IDEA - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - goSkagit - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Zohran and democracy: Three days that shook the world - Salon.com - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Palestine Action is part of Britain's proud history of protest. Proscribing it is an assault on democracy | Suresh Grover - The Guardian - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- The last Hong Kong pro-democracy party that held street protests disbands - Citizen Tribune - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- South Koreas democracy in the shadow of the far-right - Pearls and Irritations - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Democracy dies at midnight in Ohio Statehouse: Letter from the Editor - Cleveland.com - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- Bob Vylan and Kneecap have exposed a disturbing truth about our democracy - The i Paper - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- US state department told to end nearly all its overseas pro-democracy programs - The Guardian - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Banning the opposition is no way to revive Bangladeshs democracy - The Economist - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- US to slash nearly all funding for overseas pro-democracy initiatives: Report - Middle East Eye - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- 'It's not really giving democracy': NYC student journalists on the year that was - Gothamist - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- In a Democracy, Protest Is Good for the Soul, Even if It Does Not Change Anyones Mind - The Fulcrum - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- We the people is a timeless ideal of American democracy. Whats gone wrong? - Berkeley News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- SCOTUS Limits Federal Judges Ability to Block Executive Actions Nationwide - Democracy Docket - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- U.S. and China Agree to Framework for Trade Deal - Democracy Now! - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- 'Democracy Is At Risk': Retired SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy Expresses Grave Concerns Over 'Tone Of Our Political Discourse' - Above the Law - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- CDT's Isabel Linzer Speaks on "Cyber Interference with Democracy" Panel: Insights from the 2025 Octopus Conference - - Center for Democracy... - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Mongolias Government Transition: Democracy in Action or Foreign Interference? - The Diplomat Asia-Pacific Current Affairs Magazine - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- The Economy Is Rigged: Robert Reich on Zohran Mamdani, The Democratic Party, Inequality, and Trump - Democracy Now! - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Democracy Affirmed: United States v. Skrmetti and the Return to Self-Government - The Federalist Society - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- The legendary Bill Moyers defended democracy with eloquence and grace - San Antonio Express-News - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- In Renton, were holding officials accountable and upholding democracy | Op-Ed - The Seattle Times - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- You can't bomb Iran into democracy - The Observer - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Behind the Bylines: Democracy dies in the TL;DR - Sentinel and Enterprise - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Vallejos official videographer brings democracy to the public - Times Herald Online - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Dynasties, daughters and the dilemma of democracy in Southeast Asia - Nikkei Asia - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- ICE Limiting Lawmaker Access to Facilities Amid Allegations of Inhumane Conditions - Democracy Docket - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]