Previous Year Question

The correct answer is the Estimates Committee. It was constituted for the first time in 1950. It consists of 30 members, all of whom are elected every year from among the members of the Lok Sabha. Therefore, no Rajya Sabha member is included in it.

The members are elected by the Lok Sabha through proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. Its term is one year, and its Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among its members. A Minister cannot be a member of the Committee.

Its major functions include examining government estimates, suggesting measures for economy and efficiency in administration, recommending alternative policies and examining whether money is properly laid out within the limits of the approved policy.

For comparison, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) consists of up to 22 members—15 from Lok Sabha + 7 from Rajya Sabha. Similarly, the Committee on Public Undertakings has 22 members—15 from Lok Sabha + 7 from Rajya Sabha. Thus, Rajya Sabha is represented in both these Committees.

An important distinction is that Committees on Government Assurances are constituted separately in the two Houses—the Lok Sabha has its own Committee on Government Assurances and the Rajya Sabha has a separate committee of its own. In the parliamentary-financial-committee distinction intended in this question, the Estimates Committee is the committee with no Rajya Sabha representation.