Private Member Bill - Indian Polity Notes

Private Member Bill is introduced in the Parliament by a private member (Not a minister). There are two kinds of bills that are introduced in parliament for the legislative procedure: Public and Private Bills. Public Bills are called government bill whereas private bills are called private members’ bill. This article will mention details about the topic, ‘Private Members’ Bill,’ important for the IAS Exam (GS-II Indian Polity.)

Private Member Bill-Indian Polity Notes:- Download PDF Here

What is a Private Members’ Bill in India?

A bill introduced by the Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a Minister, i.e., a non-government member is known as the Private Members’ bill. Members of Parliament (MPs) other than ministers are private members. Private Members can also move legislative proposal or bill which he/she thinks is appropriate to be present in the Statute Book. However, it must be noted that a private member can give a maximum of three notices for the introduction of Private Members Bills during a Session. (Learn about sessions of Indian Parliament in the linked article.)

Including private members’ bll in the Indian Parliament, there are other various types of bills which a candidate must know. To know more about bills and how a bill is passed in Indian Parliament, you may check the linked article.

Learn the difference between major types of bills from the articles linked below:

• Difference Between Money Bill and Finance Bill
• Difference Between Money Bill and Ordinary Bill

Difference between Private Members’ Bill & Public Bill in India

We all have understood that public bills are government bills and private bills are private members’ bill. However, there are a few differences between two which are mentioned in the table below:

Know about the houses of the Indian Parliament from the articles linked below:

1. Lok Sabha
2. Rajya Sabha

Facts about Private Members’ Bill:

• Members of Parliament of both the ruling party as well as the opposition can introduce a Private Member Bill.
• The Private Member bill, in order to become an act, must be passed in both the houses.
• Once passed in both houses, Presidential assent is also mandatory for the bill to become an Act.
• Such Bills can be introduced and discussed only on Fridays.
• Number of private member bills has been capped to 3 per session of Parliament.

Admissibility of a Private Member’s Bill

The admissibility is decided by the Chairman for Rajya Sabha and Speaker in the case of Lok Sabha. The procedure is roughly the same for both Houses:

• The Member must give at least a month’s notice before the Bill can be listed for introduction.
• The House secretariat examines it for compliance with constitutional provisions and rules on legislation before listing.

Examples of Private Member’s Bill

1. Unemployment Allowance Bill 2019 seeks to provide an allowance to all unemployed people.
2. Financial Assistance to Unemployed Post-Graduates Bill 2019,  to restricts the unemployment allowances to unemployed postgraduates only
3. Unemployed Youth (Allowance and Employment Opportunities) Bill 2019 eyes the twin-purpose of generating gainful employment opportunities and payment of unemployment allowance
4. Unemployment Allowance Bill proposes unemployment allowances for jobless youth until they get gainful employment.

President’s role in a Private Member Bill

According to the preset traditions, the President of India can use his powers of absolute veto and can easily discard a private members’ bill. (Learn about Veto Power of Indian President in the linked article.)

IAS aspirants preparing for UPSC 2023, may check the linked article to complement their Polity preparation with the upcoming exam’s patter, syllabus and more.

List of Private Members’ Bills

Since 1952, only 14 private member’s bills have become laws. Out of the 300 odd private members bills that were introduced in the 14th Lok Sabha, only about 4% were discussed and the rest 96% lapsed without any debate. The list of private members’ bills that have been passed in Indian Parliament is given in the table below:

Get all the important acts in India from the linked article which will be useful for IAS exam preparation.

Private Member Bill-Indian Polity Notes:- Download PDF Here