Estimates Committee

Background and evolution

Parliament grants money to the government, but it cannot examine every item of expenditure in detail during the budget debate. Financial committees help it exercise continuous oversight. The Estimates Committee was set up in 1950 on the suggestion of John Matthai, then Finance Minister, building on the Standing Financial Committee created in 1921 under the Government of India Act, 1919.

Originally the committee had 25 members; its strength was raised to 30 in 1956. Unlike the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee on Public Undertakings, it has no Rajya Sabha members, reflecting the Lok Sabha's primacy in financial matters. Its chairperson is appointed by the Speaker from among its members and is invariably from the ruling party.

Key features and provisions

• Composition: 30 members of the Lok Sabha, elected each year by the House through proportional representation by single transferable vote.
• Term: one year.
• Functions (Rule 310 of Lok Sabha Rules): to report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency or administrative reform may be effected consistent with the policy underlying the estimates; to suggest alternative policies for efficiency and economy; to examine whether money is well laid out within the limits of policy; and to suggest the form in which estimates should be presented.
• Selection of subjects: the committee selects ministries or topics each year and examines them in depth, often through sub-committees and study tours.
• Continuous economy committee: it is sometimes described this way, because it examines estimates throughout the year.
• Action taken: the government reports action taken on its recommendations, and the committee reviews these replies in subsequent reports.