Estimates Committee - Structure, Members, Process of Election, Working, Functions & Limitations

The Estimates Committee is a type of financial Committee that examines the estimates included in the budget presented to Parliament. It is a 30-member Lok Sabha (lower House of Parliament) committee whose members are elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members. It comprises selected members of Parliament established by the Indian Parliament. The Committee is also responsible for examining the budgetary allocations made to various government ministries and departments, as well as their actual expenditure and performance. The origin of the Estimates Committee can be traced to the setting up of a standing finance committee in 1921. It was established on the advice of the then-finance minister, John Mathai, during the post-independence era. The Provisional Parliament approved the motion to elect the first Estimates Committee on April 3, 1950, and the Committee was elected on April 10. 

Estimates Committee is one of the important topics for UPSC IAS. It covers a significant part of the Polity subject in the General Studies paper-2 syllabus as well as in UPSC Prelims. In this article, we shall cover in detail the composition, appointment of chairperson, functions, and working of the Committee on estimates UPSC.

What is an Estimates Committee?

The Estimates Committee is a financial Committee of the Lok Sabha. On April 3, 1950, the Provisional Parliament of India approved the resolution to elect the first Estimates Committee, and on April 10, 1950, the Committee was elected. The structure of Parliamentary Committees is shown in the image below.

Members of Estimates Committee

Estimates Committee is a financial committee of the Lok Sabha (the lower House of Parliament) comprised of 30 members elected by the House each year from among its members. Initially, It had 25 members. The number of members was later increased to 30 in the year 1956. However, Members of the Rajya Sabha, the upper House, do not serve on the Committee. Estimates committee consists of members from Lok Sabha.

Process of Election

The election process is done according to the principles of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The members are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its own members. Hence, all parties get due representation in it.

Term of Office

The term of office is one year. A new election for the Constitution of the Committee for the coming financial year should be held before the end of the current financial year. The current Committee members will continue to serve until new members are elected if such an election is not held for any reason. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the Committee.

Appointment of Chairperson

The Lok Sabha Speaker appoints the chairman of the Committee from among its members, and he is almost always a member of the ruling party.

Read the linked article for the UPSC Exam to learn more about Proportional Representation!

Functions of the Estimates Committee

The Estimates Committee has several key functions, which include:

• Assessing potential cost savings, organizational improvements, enhanced efficiency, and administrative reforms in alignment with the estimate's policy.
• Proposing alternative policies aimed at optimizing efficiency and economizing the administration.
• Scrutinizing whether the allocated funds align with the policy implied in the estimates and are being used effectively.
• Recommending the appropriate format for presenting the estimates to Parliament.
• It's important to note that the Committee's functions do not extend to Public Undertakings that are the responsibility of the Committee on Public Undertakings according to the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of Lok Sabha or as directed by the Speaker.

Read the linked article for the UPSC Exam to learn more about the Zero Hour in Parliament!

Working of Estimates Committee

Let’s discuss the working of the Committee on estimates in detail.

• The Committee selects estimates from various government entities and examines special matters of interest as they arise or are referred to it.
• The Committee requests preliminary information from government bodies and memos from non-officials related to the subjects under examination.
• Periodically, the Committee appoints Sub-Committees or Study Groups to conduct in-depth assessments.
• If necessary, the Committee can decide, with the Speaker's approval, to conduct on-site studies and gather information in advance.
• During Study Visits, informal discussions occur, but no official records or decisions are made; confidentiality is maintained.
• Based on informal discussions, memos, and input from various sources, official and non-official witnesses are invited to formal Committee sittings in Parliament House Complex, New Delhi.
• The Committee's findings and recommendations are documented in its reports, presented in Lok Sabha.
• The relevant Ministry or Department is required to act on the Committee's observations and recommendations within six months or as directed.
• The Committee examines the government's responses and provides an Action Taken Report to Lok Sabha, with government replies presented as Statements on the Lok Sabha table.

Achievements of the Estimates Committee

The Committee has delivered 1121 reports covering nearly all of the Ministries/Departments of the Government of India since its founding in April 1950. As of December 13, 2018, 627 were original reports, while 494 were reports on the Government’s response to earlier committee reports.

Read the linked article for the UPSC Exam to learn more about the Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings!

Limitations of Estimates Committee

The following factors limit the Estimates Committee’s ability to do its job effectively:

• It cannot question the policy laid down by the Parliament.
• It examines every year only certain selected ministries and departments. Thus, by rotation, it would cover all of them over a number of years.
• It does not examine the budget estimates before they have been voted on by the Parliament.
• Its recommendations are advisory and not binding on the ministries.
• Its work is in the nature of a post-mortem work, i.e., It examines the expenditure which has already been done by the Government.
• The expert assistance of the CAG is available to the Public Accounts Committee but not to the Estimates Committee.

Estimates Committee – Know its Functions, Working & Limitations for UPSC: Download PDF here!

Estimates Committee UPSC Mains Previous Years Questions

Q 1. Why do you think the committees are considered to be useful for parliamentary work? Discuss, in this context, the role of the Estimates Committee. (UPSC 2018)

प्राक्कलन समिति – यूपीएससी के लिए इसके कार्यों, कार्यप्रणाली और सीमाओं को हिंदी में जानें!

Check out the test series for UPSC IAS Exam here. 

Testbook provides a set of comprehensive notes for different competitive exams. Testbook is always on the top of the list because of its best quality assured products like live tests, mocks, Content pages, GK and current affairs videos, and much more. To study more topics for UPSC, download the Testbook App now. For further information and an explanation of the topic, visit UPSC CSE Coaching here!