Topic: Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
Q2. Assess the need for standard-setting in the functioning of legislative institutions in India. Evaluate the role of inter-legislative platforms in achieving this objective. (10 M)
Difficulty Level: Medium
Reference: PIB
Why the question
Recent debates on legislative reforms, declining deliberative standards, and efforts to institutionalise best practices across legislatures make it important to examine how standard-setting can strengthen India’s democratic institutions within a federal structure.Key demand of the question
The question seeks an assessment of the necessity of standard-setting in legislative functioning and an evaluation of the contribution of inter-legislative platforms in promoting such standards while respecting legislative autonomy.Structure of the answer
Introduction
Set the context of diverse legislative practices operating under a common constitutional framework and introduce standard-setting as a tool to ensure minimum democratic and functional benchmarks.Body
- Need for standard-setting in legislative institutions, with focus on quality of law-making, transparency, capacity and institutional credibility.
- Role of inter-legislative platforms in sharing best practices, enabling cooperative standard-setting and strengthening legislative capacity.
Conclusion
Highlight the importance of a cooperative and non-coercive approach to standard-setting that enhances legislative effectiveness without diluting federal principles.
