Getting better

For all the talk of interruptions in Parliament, our MPs appear to be getting better. According to analysis by PRS Legislative Research, during the monsoon session this year, MPs actually worked 97 per cent of the allotted time, that is, a total of 127 hours and 23 minutes for the Lok Sabha and 100 hours and 50 minutes for the Rajya Sabha. Yet, Indian MPs still work far less than those in other countries. In the last five years, the Lok Sabha worked for around 74 days as compared to double this for the US Senate. In the case of Australia, though the number of days worked is far lower than that for India, the hours worked per day are much longer. On an average, the US Senate works 1200 hours per year, versus around 1,000 for the UK House of Commons, 500 for the Australian Senate and around 400 hours for the Lok Sabha in India.