The Parliament of India is the Supreme legislative body in India. The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950.
Note 1: The first general elections under the new constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into existence in April 1952.
The Indian Parliament consists of two houses called-
1. Lok Sabha (House of the People) and
2. Rajya Sabha (Council of States) with the President of India acting as their Head.
Note 2: The President in his role as head of legislature has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.
India’s Parliament is bicameral; Rajya Sabha is the upper House and Lok Sabha is the Lower House. The two houses meet in separate chambers of Sansad Bhawan, located on Sansad Marg (Parliament Street) in New Delhi. Those elected or nominated by the President to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of Parliament or MPs. The Parliament is composed of 790 Members of Parliament, who serve the largest democratic electorate in the world.
Lok sabha - 543 elected + 2 (nominated by president) = 545 (max by constitution : 552)
Raja sabha - 233 elected + 12(nominated by president) = 245
Total =790
The term ‘Parliament’ is usually associated with the British system of Parliamentary government, a system which has influenced the development of representative assemblies in many parts of the world.
The role and functions of Parliament assume great significance in view of the basic principles and assumptions associated with parliamentary democracy. A parliamentary form of government acknowledges the fact that in this system, Parliament derives its power directly from the consent of the people expressed through periodic elections and that it exists to implement the will of the people. The Parliamentary system also ensures the best possible participatory democratic system and active interaction between the people and their representatives.