🗞️ Why in News Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla have reconstituted the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DRSCs) for 2026-27, with effect from 26 September 2026, according to a parliamentary bulletin issued on 3 October. The Trinamool Congress lost the chairs of Commerce and Chemicals and Fertilizers; most other chairpersons were retained.
Who Heads What
| Committee | Chairperson (party) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Commerce | Sudhanshu Trivedi (BJP) | Replaces Dola Sen (TMC) |
| Chemicals and Fertilizers | Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar (leads a Trinamool breakaway group that claims a merger with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India, disputed in pending disqualification proceedings) | Replaces Kirti Azad (TMC) |
| Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice | Sujeet Kumar (BJP) | Replaces Brij Lal (BJP) |
| Railways | Sudheer Gupta (BJP) | Replaces C.M. Ramesh (BJP) |
| External Affairs | Shashi Tharoor (Congress) | Retained |
| Agriculture | Charanjit Singh Channi (Congress) | Retained |
| Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports | Mukul Wasnik (Congress) | Retained |
| Rural Development and Panchayati Raj | Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka (Congress) | Retained |
| Health and Family Welfare | Ram Gopal Yadav (Samajwadi Party) | Retained |
| Industry | Tiruchi Siva (DMK) | Retained |
| Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution | K. Kanimozhi (DMK) | Retained |
| Transport, Tourism and Culture | Sanjay Kumar Jha (JD(U)) | Retained |
| Energy | Shrirang Barne (Shiv Sena) | Retained |
| Defence | Radha Mohan Singh (BJP) | Retained |
| Finance | Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJP) | Retained |
| Home Affairs | Radha Mohan Das Agarwal (BJP) | Retained |
| Communications and IT | Nishikant Dubey (BJP) | Retained |
| Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change | Medha Vishram Kulkarni (BJP) | Retained |
| Coal, Mines and Steel | Anurag Thakur (BJP) | Retained |
| Water Resources | Rajiv Pratap Rudy (BJP) | Retained |
| Labour, Textiles and Skill Development | Shashank Mani (BJP) | As listed by ANI |
| Petroleum and Natural Gas | Sunil Tatkare (NCP) | As listed by ANI |
| Housing and Urban Affairs | Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy (TDP) | As listed by ANI |
| Social Justice and Empowerment | P.C. Mohan (BJP) | As listed by ANI |
The TMC angle. The committee chairs reflect party strength in Parliament. After the party’s defeat in the 2026 West Bengal election and a split in its parliamentary group, the Mamata Banerjee-led faction has written to the presiding officers protesting its exclusion from chairing any committee.
The DRSC System
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | 1993: 17 committees set up on the recommendation of the Lok Sabha Rules Committee; raised to 24 in July 2004 |
| Split between Houses | 16 committees serviced by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, 8 by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat (Commerce, Home Affairs, Education, Industry, Science and Technology, Transport, Health, Personnel and Law) |
| Composition | 31 members: 21 from the Lok Sabha nominated by the Speaker, 10 from the Rajya Sabha nominated by the Chairman |
| Who cannot be a member | Ministers |
| Term | One year |
| Rules | Lok Sabha Rules of Procedure, Rules 331C to 331N; Rajya Sabha Rules 268 to 277 |
| Functions | Consider Demands for Grants of the ministries (after the general Budget discussion, while the House is adjourned); examine Bills referred by the Speaker or Chairman; consider annual reports; examine national basic long-term policy documents |
| Limits | They do not consider day-to-day administration; recommendations are advisory; they are not meant to examine policy matters that the House itself decides |
Why committees matter. Parliament meets for about 60 to 70 days a year; committees sit through the year and examine Budget demands ministry by ministry. They work across party lines, take evidence from officials and experts, and their reports are laid before both Houses. The share of Bills referred to committees fell from 71 per cent in the 15th Lok Sabha to 25 per cent in the 16th and about 16 per cent in the 17th, according to PRS Legislative Research, a decline that reformers want reversed.
The Wider Committee Map
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Financial committees | Public Accounts Committee (1921; 22 members; chaired by an Opposition member by convention since 1967); Estimates Committee (1950; 30 members, all Lok Sabha); Committee on Public Undertakings (1964; 22 members) |
| Department-related | The 24 DRSCs |
| Other standing | Business Advisory, Privileges, Petitions, Subordinate Legislation, Government Assurances, Ethics, Empowerment of Women, SC and ST Welfare, Official Language |
| Ad hoc | Joint Parliamentary Committees on specific Bills or inquiries; Select Committees |
Analysis
1. Proportionality, not patronage. Chairs are distributed by party strength. Shifts in the House, such as the TMC’s split, change who holds them, which is why a yearly reconstitution exists.
2. Opposition chairs are a check. Congress retained External Affairs, Agriculture, Education and Rural Development, and the SP kept Health; this spreads oversight beyond the ruling coalition, though Finance, Home, Defence and External Affairs have traditionally gone to senior members, with Home and Finance now with the BJP.
3. Referral is the real reform. Committees can only scrutinise what reaches them. Making reference of Bills the default, as parliamentary reformers have long urged, would do more than any change of chairs.
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 2. Parliament: structure, functioning, conduct of business, committees.
A question worth preparing. “Parliamentary committees are the mini-Parliaments where the real work of legislative scrutiny happens.” Discuss the role of Department-related Standing Committees and suggest reforms to strengthen them. (250 words)
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- DRSCs: 24 committees since 2004 (17 in 1993); 16 under the Lok Sabha, 8 under the Rajya Sabha; 31 members (21 LS + 10 RS); term one year; ministers cannot be members.
- Reconstituted for 2026-27 with effect from 26 September 2026; Commerce: Sudhanshu Trivedi; Chemicals and Fertilizers: Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar.
- Chairs retained: External Affairs Shashi Tharoor; Finance Bhartruhari Mahtab; Home Affairs Radha Mohan Das Agarwal; Defence Radha Mohan Singh.
- Functions: Demands for Grants, Bills referred, annual reports, long-term policy documents; recommendations are advisory.
- Public Accounts Committee (1921): 22 members, Opposition chair by convention; Estimates Committee (1950): 30, all Lok Sabha; Committee on Public Undertakings (1964): 22.
Prelims, the traps:
- DRSCs are standing committees reconstituted yearly; a Joint Parliamentary Committee is ad hoc and ends when it reports.
- The Rajya Sabha services 8 DRSCs including Home Affairs and Commerce; the Lok Sabha services 16 including Finance and Defence.
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Legislative scrutiny; mini-Parliaments; falling referral of Bills; cross-party deliberation; expert evidence; executive accountability.
Interview, be ready for:
- “Should referral of every Bill to a committee be mandatory?” A default with a recorded exception by the Speaker balances scrutiny and urgency.
Sources: The Hindu (PTI), 4 October 2026, ANI, 3 October 2026, Lok Sabha Secretariat on DRSCs, PRS Legislative Research
Source: Parliamentary Standing Committees 2026-27: 24 DRSCs, New Chairs — Ujiyari.com | Free UPSC & State PCS Current Affairs
