Rajya Sabha: the Council of States, India's permanent upper house

Overview

The Rajya Sabha — constitutionally the Council of States — is the upper house of India’s Parliament, the chamber that gives the states and union territories a formal voice in national law-making. It is a permanent body that is never dissolved: its members serve staggered six-year terms, with one-third retiring every two years.

Article 79 of the Constitution establishes Parliament as the President plus two Houses: the Council of States and the House of the People (AAP Tax Law). This profile is about the upper house — not the Lok Sabha, the directly-elected lower house, and not the Parliament as a whole. The Rajya Sabha’s distinctive claim is federal: where the Lok Sabha represents the people of India directly, the Rajya Sabha represents the states and union territories (Drishti IAS). Its origin traces to the Montagu-Chelmsford Report of 1918, which introduced a bicameral legislature with an upper Council of State (Drishti IAS).

Composition and election

Article 80 caps the Rajya Sabha at 250 members: 12 nominated by the President and not more than 238 representatives of the states and union territories (AAP Tax Law). The present strength is 245 — 233 elected and 12 nominated — and seats are allocated to states and union territories under the Fourth Schedule, broadly by population (AAP Tax Law; Drishti IAS). The imbalance is stark: Uttar Pradesh alone holds 31 seats, while Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura hold one each (The Legal Quotient).

Members are not chosen by voters. Each state’s representatives are elected by the elected members of its Legislative Assembly, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote; union territory members are chosen as Parliament prescribes by law (AAP Tax Law). A candidate must be an Indian citizen, at least 30 years old, and an elector in a parliamentary constituency anywhere in India — no domicile in the state concerned is required (The Legal Quotient).

Powers: where it is equal, and where it is not

In ordinary legislation the Rajya Sabha enjoys almost equal powers with the Lok Sabha, and a bill must pass both Houses to become law (Drishti IAS). But three limits define its junior status. It cannot reject a money bill: such bills cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, and it must return them within fourteen days with recommendations the Lok Sabha may accept or ignore (The Legal Quotient). It has no power over the Council of Ministers — only the Lok Sabha can remove a government through a no-confidence motion (Drishti IAS). And in a joint sitting to break a deadlock, the Lok Sabha’s larger strength means its view is likely to prevail (Drishti IAS).

The House also holds powers the Lok Sabha lacks. Only the Rajya Sabha can authorise Parliament to legislate on a State List subject in the national interest (Article 249), to create new All-India Services (Article 312), and to approve emergency proclamations under Articles 352, 356 and 360 when the Lok Sabha stands dissolved (Drishti IAS). In more than seven decades the deadlock-breaking joint sitting has been used only three times — for the Dowry Prohibition Bill in 1961, the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill in 1978, and the Prevention of Terrorism Bill in 2002 (Times of India) — which means the threat of a joint sitting shapes negotiations far more often than the device itself is used.

Aspect	Rajya Sabha	Lok Sabha
Constitutional name	Council of States	House of the People
Composition	Max 250; present 245 (233 elected + 12 nominated)	Max 550; 543 elected seats
Election	Indirect, by state legislators (STV)	Direct, by voters
Term	Permanent; six-year terms, one-third retire every two years	Five years unless dissolved earlier
Money bills	Cannot introduce; 14 days to recommend changes only	Full control
Confidence	No power over the Council of Ministers	Can remove the government
Dissolution	Never dissolved	Dissolves at term end or earlier

(The table distills Articles 79–83 as explained by AAP Tax Law and The Legal Quotient, with Lok Sabha figures per AAP Tax Law.)

The nomination debate: expertise or reward?

The 12 nominated members are meant to bring in people of special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service — eminent persons who would never contest an election (Drishti IAS). That rationale is also the provision’s vulnerability: critics argue the nomination process can be driven by political considerations rather than merit, and reform proposals call for transparent criteria so the seats go to genuine experts (The Legal Quotient). Nominated members sit with one unusual disability: they may vote in the election of the Vice-President but not in the election of the President (The Legal Quotient). The exam-prep pages that dominate search results for this House list the nomination rule without this debate — but the debate is the live question, since each round of nominations tests whether the “eminent persons” ideal still holds.

Officers and the 2020 Deputy Chairman election

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and the members elect a Deputy Chairman from among themselves, who presides when the Chairman’s office is vacant or the Vice-President is acting as President (The Legal Quotient). The Chairman also nominates six members to a Panel of Vice-Chairmen as further backup, and the House has a Leader of the House, a recognised Leader of the Opposition, and a Secretary-General as its administrative head (The Legal Quotient). The quorum is one-tenth of the total membership — 25 members (The Legal Quotient).

The Deputy Chairmanship was last contested on 14 September 2020, when Harivansh Narayan Singh was re-elected by voice vote; his nomination was moved by J. P. Nadda and seconded by Thavarchand Gehlot, while opposition motions for Manoj Jha were not pressed to a vote (Daily Excelsior / PTI). The fresh election was needed because Singh had completed his term as a Rajya Sabha member that year (Daily Excelsior / PTI). The full contest is covered in the profile of the 2020 Deputy Chairman election.

Frequently asked questions

How are Rajya Sabha members elected? Members are not elected by the public. The elected members of each state’s Legislative Assembly elect the state’s Rajya Sabha members by proportional representation using the single transferable vote, so a party’s seats roughly match its strength in the assembly. Union Territory members are chosen as Parliament prescribes by law.

How is the Rajya Sabha different from the Lok Sabha? The Lok Sabha is directly elected by voters and can be dissolved; its term is five years. The Rajya Sabha is indirectly elected by state legislators, is never dissolved, and gives states a voice in national law-making. The Lok Sabha alone decides money bills and can remove the government; the Rajya Sabha cannot.

Can the Rajya Sabha block a money bill? No. A money bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, and once the Lok Sabha passes one, the Rajya Sabha must return it within fourteen days. It can only recommend amendments, which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject; if it does not return the bill, it is deemed passed by both Houses.

Who presides over the Rajya Sabha? The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman. The members elect a Deputy Chairman from among themselves, who presides when the Chairman’s office is vacant or the Vice-President is acting as President. The Chairman also nominates six members to a Panel of Vice-Chairmen as further backup.

What special powers does the Rajya Sabha have? Only the Rajya Sabha can authorise Parliament to legislate on a State List subject in the national interest, and to create new All-India Services — both by resolution. It can also alone approve an emergency proclamation if the Lok Sabha stands dissolved when approval falls due.

Timeline

• 1918 — The Montagu-Chelmsford Report introduces a bicameral legislature with an upper Council of State (Drishti IAS).
• 1952 — The Rajya Sabha is constituted on 3 April; its first sitting is held on 13 May (Drishti IAS).
• 1954 — The Council of States takes the Hindi name Rajya Sabha (The Legal Quotient).
• 1961 — First joint sitting of the two Houses, over the Dowry Prohibition Bill (Times of India).
• 1978 — Second joint sitting, over the Banking Service Commission (Repeal) Bill (Times of India).
• 2002 — Third joint sitting, over the Prevention of Terrorism Bill (Times of India).
• 2020 — Harivansh Narayan Singh is re-elected Deputy Chairman by voice vote on 14 September (PTI via Daily Excelsior).

What this profile does not claim

• It does not resolve whether Jammu & Kashmir currently has Rajya Sabha representation; its sources disagree (see openItems).
• It does not assert the exact current filled strength beyond the 245 (233 + 12) stated in its sources; vacancies move that figure.
• It does not give the vote-counting quota formula for Rajya Sabha elections; no fully-read source in this pass stated it precisely.
• It does not name the first Chairman or first Deputy Chairman; that detail rested on a single tier3 source and was left out.
• It does not cover individual members, party strengths, or recent elections beyond the 2020 Deputy Chairman contest.
• It does not treat the 1954 naming date or nominated members’ voting rights as corroborated; both rest on a single tier3 source (see openItems).

Sources

• Drishti IAS — Perspective - Rajya Sabha: The Upper House (tier2; origin, constitution, composition, special powers, money bills, joint sittings, no-confidence)
• The Legal Quotient — Rajya Sabha: The Council of States in India (tier3; 1954 naming, Article 80 detail, seat distribution, tenure, qualifications, disqualifications, quorum, officers, money-bill procedure, committees, nomination critique)
• AAP Tax Law — Articles 79, 80 and 81 of Constitution of India (tier2; Articles 79–81, present strength per the Election Commission)
• Daily Excelsior (PTI) — Harivansh re-elected Dy Chairman (tier1; 2020 Deputy Chairman re-election)
• Times of India — Key Legislations: New govt will call joint sittings of Houses to push through key bills (tier1; three joint sittings, Article 108, halfway mark)
• PRS Legislative Research — Explained: A look at how and when Parliament is convened (tier2; sessions, Article 85, sitting-days decline)