General Studies II · Topic
Parliament and State legislatures
Official syllabus
Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
UPSC CSE 2026 notification
What this covers
Study the composition, procedure, powers and accountability functions of Parliament and State legislatures, distinguishing constitutional rules from House procedures and measured performance.
Key ideas
- Legislative structure
- Conduct of business
- Powers and privileges
- Executive accountability
- Performance and reform
Subtopics 5
- 01Structure and compositionMap the Houses and presiding offices of Parliament and State legislatures, distinguishing constitutional design from contingent membership totals.
- 02Functioning and conduct of businessExplain how a legislature schedules, debates, scrutinizes, votes and records business under constitutional and House-specific procedural rules.
- 03Powers and privilegesDistinguish legislative powers from function-linked privileges, their constitutional text, procedural enforcement and judicially recognized limits.
- 04Legislative accountabilityTrace the legislature's tools for requiring information, testing policy, examining expenditure and holding ministers accountable.
- 05Issues in legislative performanceAssess legislative performance through observable opportunities for representation, deliberation, scrutiny and accountability without unverified…