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LS MPs may have to mark attendance from seat
Lok Sabha members must mark attendance electronically from their seats starting the upcoming budget session, enhancing transparency and accountability.
Lucknow: Lok Sabha members would have to come to the House and mark attendance electronically from their designated seat, Speaker Om Birla said on Tuesday, indicating that the age-old system of marking attendance in a register in the lobby, outside the House might be stopped from the upcoming budget session.
“The new attendance system will be effective from the budget session. Earlier, both the electronic system and the register were available for the MPs. Starting from the budget session, lawmakers can mark their attendence only from their seats,” Birla told media at the sidelines of the 86th conference of the presiding officers in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The new system, however, might not allow MPs to mark attendance after the House is adjourned.
The move, can further improve attendance of lawmakers in the House and bring more transparency in the system, a senior official said.
Every MP is entitled to daily allowance for attending a session, provided the lawmaker has marked his or her attendance.
Lok Sabha secretary general Utpal Kumar Singh pointed out that the electronic console fitted with every seat already has a system to mark attendance electronically.
Attendance and disruptions had been hot topics in the past. The earlier system allowed lawmakers to mark their attendance without even stepping inside the Lok Sabha chamber. The new system, will make the process more transparent, Birla said.
It’s not clear yet, if the Rajya Sabha too, will adopt the same rules.
The budget session will start from January 28 with the presentation of general budget scheduled on February 1, an official had said on Sunday.
Ahead of the Session, Birla reminded that disruptions and display of posters are not the only way to protest.
When asked what is your message to the lawmakers ahead of the budget session, Birla said, “The House must run. There are .any ways to oppose policies or bills. In this session, there will be a debate on President’s speech. MPs can raise any issue during that debate.”
“Displaying posters and shouting slogans can’t be the mode of protests. There are many ways to democratically show your dissent,” Birla said.
In the 2025 winter session, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha’s productivity stood at 111% and 121% respectively, according to Parliament data.
Birla pointed out that during the conference, there was long discussions on what should be the relationship between a lawmaker and the electors and lawmakers accountability.
“We discussed how to leveraging technology for transparent, efficient and citizen-centric legislative processes, capacity building of legislators to enhance efficiency and strengthen democratic governance and accountability of Legislatures towards the people,” Birla said, adding that the Lok Sabha secretariat will provide technology support to assemblies for better capacity building.
