TL;DR Parliamentary functioning in the 18th Lok Sabha has been uneven. While the sixth session saw a sharp improvement, with time lost to disruptions falling by nearly 80% compared to the previous session, cumulative disruptions remain high, with 28% of scheduled time lost so far. At the same time, member participation through Zero Hour and committee scrutiny through Standing Committee reports has declined on average and varied widely across sessions, raising concerns about the consistency of legislative oversight.
Context
The functioning of Parliament, how often it meets, how it uses its time, and the nature of its discussions have a direct bearing on the quality of governance in the country. Evaluating how Parliament actually works reveals how democratic deliberation unfolds in practice: how much time is spent on legislative business, the balance between debate and disruption, the utilisation of Question Hour and Zero Hour, and the throughput of bills and oversight mechanisms.
In this article, we shall look at some statistics on the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament (December 1–19, 2025) and see how it fares over previous Lok Sabhas.
Who compiles this data?
The data on the statement of work done by both houses of the Parliament is compiled by their respective Secretariats and is published on their portals.
Where can I download clean & structured data related to Parliamentary Working Statistics?
Clean, structured, and ready-to-use datasets related to the Parliamentary working Statistics can be downloaded from Dataful.
Key Insights
Nearly 80% drop in time lost to disruptions between the 5th and 6th sessions
The 6th session of the 18th Lok Sabha was held between 1 December and 19 December 2025, and comprised 15 sittings. This was fewer than the 21 sittings in the 5th session and the 26 sittings in the 4th session of this Lok Sabha. Despite fewer sittings, the Lok Sabha met for a total of 92 hours and 25 minutes during the 6th session. This marked a significant increase over the 37 hours and 7 minutes recorded in the 5th session, though it remained lower than the 160 hours and 48 minutes in the 4th session.
Time lost due to interruptions and adjournments during the 6th session was 18 hours and 59 minutes. In comparison, the House lost 84 hours and 5 minutes in the 5th session and 21 hours and 51 minutes in the 4th session. As a result, time lost in the 6th session declined by nearly 80% compared to the 5th session. Further, the house sat for an additional 28 hours to complete the listed business in the 6th session, as compared to 10 hours in the 5th session and 47 hours in the 4th session.
At an aggregate level, the 16th Lok Sabha lost a total of 439 hours to disruptions across 17 sessions, followed by 410 hours in the 17th Lok Sabha over 15 sessions. The 18th Lok Sabha has already lost 198 hours in just six sessions. Cumulatively, time lost in the 18th Lok Sabha accounts for about 28% of its scheduled time so far, compared to 23% in the 17th Lok Sabha and 21% in the 16th Lok Sabha.
Decline in Zero-Hour interventions over successive Lok Sabhas
The hour immediately following Question Hour is popularly known as Zero Hour. This time is used by members to raise matters that are urgent and cannot wait for the notice period prescribed under other parliamentary procedures. Issues raised during this period are not governed by a specific rule and are recorded in the proceedings as Matters of Urgent Public Importance.
Across Lok Sabhas, the average number of matters raised during Zero Hour has declined over time. In the 16th Lok Sabha, an average of 378 such matters were raised per session. This declined marginally to 371 in the 17th Lok Sabha, and further to 306 in the 18th Lok Sabha so far.
Within the 18th Lok Sabha, there has been considerable variation across sessions. No Zero Hour matters were raised during the 1st session. This was followed by 400 matters in the 2nd session, 182 in the 3rd session, and a sharp increase to 691 in the 4th session. The number then declined to 158 in the 5th session, before rising again to 408 in the 6th session.
Fewer Standing Committee reports submitted across recent Lok Sabhas
The number of reports presented by Department-related Standing Committees has varied across successive Lok Sabhas, with a modest decline visible in the current Lok Sabha. In the 16th Lok Sabha, committees submitted an average of 44 reports per session. This average increased slightly to 45 reports during the 17th Lok Sabha, but has fallen to 41 reports per session in the 18th Lok Sabha so far.
A closer look at the 18th Lok Sabha shows wide differences across sessions. No committee reports were tabled in the first two sessions. Submissions resumed in the 3rd session with 58 reports and remained similar at 60 in the 4th session. The 5th session recorded a sharp increase to 89 reports, followed by a drop to 41 reports in the 6th session.
Why does it matter?
These numbers matter because they provide objective evidence of how effectively Parliament is performing its core functions of legislation, oversight, and representation. Time lost to disruptions reduces opportunities for debate, scrutiny, and accountability, even when individual sessions show improvement. Trends in Zero Hour indicate the extent to which members can raise urgent public issues, while data on Standing Committee reports reflect the depth of off-floor legislative examination. Together, these indicators help assess whether parliamentary business is being conducted consistently and meaningfully, rather than being concentrated in a few sessions or driven primarily by political confrontation.
Key Numbers
- Total Sitting Hours and Time lost to disruptions across Lok Sabhas
16th Lok Sabha (17 sessions): Total Sitting Hours: 1616; Time Lost: 439
17th Lok Sabha (15 sessions): Total Sitting Hours: 1356; Time Lost: 411
18th Lok Sabha (6 sessions): Total Sitting Hours: 502; Time Lost: 198
- Average number of matters of public importance raised in Zero Hour
16th Lok Sabha: 378 ; 17th Lok Sabha: 371; 18th Lok Sabha: 307
- Average number of reports submitted by Department-related Standing Committees
16th Lok Sabha: 44 ; 17th Lok Sabha: 45; 18th Lok Sabha: 41
