The Parliament, India's highest law-making body, is made up of the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and the President. The Lok Sabha has 543 MPs elected directly by voters, serving a fixed 5-year term. The party or coalition having a majority in the Lok Sabha forms the national government and their MPs form the Council of Ministers that is led by the Prime Minister. The Rajya Sabha has 250 MPs, with 238 elected by state legislators (e.g., MLAs) and 12 nominated by the President, serving staggered 6-year terms. Both houses have equal power in making laws, but the Lok Sabha has special authority in certain financial matters. The Vice President chairs the Rajya Sabha, assisted by the Deputy Chairperson, while the Lok Sabha is chaired by the Speaker, assisted by the Deputy Speaker. ​​The President's role is to call for parliament sessions, address both houses, and give approval to bills passed by Parliament to make them laws.

An MP, or Member of Parliament, is elected to represent the people in the Parliament. They perform important duties, including making laws, overseeing government actions and representing constituents' concerns.

MPs have an important role in the functioning of democracy. These are: Legislative functions: MPs participate in making laws by deliberating and voting on proposed laws that are called bills. Oversight functions: MPs hold the government accountable to the people by scrutinizing its actions, policies, and spending. Representative functions: MPs serve as the voice of their constituents by bringing forward the issues and demands of the people they represent. Development functions: MPs initiate some development projects, take part in local committees and engage with the implementation of government schemes.

MPs discuss and debate proposed laws called bills in Parliament to understand its pros and cons. Sometimes, they send bills to special groups of MPs, called committees, to study them closely and give advice. MPs then vote on whether to accept or reject the bill. If most MPs agree, the bill becomes a law. This is how rules that apply to everyone get made.

A bill undergoes several stages before it becomes law. This process includes introducing the bill before the Parliament, discussing the bill or referring it to a specialised committee for scrutiny and voting to accept or reject the bill. Once it is approved by the Parliament and okayed by the President, the government notifies the bill as a law. Most bills introduced in the parliament are sponsored by the government. To engage in a discussion, an MP must formally request to speak, although they are typically selected by the political parties they belong to. In the current Lok Sabha, 137 of 314 government bills were passed.

Private member bills are non-government bills that are introduced by MPs. These bills are used to point out issues in laws and policies, address national concerns, and represent public opinions. In the current Lok Sabha, 728 private member bills were introduced although none was passed.

A budget is an annual financial plan showing how the government expects to earn and spend money. It explains where taxes and other revenues come from and how they will be used for different programs and services to benefit the people. The Finance minister presents the budget in the Parliament for discussion by MPs and studied by the committees, examining each aspect such as allocation of funds for different purposes. Once approved by the Parliament, the government implements the budget.

MPs oversee and scrutinise the actions of the government through mechanisms including parliamentary questions, debates and discussions and parliamentary committees.

MPs can ask questions to ministers about the government’s policies, actions, spending and positions on matters of public importance. Questions are shortlisted by the Parliament secretariat and can be either answered orally or in writing, depending on whether they are starred or unstarred. In exceptional cases, the speaker may admit short notice questions on matters of urgent public importance, but the last short notice question admitted was in 1998.

MPs discuss and debate issues using various methods like Calling Attention, Short Duration Discussions, and Private Member Resolutions. Other methods include Rule 377 which allows them to bring up new issues, Adjournment Motions used to criticize urgent government decisions, and No Confidence Motions which can be moved against the Council of Ministers. However, not all of these are common in the house. In the current Lok Sabha, Rule 377 was used 4486 times, Short Duration Discussion 22 times and Private Member Resolution 11 times. Calling Attention and No Confidence Motion were used once each, whereas no Adjournment Motions were permitted.

MPs can raise issues of public importance on various topics such as school needs, disaster relief and public infrastructure through methods such as Rule 377, Special Mentions, Private Member Resolutions and Zero Hour interventions. This allows them to voice the issues and needs of their constituents and ask the government to take action.

MPs can raise issues of public importance on various topics such as school needs, disaster relief and public infrastructure through methods such as Rule 377, Special Mentions, Private Member Resolutions and Zero Hour interventions. This allows them to voice the issues and needs of their constituents and ask the government to take action.

MPs also have development functions relating to their local areas, though they are limited in nature. MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS): MPs can initiate development works in their constituencies using MPLADS funds up to Rs 5 crores every year. Between 2019-24, however, the total amount was reduced to Rs 17 crores due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The national government decides the types of work that are allowed under MPLADS. The works recommended by MPs are implemented by district authorities. Read the MPLADS Guidelines to know more, particularly regarding the types of works allowed (Chapter 5). Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY): MPs can also adopt one gram panchayat each year to prioritise the planning and execution of village development works under SAGY. For each selected village, a Village Development Plan is approved in the presence of the MP. Read the SAGY Guidelines to know more. District Development and Coordination Committees (DISHA): MPs are appointed as Chairpersons or Co-Chairpersons of DISHA committees. The committee is expected to meet 4 times a year to monitor the execution of various national government schemes in their district, and to address any issues. Read the DISHA Guidelines to know more.

As politicians and elected representatives, MPs may work for and support people in many ways outside the scope of their formal responsibilities. However, as they are primarily involved in laws and policies at the national level, they do not have a significant role regarding day-to-day administrative matters at the state and local levels.

Kerala returns 20 MPs to the Lok Sabha every year.

While this platform is focussed on Kerala, you can find information and analysis about MPs across India on the Parliament's website, PRS Legislative Research and Association for Democratic Reform's myneta.info. The Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha is the authoritative guide for information relating to how the Lok Sabha functions. You can access this here. If you have specific questions, please write to us and we'd be glad to assist you.