Political protests and costly delays: What’s happening in India’s Parliament?

The Indian Parliament spends approximately ₹2.5 lakh for every minute of functioning.

Transcript

00:00Yes, that's how much it costs to run the Indian parliament for a minute.

00:112.5 lakh rupees for every minute during active hours.

00:15On July 23rd, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned in just under a minute.

00:20On 24th July 2025, the Lok Sabha was again adjourned in minutes,

00:25due to the protests by opposition MPs against the special intensive revision

00:28of electoral rolls in the state of Bihar.

00:30The total time of proceedings in this monsoon session is expected to be 7,560 minutes.

00:36Considering that, the total cost of this session comes down to 189 crore rupees.

00:41Take the 2024 winter session for instance.

00:44The session started on 25th November and ended on 20th December.

00:48The Lok Sabha lost 65 hours due to disruptions,

00:51while the Rajya Sabha lost 65 hours and 15 minutes.

00:54This means that 97 crore 87 lakh 50 thousand rupees of the taxpayers' money went to waste

00:59due to disruptions in the Lok Sabha alone.

01:01Also, keep in mind that the 2.5 lakh rupees per minute figure is from the year 2012,

01:06as revealed by then parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Bansan.

01:09Take into account the new parliament complex and inflation,

01:12the figure must have exceeded by at least a few lakh rupees.

01:15So, is it too much to ask for constructive debate in parliament?