How did Parliament fare in 2025?

Parliament was ‘productive’ in the Budget and winter sessions while the monsoon session clocked only 31% productivity this year. In spite of repeated interruptions over various issues like ‘Operation Sindoor’, ‘Special Intensive Revision’ (SIR) of electoral rolls, Manipur ethnic violence and the Red Fort Blast, each Parliament session passed a slew of legislations with minimal debate and via voice votes.

In the Budget session, Parliament had 26 sittings in the two-part session during which the Union Budget was passed, along with several appropriation bills related to supplementary demand for grants from various Ministries. Among the most contentious Bills passed by both Houses were The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which faced strong pushback from the Opposition.

The monsoon session saw the most disruptions as members across parties demanded a discussion on ‘Operation Sindoor’ in which nine terror camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) were hit by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Of the 21 sittings spread across 32 days, Parliament saw little to no business take place in the first week as Opposition MPs demanded a discussion on Operation Sindoor. After a two-day discussion on the matter, Parliament rammed through 15 Bills amending laws related to taxation, sports, maritime and online gaming.

The winter session also saw several disruptions as Opposition MPs demanded a discussion on SIR. Acquiescing to the Opposition’s demands, the Centre also took the opportunity to ‘debate’ India’s national song — ‘Vande Mataram’. The discussion saw mudslinging across the aisle. While the BJP accused India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of ‘betraying’ the song by truncating it to two stanzas, as per Muslim League’s demands, the Congress pointed out that the decision was made collectively by the Constituent Assembly after Rabindranath Tagore’s advice.

Kicking off the two-part Budget session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget FY 25-26, which included raising the income tax exempt bracket upto ₹12 lakhs, a slew of new projects and schemes for poll-bound Bihar, insurance for gig workers, the opening up India’s nuclear sector and interest-free infrastructure loans for States.

Sixteen Bills were passed of which only two were debated for over 10 hours — The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024. On an average, most other Bills were debated for 2-4 hours in each House, despite being allocated higher time as per schedule. The Waqf Bill revamped the management of Waqf boards, properties and disputes over such and had already been scrutinised by a Joint Committee, while the Disaster Management Bill decentralised relief response at city and State levels.

Other Bills include The Immigration and Foreigners Bill, 2025, and The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which simplified travel documentation rules and governance standards. Manipur’s Budget and several appropriation Bills were also passed after the Union Budget was voted upon. President’s rule was officially imposed in Manipur, without much discussion on the ongoing crisis in the State, despite the Opposition’s demands. The Lok Sabha’s productivity was at 118%, while the Rajya Sabha clocked 119%.

In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and India’s military response to it, ‘Operation Sindoor’ dominated the topics that needed to be discussed in Parliament.  The first week was a complete washout as Parliament faced continuous adjournments as the Opposition demanded a discussion on it. Two discussions were held on Operation Sindoor and India’s space journey, during which the House was informed about ‘Operation Mahadev’ which cracked down on infiltrators who perpetrated the Pahalgam attack.

After the discussions, five maritime legislations were passed: (i) The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025, (ii) The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025, (iii) The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2025, (iv) The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 and (v) The Indian Ports Bill, 2025, along with two sports-related Bills: The National Sports Governance Bill, 2025, and The The Promotion and Regulation of Online gaming, 2025. While the first bill places sports bodies under more Central regulations, the second one bans sports betting, jolting the online sector.

Five Bills were sent to a Select Committee, including a contentious constitutional amendment which allowed the removal of Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers and Cabinet Ministers from their post if arrested under ‘serious crimes’. President’s rule was extended in Manipur for another six months. Functioning only for 39 hours, the Lok Sabha clocked a productivity of 31% but passed 12 Bills. Similarly, the Rajya sabha discussed issues for only 41 hours, clocking productivity of 39% while passing 15 Bills. The swift passage was facilitated by minimal debate with the least discussion lasting mere 28 minutes and the longest spanning 2.5 hours.

The shortest Session of the year, with 15 sittings, saw 8 out of 10 Bills pass through both Houses, while two were sent to a Joint Parliament committee for further scrutiny. At the Opposition’s demand, a discussion on SIR was held in which Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi called for the Centre to respond to his accusations regarding ‘vote chori’ in Haryana polls, voter deletion in Bihar and the protectiion of the Election Commissioner from prosecution. In response, Mr. Shah affirmed faith in the process, reiterating the Election Commission’s clarification on the aforementioned aaccusations.

Two Bills were passed after a day’s debate in each House: The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, 2025, and The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025. The first Bill replaces the MGNREGA schemes by increasing the number of workdays to 125 and adds a 40% contribution on the State’s finances, while the second opens up the nuclear sector to foreign players while diluting their liabilities. In spite of repeated pleas, neither bill was sent to a Select Committee for further scrutiny.

Bills that passed both Houses with minimal debate include two laws which levy cess and excise on tobacco manufacturing plants, one which revises the GST slabs into two — 5% and 18% — in Manipur, and one that allowed 100% FDI in insurance sectors. Two Bills which have been sent for further scrutiny are The Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, and The Securities Markets Code, 2025.

Overall, Lok Sabha clocked in a productivity of 103%, while the Rajya Sabha reached 104%. Laws were also debated for a longer duration, averaging about 4 hours in each House. The discussion on VB-G Ram G Bill lasted over 8 hours, while the shortest debate spanning 12 minutes was held on the Manipur GST Bill.

Throughout the year, there was no mention of the election of a Deputy Speaker, a post that has been lying vacant since 2019. With the sudden resignation of Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar citing ‘health reasons’, the Rajya Sabha got a new Chair — C.P. Radhakrishnan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the Motion of Thanks to President’s address and was present in Parliament during the topical debates on ‘Vande Mataram’, Operation Sindoor, electoral reforms, election of a new Vice-President and passage of some Bills via voice vote. Notably, during the passage of Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, in which support was registered via electronic voting, Mr. Modi was absent.