Parliament gets Rs 1,492 in Budget

The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday has allocated Rs 1,492 crore for the functioning of both Houses of Parliament. The allocation for the Lok Sabha has been pegged at Rs 1,009 crore, which includes grants-in-aid for Sansad TV. The Budget provides Rs 1.56 crore for the salaries and allowances of the speaker and the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha, while Rs 416.45 crore has been set aside for the salaries and allowances of members of parliament and facilities extended to them. In addition, Rs 586.03 crore has been set aside for Lok Sabha Secretariat expenses, covering salaries of staff and officers, establishment-related requirements, grants-in-aid and expenditure on Sansad TV. The Rajya Sabha has received an allocation of Rs 482.99 crore. Of this, Rs 2.55 crore has been earmarked for salaries and allowances of the chairman and deputy chairman of the House. The vice president, who is also the Rajya Sabha chairman, draws his salary for his role as the presiding officer of the Upper House. The Rajya Sabha has a provision of Rs 3.36 crore for salaries and allowances of the leader of the opposition in the House and his secretariat. A major portion of the allocation -- Rs 349.37 crore -- has been made for the secretariat, which includes salaries of the officers and staff of the Rajya Sabha secretariat, RSTV, pay and accounts office, and establishment-related needs. The Budget also allocated Rs 11.70 crore to the secretariat of the vice president to meet the expenditure on the staff and officers, including their travel expenses, other administrative expenses and contingencies of the vice president.