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The Monsoon Session 2026, which began on 20 July 2026, was adjourned sine die on 13 August 2026 after 19 sittings spread over 25 days — the 8th Session of the 18th Lok Sabha and the 271st Session of the Rajya Sabha.
Eleven Bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha and two in the Rajya Sabha; 12 were passed by each House, and 12 were passed by both Houses in all.
Two Bills replaced Ordinances promulgated before the Session — the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Ordinance, 2026 and the Income-Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.
Productivity was about 19% in the Lok Sabha and about 39% in the Rajya Sabha, which sat for only 37 hours and 49 minutes and took up 16 of 285 Starred Questions.
The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 was referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses; major Bills passed included the Tribunals Reforms Bill, the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill and the MMDR Amendment Bill.
An adjournment suspends a sitting to a stated time. Adjournment sine die — literally 'without a day' — terminates a sitting without fixing the next one, and is done by the presiding officer: the Speaker in the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the Rajya Sabha, as the closing line of the Rajya Sabha Chairman's valedictory remarks shows. The session itself ends only when the President prorogues the House, which is a separate act under Article 85; between sine die and prorogation the presiding officer can still call the House back. Dissolution is different again — it ends the life of the Lok Sabha itself and triggers a general election, and the Rajya Sabha, being a permanent House, is never dissolved. Article 85 also carries the rule most often asked: six months may not elapse between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next, which is what forces at least the customary three sessions a year. Bills pending in the Lok Sabha lapse on its dissolution, but not on prorogation or on adjournment sine die — which is why a Bill referred to a Joint Committee, as the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill was, survives the end of this session and returns later.
Simple Analogy: Sine die is closing the shop without saying when it reopens; prorogation is ending the trading season; dissolution is winding up the company and holding fresh elections for a new one.
Governs sessions, prorogation and dissolution — including the rule that six months may not intervene between the last sitting of one session and the first sitting of the next.
The President's power to promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not in session. The two Ordinances of 2026 on the Supreme Court's judge strength and income tax had to be replaced by Bills during this Session, which is why both appear in the list of Bills passed.
The provision under which Parliament may alter the name of a state, used by the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026 to amend the First Schedule and rename Kerala as Keralam.
Amended this Session to bring Vande Mataram, the National Song, within Section 3, making it an offence to intentionally prevent its singing or disturb an assembly engaged in singing it.
The parent Act amended to mandate investigation within two months and trial within three, enable Special Fast Track Courts and Special Task Forces, raise penalties and provide a time-bound appeal to a Division Bench of the High Court.
Two Ordinances needed replacement Bills this Session; the constitutional requirement that an Ordinance cease to operate six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament is what forces this sequence.
The Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill follows the Article 3 route — Parliament legislating on a state's recommendation, with the President referring the Bill to the state legislature for its views, which is not binding.
The Tribunals Reforms Bill and its proposed National Tribunals Commission continue a long exchange between Parliament and the Supreme Court over service conditions and independence of tribunal members.
Lok Sabha productivity of about 19% against Rajya Sabha's 39% is the kind of figure used in Mains answers on the decline of legislative scrutiny and the case for a fixed calendar.
GS Paper 2 > Parliament and State Legislatures: Structure, Functioning, Conduct of Business, Powers and Privileges
General Awareness > Indian Polity and Current Affairs
General Awareness > Recent Legislation Affecting Banking and MSMEs
Session statistics and parliamentary procedure appear every year in Prelims and are core GS2 Mains material
Adjournment of a House without fixing a date for the next sitting, done by the presiding officer; the session ends only on prorogation by the President.
A question for oral answer in the House, followed by supplementaries; 285 were listed in the Rajya Sabha this Session but only 16 taken up.
A Rajya Sabha device by which a Member raises a matter of public importance not covered by other procedures; 93 of 380 were taken up.
A committee with Members from both Houses constituted to examine a Bill and report — the route taken by the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
Approval sought for expenditure incurred in a past year beyond the amount voted — here for 2022-23, through the Appropriation (No. 3) Bill, 2026.
The proportion of scheduled time actually used for business; about 19% in the Lok Sabha and 39.17% in the Rajya Sabha this Session.