About QUORUM | UPSC Current Affairs

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Recently the Lok Sabha adjourned due to a Lack of Quorum as Ruling Party MPs Leave after the Prime Minister’s speech during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business.
- It is 1/10th of the total number of members of the House (including the presiding officer).
Constitutional Provision:
- According to Article 100 of the Indian Constitution, at least 10% of the total number of members of the House must be present to constitute the quorum to constitute a meeting of either House of Parliament.
- For example, if the House has a total membership of 250, at least 25 members must be present for the House to proceed with its business.
If there is no quorum during a meeting of the House, it is the duty of the presiding officer either to adjourn the House or to suspend the meeting until there is a quorum.

About Motion of Thanks:

According to the Article 87 of the Indian Constitution, “the President should address both Houses of Parliament assembled and tell Parliament of the causes of its summons at the start of the first session after each general election to the House of the People and at the start of the first session of each year”.
Content of motion of thanks
- The President's Address is the Government's policy statement, and it is written by the Government.
- The Address includes an assessment of the government's many actions and accomplishments over the previous year, as well as the policies, projects, and programmes that the current government intends to pursue concerning major national and international issues.
- The Address also outlines, in broad terms, the items of legislative business that will be brought forward during the year's sessions.
- The president's message, known as the "speech from the Throne in Britain," is debated in both Houses of Parliament on a resolution known as the "Motion of Thanks."
The House must approve the Motion of Thanks. Otherwise, it equates to the government's defeat. It is one of the methods by which the Lok Sabha can express its dissatisfaction with the government.