India

Council of States

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Sansad (Parliament)
Chamber name
Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
6

Notes: One-third of the membership is renewed every 2 years at various dates

Frequency of renewal (years)
2

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1949
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Asia-Pacific Group

Speaker

Official title
Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
Speaker
Jagdeep Dhankar (Male)
Date of birth: 18 May 1951
Term
11 Aug 2022
Additional information

The Vice-President of the Republic

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Pramod Chandra Mody (Male)
Term
12 Nov 2021
Notes

Appointed on 12 Nov. 2021.

Members

Statutory number of members
245

Notes:

Indirectly elected members: elected by the legislative assemblies of the states and union territories.

Appointed members: nominated by the Head of State.

Principal mode of designation of members
Indirectly elected
Indirectly elected members
233
Appointed members
12
Current number of members
234
Men
195
Women
39
Percentage of women
16.7%
Statutory number of members per country
790
Population (in thousands)
1,438,070
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
1,820,342

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
61.0
(2024-01 - 2024-06)
Youngest member
Raghav Chadha (Male)
Youngest member (years)
35
Oldest member
H.D. Devegowda (Male)
Oldest member (years)
91
Number of members, by age (2024-01)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 4 14 12 57 66 33 5 1 192
Female 0 0 2 3 6 14 10 3 1 0 39
Totals per age interval 0 0 6 17 18 71 76 36 6 1 231
Total <= 45: 23 Total >= 46: 208
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
2.6% 2% 0.9%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
10.0% 8% 2.2%
Members for whom data is available
231
(2024)
Members for whom age data is not available
3
(2024-01 - 2024-06)

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No

Sources: Article 80 of the Constitution of India, which deals with the composition of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), provides for the nomination of 12 members by the President.

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No