PRS Legislative Research
Encyclopedia
PRS Legislative Research (PRS) is a not-for-profit, non-partisan research initiative based in New Delhi, India. It aims to strengthen the legislative debate by making it better informed, more transparent and participatory. Founded in 2005, PRS is the first initiative of its kind in India.
In its research, PRS makes no recommendations and is guided by the principle of non-partisanship. Since its inception, PRS has directly briefed MPs from over 20 political parties from both the treasury and opposition benches.
is the Founder Director of PRS.
Background
Each Member of Parliament (MP) in India represents over two million constituents. Each year, the Indian Parliament passes an average of 60 Bills. Thus, MPs are required to legislate on a range of issues over a short period of time. In such a context, support for their work in Parliament becomes essential to help them make better informed decisions. However, there is no dedicated research staff or institutional support for each MP.Research Support to MPs
PRS boils down 40-page Bills into four-to-six pages of bullet points and analysis, stripped of legalese and partisanship. They highlight key points and provide context—the product of a month of research and interviews with stakeholders, outside experts and the government officials who drafted the Bills. These Legislative Briefs channelise diverse stakeholder inputs for a better understanding of issues.In its research, PRS makes no recommendations and is guided by the principle of non-partisanship. Since its inception, PRS has directly briefed MPs from over 20 political parties from both the treasury and opposition benches.
Tracking Parliament
PRS collates detailed data and information about parliamentary activity. It prepares detailed reports providing timely updates about business in Parliament before and after each session. It also enables citizens to track the activity of their MPs in Parliament through an MP track tool.Citizens Engagement
Additionally, the initiative is also making significant efforts to reach out to the citizen sector, the corporate sector and the Press. The briefs (about bills) are sent to all the MPs, about 700 journalists and 1,000 non-governmental organizations around the country. The briefs are available free on the PRS website. Additionally, data sets complied about the work of the parliament is freely shared with others.Laws of India Project
PRS has launched a website providing a searchable database for laws from different states of India. Laws of India enables users to search, download and compare laws on different subjects across states.About PRS
Currently, PRS is a twelve-person team, financed by the Ford Foundation and Google. The "institutional anchor" is the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, an autonomous institution set up in 1973 with the objective of studying major policy issues before the nation and suggesting alternative policy options. CV MadhukarCV Madhukar
C V Madhukar is Founder and Director of PRS Legislative Research, a research institution that focuses on making the legislative process in India better informed, more transparent and participatory. PRS publishes "Legislative Briefs" of Bills in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and other articles about...
is the Founder Director of PRS.
Media on PRS
Articles by the PRS team
- Ring in the New
- Parliament session gives government chance to further reform agenda
- Who's the Boss?
- We are postponing the diagnosis of a disease
- One, Two, Three, Budget
Articles citing PRS
- Where the Women Are
- All Bills Old and Older
- House in Numbers
- Is this why we sent them to Parliament?
- Google announces $25m aid for India
- It's not just about MP's allowances
- Quality at Rs 500 a day?
- Older MPs outshone the young in parliament, say statistics
- Parliament was not a priority for some MPs
- On debut, inheritors fell short of national performance average
- 7 LDF MPs have cases registered against them
- Raised to the Power W
- Does anti-defection law stifle MPs?