Opening New Doors for Parliament’s Library Service
July 4, 2025

Context

  • India's Parliament, envisioned as a crucible for debate, deliberation, and democratic decision-making, has increasingly been overshadowed by disruptions and political theatrics.
  • In this shifting landscape, it becomes easy to forget that Parliament is not merely a stage for political performance but a vital institution for shaping policy and holding the government accountable.
  • At the heart of effective legislating lies access to rigorous research and informed analysis, a domain where India's parliamentary infrastructure still has significant room for growth.

The Role of Research in Parliamentary Functioning

  • Legislating on complex issues such as climate change, economic reforms, national security, and emerging technologies demands more than ideological commitment or political rhetoric, it demands knowledge, data, and analytical insight.
  • While the Indian Parliament houses one of the country's most comprehensive libraries, it remains underutilised by Members of Parliament (MPs).
  • The Library and the Reference, Research, Documentation and Information Service (LARRDIS) do provide reliable, digitised information, yet the institution is hampered by its reactive nature and limited scope.
  • Despite LARRDIS's commendable archival efforts and prompt response times, its structural limitations hinder its potential.
  • As one MP rightly noted, LARRDIS is not a research organisation or an academic institution.
  • It primarily caters to specific queries rather than proactively anticipating the research needs of MPs, especially in an era when policy challenges are increasingly multifaceted and fast-evolving.

PRS and the LAMP Fellowship and The Case for Reforming LARRDIS

  • PRS and the LAMP Fellowship
    • Notably, PRS Legislative Research, through its Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship, provides critical policy support to select MPs.
    • Although widely acknowledged for its value addition, the reach of LAMP remains limited.
    • With fewer than 50 fellows supporting over 800 MPs, the program is not scalable enough to meet broader institutional needs.
    • Consequently, MPs often rely on partisan aides or politically motivated talking points, leading to debates that lack rigour and nonpartisan insight.
  • The Case for Reforming LARRDIS
    • The answer lies not in dismantling existing institutions but in reforming and revitalising them.
    • LARRDIS must evolve from a passive information repository to a dynamic, anticipatory, and inclusive research centre.
    • Despite a significant rise in information requests, from just 150 in 1950 to over 8,000 in 2019, LARRDIS continues to operate in a silo, lacking strategic partnerships with universities, think tanks, and civil society.
    • A restructured LARRDIS could function as a bridge between academic knowledge and legislative needs, harnessing India's vibrant intellectual ecosystem.
    • By collaborating with premier academic institutions, think tanks, and international bodies, LARRDIS can provide forward-looking, evidence-based insights on pressing national and global issues.

The Way Forward

  • Learning from Global Best Practices
    • The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), for example, combines accessibility with in-depth policy analysis, tracking global trends and providing detailed evaluations of legislative proposals.
    • Similarly, Argentina’s OCAL links parliamentarians with experts, organises citizen-scientist dialogues, and conducts policy-relevant research.
    • In Sweden, the Association of MPs and Researchers (RIFO) creates regular interaction between lawmakers and scientific communities.
    • India can draw inspiration from these examples by encouraging partnerships that expand its knowledge base, while also retaining the core principles of neutrality, confidentiality, and institutional memory.
  • A Strategic Investment in Democratic Governance
    • Transforming LARRDIS into a world-class research hub is not a mere administrative upgrade; it is a strategic investment in the future of Indian democracy.
    • Such reform would reduce the information asymmetry between the legislature and executive, improve the quality of parliamentary debates, and promote evidence-informed policymaking.
    • The stakes are high: in a country as large and diverse as India, the consequences of poorly informed legislation can be profound and far-reaching.
    • The reform must be phased, consultative, and grounded in clear guidelines, including eligibility, turnaround times, and confidentiality norms.
    • Drawing talent from think tanks, international organisations such as the World Bank or the OECD, and academic institutions would ensure a steady supply of high-quality research.
    • Moreover, extending access to such services beyond MPs, to citizens and scholars, can develop greater transparency and participatory democracy.

Conclusion

  • If Parliament is the soul of Indian democracy, then research is its conscience.
  • A robust, well-resourced, and visionary research apparatus is essential for Parliament to reclaim its centrality in shaping the nation's destiny.
  • Revamping LARRDIS, expanding fellowships, and building bridges with India’s academic and research communities can ensure that legislative processes are guided not by political expediency, but by knowledge, analysis, and foresight.
  • In a time when trust in democratic institutions is both vital and vulnerable, such a transformation could well be the anchor that India’s democracy needs.

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