Any member of the National Assembly may challenge a demand for grant presented by the government before the House in form of cut motions. These motions can be of three types:
- a Disapproval of Policy Cut reducing the demand to Rupee 1 to reject a policy
- an Economy Cut (reducing by a specified amount) to propose savings; or
- a Token Cut (reducing the demand by Rupees 100) to raise a specific grievance within a Ministry’s sphere of responsibility.
Each has its own admissibility conditions.
Why it matters for the National Assembly proceedings?
Cut motions are the Assembly’s most granular financial scrutiny tools. A Disapproval of Policy Cut signals rejection of a specific policy direction — as close as the budget process comes to a vote of no confidence on a specific programme. Token Cuts are vehicles for constituency grievance ventilation during the budget debate.
What is in it for citizens?
For citizens engaged in policy advocacy, cut motions are the budget-stage vehicle for raising specific concerns. A member can raise concerns about a Ministry’s spending priorities and file a Disapproval of Policy Cut on the relevant demand. Although the cut motions almost always fail, they force the government to defend the policy publicly and create a record.
Source: Rule 189, Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007
The proceedings of the National Assembly are governed by the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. The current rules were passed on 23 February 2007 and have since been amended 21 times, most recently on 22 October 2024.
This post is part of FAFEN’s series on parliamentary literacy. Read more of this series here.
