The Rajya Sabha, or Council of States, is the upper house of the Parliament of India, making it a constitutional institution and a key component of India's bicameral legislature. It was formally constituted on April 3, 1952, with its first sitting held on May 13, 1952. The chamber was created to serve as a federal chamber, ensuring that the states and union territories have a formal role in national law-making, thereby solving the problem of ensuring regional representation in the central government of a vast, diverse country. It also acts as a revisionary house to check against hasty legislation passed by the directly elected lower house, the Lok Sabha.
The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is fixed at 250 members under Article 80 of the Constitution, with the current strength being 245. Of these, 233 members are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies using the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, and 12 are nominated by the President for their special knowledge in fields like literature, science, art, and social service. Members serve a six-year term, and the house is a permanent body that cannot be dissolved, with one-third of its members retiring every two years. The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The Rajya Sabha connects directly to the concept of Indian federalism and possesses two exclusive powers: under Article 249, it can authorize Parliament to legislate on a subject in the State List in the national interest, and under Article 312, it can authorize the creation of new All-India Services. While it has equal power with the Lok Sabha in ordinary legislation, it cannot introduce, reject, or amend Money Bills, which must be returned to the Lok Sabha within fourteen days. A significant change occurred in 2003 with the Representation of People (Amendment) Act, which removed the requirement for a candidate to be an elector in the state from which they are contesting, and introduced an open ballot system for elections.