STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

funeral of the deceased employees and their family members and holding condolence
meetings in the memory of deceased employees etc.
Welfare Unit also takes initiatives for promoting various sports activities in the
Secretariat. Financial assistance was also provided for various disciplines. It is also
responsible for arranging Farewell functions in respect of the retiring employees of the
Secretariat.
RECRUITMENT CELL
The broad function of the Recruitment Cell is to undertake various recruitment
activities concerning Rajya Sabha Secretariat. Earlier there was a Joint Recruitment Cell
(JRC) to look after the recruitments of both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha Secretariat. A
separate Recruitment Cell for the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has come into being in the year
2008. Recruiting qualified and competent persons to man the Secretariat’s diverse
services is at the core of its functions. This Section works closely with the Personnel
Section.
RIGHT TO INFORMATION (RTI) CELL
The provisions of the Right to Information Act, 2005 have been implemented in
the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. In pursuance of the provisions of the Act, a Central Public
Information Officer and an Appellate Authority were appointed. Subsequently, a Central
Assistant Information Officer was also appointed.
The RTI Cell handles the following items of work:
(i) Applications received under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005
(ii) Appeals received under 19(1) of the RTI Act, 2005
(iii) Transfer of application under section 6(3) of the RTI Act, 2005
(iv) Discharge of other responsibilities cast upon the Public Authority under
the RTI Act.
TRAINING CELL
Organizational excellence through continuous learning and sharpening of the
professional skills of the human resource is the goal of the Secretariat. The need for
proper training of officers and staff of the Secretariat has been accorded top priority.
Training becomes all the more important in view of the rapid changes that are taking
place in today’s world due to burgeoning growth of information and communication
technologies. The Secretariat is also harnessing these new technologies in its day-to-day
functioning. Training has, therefore, acquired an added relevance for the members and
parliamentary officials to keep them updated on the developments in various Parliaments
of the World. The duties and responsibilities of the Parliamentary staff are quite varied
and complex. These are also very different from those performed by their counterparts in