Manual attendance era comes to end in RS

In line with the vision of a paperless Parliament, the Rajya Sabha has introduced a system for its members to mark their attendance electronically.

The digital attendance system will become operational from Monday. Previously, members used to sign against their name in the attendance register. The practice of manual signatures has been dispensed with following the introduction of capturing the signatures of the members electronically on tablets for the purpose of the provisions of Section 3 of the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954.

Four Tablets will be kept in the lobby of the Rajya Sabha Chamber in the Parliament House, two each at Tables I and IV. The names of members will be displayed in the e-attendance register in alphabetical order of first name. The name can be searched by typing in the search box any part or full name of the member or the division number allotted.

The members will sign in the box provided against their name in the e-attendance register with a stylus pen as per the specimen signature furnished to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and thereafter press the ‘save’ button for saving the attendance. Officials of the Secretariat will be available to assist the members with this process.

If a member remains present during a sitting of the House but does not sign the e-attendance register, the software will accordingly be updated, indicating NS, i.e., ‘Not Signed’ against the name of the member after 6 pm or after the adjournment of the House for the day, whichever is later. Once it is done, the status of attendance will not be changed.

Any communication from the Member informing that he/she was present in the House, but forgot to sign on a particular day will not change the entry made in the software unless his or her attendance is verified from the proceedings of the House for the day. After successful verification, attendance will be shown as “Attended but Not Signed” (ANS).