Rajya Sabha sittings of the Houses of Parliament of India are rare, and in the history of the Republic, only three such joint-sessions have been held; the latest one for the passage of the 2002 Prevention of Terrorism Act. The Vice President of India (currently, Venkaiah Naidu) is the "ex-officio" Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the house's members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman. The Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The salary and other benefits
Rajya Sabha The union government cannot make a law on a matter reserved for states without any authorisation from Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha, by a two-thirds supermajority can pass a resolution empowering the Government of India to create more All-India Services common to both Union and States, including a judicial service. Seats are allotted in degressive proportion to the population of each state or union territory, meaning that smaller states have a slight advantage over more populous states. As the members are elected by the state legislature, smaller Union Territories which are not States and do not have legislatures cannot have