The Winter Session of Parliament, which was adjourned sine die on Friday six days ahead of schedule, is the eighth consecutive session to be cut short, data compiled by a legislative think tank showed.
Over the last 50 years, the number of sittings of Parliament has been declining and has halved since the 1950s and the 1960s
Several members in both Houses had demanded that the session -- originally scheduled to have sittings till April 8 that year -- be curtailed so that they could participate in the election process in certain states and union territories, the government had said in a statement.
The Monsoon Session last year was adjourned two days ahead of schedule and the Winter Session a day before its planned end, the data showed.
This year, the Budget Session was adjourned a day before schedule, and the Monsoon Session, four days ahead of schedule, it stated.
In this winter session, Lok Sabha functioned for 88 per cent of its scheduled time while Rajya Sabha functioned for 94 per cent of its scheduled time, according to the think-tank's report.
Both Houses saw disruptions and repeated adjournments on the penultimate day, when opposition members wanted to raise a discussion on the India-China issue.
Seven Bills were passed in this session and seven were introduced. Four Bills to amend the list of Scheduled Tribes in various states were introduced, of which two were passed.
Two of the Bills introduced, the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Bill, 2022, and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022, have been referred to Joint Parliamentary Committees.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said there was consensus among floor leaders of all parties to cut short the Winter Session of Parliament.
"In the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting of Lok Sabha, there was consensus among floor leaders of all political parties to cut short the session," he told reporters here.
Birla's remarks assume significance as they come against the backdrop of several opposition leaders alleging that the government has been curtailing Parliament sessions.
In Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the productivity of the House was 102 per cent. The House held 13 sittings totalling 64 hours 50 minutes.
The Lower House spent around 11 per cent of its time in Question Hours, a total of 7.7 hours, while Rajya Sabha spent 9.8 hours, around 15 per cent, of its scheduled time on questions, according to the report.
Legislative business took around 16 hours or 24 per cent of Lok Sabha's time, financial business took around 10.9 hours or 16 per cent of the total time, while non-legislative business such as debates and matters of urgent public importance took around 48 per cent of the Lower House's time.