Why do we need Two Houses of Parliament?

"Parliament" is the name given to India's national legislature; the legislature of a State is called the State legislature. India's Parliament is a bicameral legislature — it has two Houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). At the State level, the Constitution leaves the choice open: a State may have either a unicameral (one House) or a bicameral (two House) legislature. At present, only six States have chosen a bicameral legislature — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Why would a country want two Houses instead of one? Large, diverse countries generally prefer a bicameral legislature for two connected reasons. First, it lets every section of society and every geographical region of the country find representation — a single House elected purely on population may not adequately reflect this diversity. Second, and just as importantly, a second House builds in a genuine double-check: any decision or bill passed by one House still has to go to the other House for its own consideration. This means every bill and every major policy gets discussed twice, by two differently-constituted bodies. Even if one House takes a decision in haste, that decision does not automatically become final — it comes up for fresh discussion in the other House, where reconsideration becomes possible. …