Parliamentary Panel Reshuffle 2026: Full List of New Chairpersons

Current Context: On 3 October 2026, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha reconstituted the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees (DRSCs) for the 2026–27 term. Most chairpersons were retained, while several committees received new heads. 

Key Points:

• What are DRSCs? Parliament has 24 Department-related Standing Committees, of which 16 function under the Lok Sabha Speaker and 8 under the Rajya Sabha Chairman. They examine ministries’ Demands for Grants, Bills, annual reports and policy matters. 

• Major new appointments in 2026:

  Commerce: Sudhanshu Trivedi replaced Dola Sen.
• Chemicals and Fertilisers: Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar replaced Kirti Azad.
• Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice: Sujeet Kumar replaced Brij Lal.
• Labour, Textiles and Skill Development: Shashank Mani replaced Basavaraj Bommai.
• Railways: Sudhir Gupta replaced C. M. Ramesh.
• Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports: Mukul Wasnik took over from Digvijaya Singh. 
• Defence Committee: Radha Mohan Singh was named chairperson of the Standing Committee on Defence. 
• Key chairpersons retained:
• Shashi Tharoor continues to head External Affairs, Charanjit Singh Channi Agriculture, Bhartruhari Mahtab Finance, Radha Mohan Das Agarwal Home Affairs, Sanjay Kumar Jha Transport, Tourism and Culture, Anurag Thakur Coal, Mines and Steel, and K. Kanimozhi Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. 
• Why are committees reconstituted? DRSCs are generally reconstituted annually so that MPs can be reassigned and committee leadership can be updated while maintaining parliamentary scrutiny of ministries throughout the year. 
• Institutional role: The reconstitution is carried out under the authority of the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman, depending on which House the particular committee falls under. 

Question:

Q1. Who was appointed Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce in the 2026 reshuffle?
a) Shashi Tharoor
b) Sujeet Kumar
c) Sudhanshu Trivedi

d) Bhartruhari Mahtab

Answer: (c) Sudhanshu Trivedi took over the Commerce Committee from Dola Sen in the 2026 reconstitution of Parliament’s Department-related Standing Committees.