Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday welcomed the 61 newly-elected and nominated members of the House and urged them to exploit their potential to contribute towards fulfilling the aspirations of people.

"Let us all in togetherness work towards the blossoming of democracy," he said while welcoming the members at the start of the 264th session of the Upper House.

He said this is the first session after the recent general elections and the assembly polls in four states.

"While exercising their franchise, the people of Bharat, the largest democracy in the world, have expressed their faith in our democratic polity and the values that underpin our Republic. The successful completion of this 'festival of democracy' is a matter of great pride and admiration for all of us," he noted.

Dhankhar also said that the Upper House has got re-constituted partially after its recent biennial elections.

"Congratulations to all the 61 newly elected/nominated Members of the House. During the 263rd session of the Rajya Sabha, we bid farewell to the retiring members. The members would surely fully exploit their potential and contribute towards fulfilling aspirations of the people," he said.

"Let us all in togetherness work towards the blossoming of democracy. Let us contribute in a wholesome manner for dialogue, discussion, deliberations and debate all being the essence of democracy," the Rajya Sabha chairman said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present in the Rajya Sabha and he later introduced the council of ministers in the House.

"I have great pleasure to introduce Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who has been sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third consecutive term after a gap of six decades," Dhankhar said amid thumping of desks and applause.

He earlier announced that J P Nadda would be the leader of the House, and the House greeted him with thumping of desks.

The Rajya Sabha chairman later separately interacted with several members of the House in his chamber.

Six new members -- three from Madhya Pradesh, two from Jharkhand and one from Bihar -- also took oath on Thursday.

The Rajya Sabha also took note of the reports of the Privileges Committee, which held 12 MPs guilty of misconduct, including AAP MP Sanjay Singh, for causing disruptions in the House and cautioned them for not repeating their behaviour.

The panel also recommended the revocation of suspension of Sanjay Singh, who was suspended from the House last year, after holding him guilty of misconduct. The panel, however, said that the punishment suffered by him is sufficient.