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Lok Sabha
A bill seeking to give a precise definition of the term "transgender" and provide graded punishments that reflect the gravity of the harm inflicted upon such persons was introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday. It also underlines that a transgender person "shall not include, nor shall ever have been so included, persons with different sexual orientations and self-perceived sexual identities". The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill was introduced by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar. It notes that it is imperative to give a precise definition for proper and definitive identification and protection of transgender persons, to whom the benefits of the present law must reach. The protection and benefits that are provided under the present 2019 law are vast in nature, and therefore, care has to be taken that "such identification cannot be extended based on any acquirable characteristics or personal choice or claimed self-perceived identity of an ...
A Parliamentary panel has suggested that regulator NFRA conduct sectoral studies to identify industry-specific accounting and auditing challenges as well as put in place sector-specific accounting guidance to help boost investor confidence. The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), set up by the government in 2018 under the Companies Act, 2013, regulates auditors and monitors compliance with accounting and auditing standards by companies. It also oversees the quality of audit services to ensure reliability in financial reporting. In a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday on the corporate affairs ministry's demand for grants 2026-27, the Standing Committee on Finance has made certain recommendations in relation to the NFRA. According to the report, the corporate affairs ministry should take expeditious steps to operationalise the separation between audit quality review and disciplinary functions within the NFRA to strengthen procedural clarity, institutional independen
The Lok Sabha on Friday passed the second batch of supplementary demands for grants, allowing the government to spend an additional Rs 2.01 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Through the second batch of supplementary demands, the government sought Lok Sabha approval for spending a gross of Rs 2.81 lakh crore extra in the current fiscal year. With additional receipts of Rs 80,000 crore estimated for the current fiscal year in the supplementary, the net additional cash spending will be Rs 2.01 lakh crore. Despite the additional expenditure, the fiscal deficit for the current financial year (2025-26) will be within the Revised Estimates (RE), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while replying to the debate. The second batch of supplementary demands was passed by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha amid din. Opposition members were protesting over the availability of LPG in the country amid the ongoing West Asia crisis. The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the passage of the ...
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Friday amid relentless protests by opposition members over the LPG situation and hike in its price due to the ongoing West Asia crisis. As the House reassembled at 12 noon after an earlier adjournment over the same issue, Opposition members trooped into the Well and raised slogans against the government. After laying of papers, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for refusing to understand the pulse of the people saying if the principal opposition continues to behave in such a manner, people will punish them severely. "Their leader is refusing to change. Now the members are also behaving like him. Their leader is indulging in drama in Parliament premises by holding plate and glass. They think that by doing such theatrics they will be able to draw the attention of the people, but people know them very well that is why they have not been able to come to power," Rijiju said. Expressing ...
The government on Thursday said there was no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene or aviation turbine fuel in India after the Opposition criticised it over the handling of the fallout of the West Asia crisis by citing instances of scarcity and panic buying across the country. Responding to concerns raised by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said it was the foremost priority of the government that the kitchens of over 33 crore families, especially the poor and the underprivileged, did not face any shortage of gas. Domestic supply was fully protected and the delivery cycle unchanged, he said. "There is no shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation turbine fuel or fuel oil. The availability of petrol, diesel, aviation turbine fuel, kerosene, and fuel oil is fully assured," Puri said. He said retail outlets across the country were well stocked, supply chains were functioning normally, and additional allocation of PDS (pub
IndiGo has the lowest pilots-to-aircraft ratio at 7.6 compared to other domestic airlines, the Civil Aviation Ministry informed Parliament on Thursday. SpiceJet has the highest at 9.4 pilots per aircraft followed by Akasa Air having 9.33 pilots per aircraft, according to data presented by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol, in response to a question in the Lok Sabha. Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express have 9.1 pilots per aircraft and 8.8 pilots per aircraft, respectively, the data showed. In response to another question, the minister said that Air India Express had employed the highest number of expat pilots at 48, while IndiGo hired 29 foreign pilots. The minister said that IndiGo has a total of 5,200 pilots, including 970 female pilots in the company, while Air India has 3,123 pilots with 508 female pilots. The number of total pilots with Air India Express is 1,820, and 234 of them are females, the minister said. Akasa Air has 761 pilots, including
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Thursday said the House functions strictly under its rules and regulations and will continue to do so, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member, and asserted that he would conduct the proceedings with sincerity and fairness. A day after a motion seeking his removal as Speaker was defeated in the House, Birla also said that the Chair does not belong to any one individual but is a symbol of the prestige of the House. Birla said he was grateful to the members of the House for the faith reposed in him during debate and thanked all those who spoke in favour of him as well as against him. "The House has been running with rules and regulations and will continue to function in future, irrespective of whether it is acceptable to any member or not. I will continue to discharge my duty with all sincerity and impartiality," he said amidst the thumping of desks by the treasury bench members. Thursday was the first time Birla came to the House to condu
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said he was stopped from speaking in the Lok Sabha on multiple occasions and asserted that the House does not represent one party but the whole country. Interjecting in a debate in Lok Sabha on the resolution to remove Om Birla as speaker, Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "has been compromised" and everybody knows the result of that. Responding to BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, who cited parliamentary procedures to say that the leader of opposition should measure his words carefully, especially on issues of national security, Gandhi said that his name was being raised during the debate multiple times and "vile things" were being said about him. "The discussion here is about the democratic process and the role of the speaker. But multiple times, my name is being raised, vile things are being said about me. This House is the expression of people's will. This House does not represent one party; it represents the whole country,"
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address the Lok Sabha on Wednesday during the debate on the motion seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla.The motion was moved by Congress MP Mohammad Jawed, with more than 50 MPs standing in support of the resolution. BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, who was in the Chair, granted leave to move the motion and announced that 10 hours had been allotted for debate, and asked MPs to stick to the resolution. He said that the Speaker was generous with the permissions and procedure for the Opposition resolution.A total of 118 Opposition MPs signed the resolution, alleging "partisan behaviour" by the Speaker.The discussion on the no-confidence motion began on Tuesday with sharp exchanges over procedure, including objections from AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi and Congress MP KC Venugopal, who said that the House should elect a member who would preside over the debate. They questioned how the choice was made of who would be in the Chair from the panel of ...
The Lok Sabha on Tuesday took up an opposition resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla from office for his alleged bias towards the ruling party, amid a heated debate on who will preside over the House while the motion is being taken up. Congress legislator Mohammad Jawed read out the notice seeking to move a resolution to remove Birla from office. Besides Jawed, MPs K Suresh and Mallu Ravi had also moved the resolution. As soon as Jawed read out the notice, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi raised a point of order questioning the decision to allow Jagdambika Pal to chair the proceedings as he was appointed to the panel of chairpersons by Speaker Birla. BJP's Nishikant Dubey countered the claim, citing constitutional provisions, law and House rules. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Owaisi's claim was irrelevant as Pal was competent to preside over the Lok Sabha when the resolution was taken up. Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said Rijiju should move a mot
The government provides 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in direct recruitment to civil posts and services under the Centre, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. The implementation of the reservation policy is being done by the Department of Personnel and Training, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment B L Verma said in response to a question. "Government has a reservation policy through OM (office memorandum) dated 8.9.1993 of the Department of Personnel and Training and other instructions issued from time to time, under which 27 per cent of vacancies in direct recruitment to civil posts and services under the government are reserved for OBCs (Socially and Educationally Backward Classes)," the minister said in a written reply. He said the ministry is taking measures for the welfare of OBCs under the umbrella scheme of the PM Young Achievers' Scholarship Award Scheme for Vibrant India (PM-YASASVI), which includes pre-matric and post-matric .
The government on Tuesday sought Lok Sabha approval for gross additional expenditure of over Rs 2.81 lakh crore in current fiscal year. The second batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants was tabled in the Lok Sabha by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "Approval of Parliament is sought to authorise gross additional expenditure of Rs 2,81,289.26 crore. Of this, the proposals involving net cash outgo aggregate to Rs 2,01,142.96 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/Departments or by enhanced receipts/recoveries aggregates to Rs 80,145.71 crore," said the Supplementary Demands for Grants.
The Lok Sabha on Monday could not take up a resolution seeking the removal of Speaker Om Birla amid repeated adjournments, as opposition members demanded a debate on the West Asia situation. The government and the Chair accused the opposition of holding the House proceedings "hostage" to its demands. The House was adjourned for the day shortly after it reassembled at 3 pm, following an earlier adjournment due to relentless protests by opposition members. As proceedings resumed, opposition MPs continued raising slogans. Jagadambika Pal, who was chairing the proceedings, urged them to maintain decorum and allow the House to take up the resolution against Birla. Pal reminded the opposition that the no-confidence resolution against the Speaker was already on the House agenda, and their adjournment notice seeking debate on the West Asia crisis could not be taken up. He accused the opposition of wasting taxpayers' money -- about Rs 9 crore per day -- by holding the House "hostage" to its
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday sought a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the ongoing conflict in West Asia and urged the government to clarify its foreign policy, alleging that India was acting under pressure from the US. Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Yadav said the government should spell out how it is dealing with the situation, especially in view of the large number of Indians living and working in Gulf countries. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister also claimed that several journalists who had accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent trip to Israel were now stranded in the region. "A large number of Indians are stuck in Gulf countries. Journalists who had accompanied the prime minister during his visit to Israel as political journalists have now become war journalists. How will they return?" Yadav said. He also criticised the Centre's foreign policy approach, alleging that the US was "dictating" terms to India. "On one hand, we a
The Lok Sabha will witness a rare moment most likely on Monday next when Om Birla will not chair proceedings but will be seated amongst the members as the House takes up a notice seeking his removal from office. As Parliament meets for the second phase of the Budget session on March 9, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up the resolution moved by the opposition against Birla's for allegedly acting in a "blatantly partisan" manner. According to the rules and laid down procedure, Birla will get a right to defend himself when the resolution is discussed by the lower house. He will also have the right to vote against the resolution, Constitution expert P D T Achary explained. The expert said while Birla will not chair the proceedings when the resolution comes up before the House, he will be seated in the prominent rows in the Treasury benches. At least 118 opposition members had submitted a notice for moving the resolution to remove Birla from office for not allowing Leader of Opposition