Rajya Sabha

Samajwadi Party candidates Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani on Wednesday filed their nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh. Both Yadav and Nathwani, an executive of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), filed their nominations in the presence of party president Akhilesh Yadav, Shivpal Yadav and party MLAs. Based on the current strength of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, the BJP-led alliance is in a position to win eight seats, while the SP, with Congress support, can secure two. However, the Samajwadi Party is likely to filed its third candidate also. Party spokesperson Rajendra Chowdhury said, "We will declare a third candidate also." On being asked how the party will ensure victory of the third candidate, Chowdhury claimed that a number of BJP MLAs are dissatisfied with the working of the government and his party candidates will get due support from them. The elections have been necessitated due to the expiry of the terms of nine Rajya Sabha members

Election Commission announces October 16 polling for 10 UP seats, one in Uttarakhand and a Bengal bypoll

In a rare move, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has nominated two Rajya Sabha members as "special invitees" to the joint parliamentary committee examining the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026. A Lok Sabha bulletin on Wednesday said Javed Ali Khan and James Pangsang Kongkal Sangma have been nominated as special invitees to the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Bill. Former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achari told PTI that Rule 299 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha states that MPs who are not members of the Select Committee may be present during the deliberations of the Committee but shall not address it or sit in the body of the panel. A select committee of one House or a joint committee of the two Houses is constituted to examine a Bill, and its term ends upon the submission of a report. Achari said members with special interests and specialisation in certain fields can be made special invitees, who can sit ...

Parliament's Monsoon Session saw sharp disruptions, with the Lok Sabha functioning for just 15% of scheduled time and raising fresh concerns over legislative scrutiny and accountability

A parliamentary panel has proposed a national authority, common terminal standards and fee-based access for private buses, alongside digital permits and safety reforms

Parliament's 2026 Monsoon Session passed 11 of 12 Bills introduced, while seven Bills received five minutes or less of discussion in Lok Sabha. None was referred to a Standing Committee

Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan on Tuesday said he is always under the pressure from Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge, while disallowing his demand to raise the issue of alleged theft of Ayodhya Ram Temple donations. The observation came when the House reconvened at 12 noon after the first adjournment and the Chairman took up the Question Hour. However, Congress President and LoP, Rajya Sabha, Kharge stood up to raise the issue of alleged theft of the temple donations. The Chairman disallowed it and said he also did not allow the Treasury benches to raise the "Jharkhand issue" as it was a state subject. "LoP is raising a state subject, so that cannot be encouraged," Radhakrishnan said. The Chairman said he cannot allow the Opposition to "raise the same subject everyday and disturb the House". "I allowed you (Opposition) so many times. You are raising the state subject that will not be entertained. This side (Treasury benches) also, they want to raise some stat

The legislation replaces the colonial-era Bankers' Book Evidence Act of 1891 and provides explicit legal recognition to electronic and digital banking records

The Bills include amendments to laws governing tribunals, mining, Kerala's name and cooperative development

Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan urged Kiren Rijiju to convey the Opposition's demand that Amit Shah attend the House as the parliamentary deadlock continued

The Lok Sabha will take up the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 for consideration and passage, a day after it was introduced in the House

The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed a bill that seeks to tackle the issue of delayed payments to MSMEs by prescribing timelines to ensure faster adjudication of disputes, provide recovery of the settlement agreement, and address their liquidity issues, even as Opposition members continued to disrupt the House. The Upper House was adjourned after the passage of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026. Members of the Opposition kept raising slogans during the bill's passage, demanding the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah to answer questions on police action against students protesting NEET exam paper leak. Replying to the discussion on the bill, Union Minister for MSME Jitan Ram Manjhi outlined the advantages of the proposed legislation for the sector and various sections of society, expressing dismay at the loud protests by Opposition members. "We expected our opposition allies to support, cooperate, and pass this bill, but today they are opposing .

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day on Friday, shortly after meeting at 11 am, amid sloganeering by Opposition MPs. As proceedings began, papers were laid on the table of the House and Opposition members demanded that Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge be allowed to speak. Chairman C P Radhakrishnan later permitted Kharge to speak, but ruled that no notices under Rule 267 will be admitted after the Leader of Opposition sought to raise some issues under the provision. Opposition members then raised slogans, including on the paper leaks issue, and on the alleged theft of donations from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Amid the protests, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Opposition of indulging in "sadak-chhap" politics and "playing with the dignity of the House". "They're doing sadak-chhap politics, playing with the dignity of the House. Democracy is being destroyed," Chouhan said. As the sloganeering continued, the Chairman adjourned the House for the day. The

Macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong, supported by robust domestic demand, healthy corporate balance sheets and sustained fiscal discipline amid global challenges, Union Minister Pankaj Chaudhary told Parliament on Tuesday. Further, according to the RBI's Financial Stability Report (June 2026), the domestic financial system remains resilient, underpinned by strong bank and non-bank balance sheets, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. "As a major player in global markets, India's economy is also linked with international trends, which impact its exchange rate movements. Since the start of the West Asia conflict, the Indian Rupee (INR) has depreciated against the US Dollar (USD) by 5.8 per cent in FY27 (from February 27 up to July 22, 2026)," he said. At present, the macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy remain strong, he said, adding real GDP has consistently grown at over 7 per cent during the

The government on Tuesday introduced a Bill in the Rajya Sabha that seeks to tackle the issue of delayed payments to micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by prescribing timelines to ensure faster adjudication of disputes, provide recovery of the settlement agreement, and address their liquidity issues. Union Minister for MSMEs Jitan Ram Manjhi introduced the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill seeks to amend The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. "This legislation was framed in 2006, therefore there is a need for reforming it and making additions," the minister said. Notably, the proposed legislation seeks to empower courts to order payment of at least 50 per cent of the awarded amount to MSME suppliers, if the application to set aside an order is pending for more than six months. It also seeks to provide recovery of the mediated settlement agreement or the arbitral award as arrear of land

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday following protests from Opposition parties demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah over alleged police brutality against students protesting the NEET paper leak in the national capital. When the Upper House assembled at 5.15 pm after four successive adjournments since morning, Opposition parties led by the Congress continued their protest demanding a statement from the Home Minister. Parliament Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government is ready for discussions on the issue and appealed to the Congress leader to discuss the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. "Such an important Bill has been brought forward. We appealed to Congress yesterday, we have been appealing to them since this morning, but they are not agreeing," said Rijiju. The government, which has moved the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday, has allotted time for discussions. "Here, too, as the Opposition party wanted, th

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned further till 2 pm on Friday as Opposition parties continued to protest, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET paper leak and police action on students. As soon as proceedings resumed at 12 noon after the adjournment in the morning, Leader of Opposition in the Upper House Mallikarjun Kharge once again raised the demand of Pradhan's resignation. "The Education Minister should resign," Kharge said, while NDA MPs objected to the demand. Chairman CP Radhakrishnan adjourned the proceedings until 2 pm following the pandemonium. Earlier, when the House met at 11 am, Radhakrishnan went ahead with the Zero Hour proceedings. However, there was an uproar from the Opposition benches over the police action against students protesting the NEET paper leak. When Kharge began speaking on the NEET issue, the chairman adjourned the House until 12 noon amid the din. The House has not been able to conduct any substantial

Rule 176 and Rule 267 are often at the centre of Parliament disputes. Here's how the two Rajya Sabha rules differ in allowing discussions on urgent public issues

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Thursday as Opposition parties continued to insist on Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation before starting a discussion on the NEET paper leak issue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready for a discussion on NEET on Thursday itself and the Opposition should not put any condition for holding the debate. However, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said Pradhan has to resign first before any discussion on the issue can take place. As both sides continued sloganeering, Chairman CP Radhakrishnan adjourned the House till 12 noon. Parliament has seen repeated adjournments since the monsoon session commenced on Monday.

The government told the Rajya Sabha that the PAIMANA portal is helping ministries monitor project execution gaps and delays in real time, enabling timely intervention