Lok Sabha

Pvt Members' Bills return to spotlight, even as history shows rare success

Despite rarely becoming law, these have left a lasting imprint on India's legislative journey

Did MGNREGA act as safety net for casual labour during sowing, harvest?

Civil society groups say the VB-G RAM G Bill could weaken casual labour's bargaining power, as MGNREGA served as a safety net and fall back option when farm wages turned unattractive

No formal policy yet on AI use in courts, Centre tells Lok Sabha

The Supreme Court has also constituted an Artificial Intelligence Committee to explore the use of AI in the judicial domain

Parliament Winter Session Highlights: Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha adjourned sine die amid Oppn protest

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Lok Sabha adjourned sine die, Winter Session of Parliament concludes

Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, drawing curtains on the 19-day-long Winter Session of Parliament. During the brief session with 15 sittings, key Bills were passed, including the one to open up the civil nuclear sector for private companies. Another Bill to replace the MNREGA with a new law the VB-G RAM G Bill assuring 125 days of guaranteed jobs for rural India was passed amid opposition protests on Thursday, including tearing of papers. The House also took up two debates on 150 years of Vande Matram and election reforms which witnessed a politically charged atmosphere. A Bill to set up a higher education regulator was referred to a joint committee of the two Houses. Another Bill on the market securities code was introduced and referred to a department-related standing committee for further examination. As soon as the House met for the day, Speaker Om Birla adjourned Lok Sabha sine die (for an indefinite period). The House saw productivity of 111 per cent during

The new nomenclature: Rewriting of lawmaking convention - in Hindi

Congress leader P Chidambaram said the long-standing convention had been to present the English version of a Bill with an English title and the Hindi version with a Hindi title

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: Rajya Sabha discusses new Nuclear Bill- SHANTI, Lok Sabha adjourned

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Lok Sabha passes VB-G RAM G Bill to replace MGNREGA amid Oppn protests

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA with a new initiative that guarantees rural jobs for 125 days every year amid vociferous protests by the Opposition. Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan responded to the eight-hour discussion on The Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, asserting that the Modi government was ensuring that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were upheld through various initiatives taken by it. "Congress killed ideals of Bapu, NDA ensured Bapu lives through pucca houses built under the PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat," Chouhan said listing out government schemes for welfare of the poor. Opposition members trooped to the well of the House raising slogans against the government from dropping Mahatma Gandhi's name from the rural jobs initiative and tearing copies of the G RAM G Bill and flinging it towards the chair. The Lok Sabh

Securities Market Code Bill introduced in LS, govt seeks panel review

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday introduced the Securities Market Code Bill in the Lok Sabha and proposed referring it to the department-related standing committee for greater discussion. Arun Nehru (DMK) and Manish Tewari (Congress) opposed the bill at the introduction stage, saying that it gave excessive powers to one body which was against the principle of separation of powers. They described the bill as a case of excessive delegation of power. Responding to their claims, the finance minister said since the government is referring it to the standing committee, such details can be discussed by the panel. Krishna Prasad Tenneti, chairing the proceedings, said the Lok Sabha Speaker has the powers to refer bills to parliamentary panels and he will take a call on the issue. The Securities Markets Code Bill 2025 seeks to merge the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the Depositories Act, 1996 and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act,

Lok Sabha clears SHANTI Bill by voice vote amid Opposition walkout

The tough provisions of India's nuclear liability laws led to "silent phobia" among industry, prompting the government to bring a new comprehensive bill to address their concerns and open up the atomic energy sector for private participation, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. Singh was replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha that passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill by a voice vote amid a walk out by the opposition. The opposition contended that the government was putting citizens in harm by allowing suppliers of nuclear equipment to escape the liability net in case of a nuclear accident. "The government will deal only with the operator, it is upon the operator to deal with the supplier," Singh, the Minister of State in the PMO, who oversees the Department of Atomic Energy, told the Lok Sabha. He said the operator liability has been rationalised through graded caps linked to reactor size to encoura

Parliament clears 100% FDI in insurance: What it means

The Lok Sabha has passed an insurance reform bill, raising foreign direct investment in the sector to 100%. The government says this will bring capital, competition, and better coverage.

No Aadhaar data breach till date from UIDAI database: Govt in Lok Sabha

Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said no incident of data compromise involving the core UIDAI database had been reported so far

Copyright Act under review to address generative AI challenges, says Centre

The Centre told the Lok Sabha that it is reviewing the Copyright Act, 1957 to see if it can address legal challenges arising from the growing use of generative artificial intelligence

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: Rajya Sabha reconvenes, Bills laid on table

Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: India mother of democracy, says Nadda, urges respect for EC on SIR

Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

Govt introduces bill in Lok Sabha to hike FDI in insurance sector to 100%

A bill seeking to raise FDI in the insurance sector to 100 per cent was on Tuesday introduced in the Lok Sabha amid strong protest from the Opposition. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, seeks to amend Insurance Act, 1938, Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, as per the bill circulated to members of Parliament. Introducing the bill, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the common people's insurance has always been the focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central government has provided insurance to the marginal sections of the society even during the Covid pandemic. Sitharaman said objections of some of the Opposition members could be part of the debate and she was ready to answer all their questions during the debate on the proposed legislation. Opposing the introduction of the bill, RSP member N K Premachandran said the nomenclature of the bill has nothing to do wit

Bill introduced in LS to send 71 laws which are in disuse to chopping board

A bill to repeal 71 laws which have outlived their utility in the statute books was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. While 65 of the bills are amendment Acts, which were brought to tweak existing laws, six are principal laws that have become outdated. At least one law, proposed to be repealed, is of the British era -- The Indian Tramways Act of 1886. The law was brought to facilitate the construction and to regulate the working of tramways in British India. The proposed repeal and amendment Bill is not aimed at striking off colonial laws but to remove Acts which have outlived their utility. "Once an amendment is passed by Parliament, it gets subsumed in the principal law. It then only clutters the statute books. Its use has ended, but it still exists, creating confusion," an official explained. So far, 1,562 old archaic laws have been repealed. Once the proposed Bill gets Parliament's nod, the total number of laws to be repealed will stand at 1,633. Since May 2014, the Mo

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: Dharmendra Pradhan introduces Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill

Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

LS adjourned till 2 PM amid protests over 'threat' to PM Modi's life

Lok Sabha witnessed uproar on Monday over the issue of alleged threatening slogans raised at a Congress rally against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to adjournment of proceedings. The Lok Sabha was first adjourned till 12 noon and then till 2 PM as BJP and Congress members were locked in a verbal duel on the issue. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned the alleged slogans raised at a Congress rally here on Sunday and demanded an apology from the top leadership of the main opposition party. "We are political opponents, not enemies. Congress workers have threatened to dig the grave of the prime minister at the Congress rally. This is the most unfortunate incident to happen," Rijiju said as the Lok Sabha convened for the day at 11 am, triggering protests from the Congress members. "Congress should now tender an apology for giving threat to the prime minister," Rijiju said. Amid the turmoil, Speaker Om Birla adjourned the proceedings till 12 noon. At the Congre

Rahul Gandhi flags issue of air pollution, seeks discussion in Lok Sabha

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday raised the issue of air pollution in major cities of the country and sought a discussion on it in the Lok Sabha. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Gandhi said the discussion on the issue can be framed in an interesting manner where the opposition and the government do not trade abuses at each other, but find a solution to the problem. "This is not an ideological issue. Everybody in this House would agree that air pollution, the damage it is doing to our people, is something that we would like to cooperate on," Gandhi said. The Congress leader said the prime minister can then put in place a plan to deal with the issue of air pollution. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready for a discussion on the issue and the Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha can allot time for the same. "Most of our major cities are living under a blanket of poisonous air. Millions of children are getting lung disease