Page 103 - Lok Sabha

Mamata Banarjee, INDIA alliance leaders back Kharge for Prime Minister post

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the first to propose the name of the Congress President as the prospective PM face of the INDIA alliance

Winter Session: Lok Sabha clears 3 key Bills as 49 more Oppn MPs suspended

The Congress, which now has only nine MPs in the Lok Sabha that have not been suspended, termed it a "complete purge" to ensure the passage of "draconian bills" without any meaningful debate

Over Rs 55,000 cr in foreign contributions received by NGOs in 2019-22

More than Rs 55,000 crore in foreign contributions were received by over 13,500 FCRA registered NGOs in the country in three financial years 2019-22, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in order to accept foreign contributions, all associations or NGOs have to obtain registration or prior permission under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA, 2010). "A total of 13,520 associations or NGOs have received a total of Rs 55741.51 crore foreign contribution in last three financial years i.e. 2019-2020 to 2021-2022," he said in a written reply. Rai said a total of 1,615 applications for registration under FCRA were received in the last two years i.e. 2021 and 2022. Out of these, 722 applications have been granted and 225 applications have been rejected as on December 14, 2023. The refusal of these applications was due to not fulfilling the eligibility criteria in accordance with the provisions of the FCRA, 2010 and rules

LS passes Bills to cap age of GSTAT Prez, effect Budget duty changes

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a Bill that seeks to give immediate effect to the changes in customs and excise duties announced in the Budget. The House after a brief discussion on the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill 2023, passed the Bill by voice vote. Jayant Sinha (BJP) and B V Satyavathi (YSRCP) participated in the brief discussion on the Bill which is aimed at curbing speculative activities following changes in customs and excise duties in the Budget. Moving the Bill for passage, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 seeks to obtain the authority from Parliament to provisionally levy and collect the newly imposed or increased duties of customs and excise for 75 days. This Bill proposes to replace the erstwhile Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931 with a minor change that is technical in nature. The provisions of the Bill empower collection provisionally, during the period between the introduction and enactment of th

Suspend, throw out, bulldoze is Modi govt's new policy: Kharge on MPs row

A total of 141 MPs were suspended following a ruckus over the demand by the Opposition for a statement from Union Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament breach incident

Centre spent Rs 967.46 cr on ads in print media from 2019-24: Anurag Thakur

The government on Tuesday said it had spent Rs 967.46 crore through the Central Bureau of Communication for publicity of its schemes in the print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the Central Bureau of Communication (CBC) releases awareness/publicity campaigns through print media in accordance with the Print Media Advertisement Policy, 2020. "The details of expenditure incurred by CBC, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, on awareness/publicity campaigns about schemes and programmes of the government of India through print media from 2019-20 to 2023-24 (till 12.12.2023) is Rs 967.46 crore," Thakur said. The minister said as of March 31, 2019, 1,19,995 periodicals, including newspapers, were registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI). The number was 1,43,423 in 2020, 1,44,520 in 2021, 1,46,045 in 2022 and 1,48,363 in 2023.

Growth in milk output slows in FY23 due to various diseases, LS informed

Milk production growth rate slowed down to 3.83 per cent last fiscal year due to diseases like Lumpy Skin Disease, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Parshottam Rupala said, "Annual growth rate of milk production in the country has come down to 3.83 per cent in the year 2022-23 from 5.77 per cent during the year 2021-22." Milk production stood at 230.6 million tonne in 2022-23, 222.1 million tonne in 2021-22 and 210 million tonne in 2020-21. However, he said, as per the latest statistics released by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAOSTAT) of the United Nations, India maintains the position of the largest producer of milk in the world. "Diseases like Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) was the main reason behind the slower growth of milk production in 2022-23," Rupala said.

Over 95,000 foreign offenders in record till Nov 2023: MHA to Lok Sabha

Rai said the NDOFO uses data maintained by the States and Union Territories on "e-Prison" (the National Prisons Information Portal), as per protocols notified for ePrison

49 Oppn MPs including Tharoor, Abdullah, & others suspended from LS

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal brought the motion to suspend the members

Inappropriate behaviour led to suspension of some MPs: Bhupender Yadav

The "inappropriate behaviour" of some opposition MPs led to their suspension from Parliament and the country would not benefit from their "negative politics", Union minister Bhupender Yadav said Tuesday. Yadav urged the suspended members to reflect upon their actions. In an unprecedented move, 78 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament on Monday, the highest number of suspensions in a single day, drawing sharp criticism from the Congress and other parties that accused the BJP government of trying to bulldoze key legislations in an "Opposition-less" Parliament. An additional 49 Lok Sabha members were suspended on Tuesday for disrupting House proceedings. INDIA bloc MPs have been demanding a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the security breach in Parliament on December 13. "Their inappropriate behaviour led to their suspension. The new Parliament calls for new traditions and a clean way (of functioning). We aim to address questions from all members and seek everyone's

Oppn to strongly raise demand for Shah's statement on security breach

The constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc Tuesday decided to strongly raise on Tuesday the demand for a statement from Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach issue in both Houses. This was decided at a meeting of the alliance's constituents in the Parliament complex, a day after 78 MPs in both houses were suspended for raising the demand. The suspended MPs have also decided to protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue inside the Parliament complex. "The demand for Home Minister Amit Shah's statement will continue and the suspended MPs will protest in front of the Gandhi statue," Congress whip in Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said after the meeting. Tagore himself is suspended from the Lok Sabha. Monday's action has taken the total number of MPs suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to 93, with 92 being suspended since Thursday. AAP member Sanjay Singh was suspended as a Rajya Sabha member from July 24. The opposition parties which are members of the IND

LS adjourned till 12 noon amid Oppn protests on Parliament security breach

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Tuesday following protests by opposition members demanding a statement from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Parliament security breach and revocation of the suspension of MPs. As soon as the House assembled, opposition members were on their feet and some of them came to the Well of the House shouting slogans against the government and holding placards. Some of them were carrying a morphed picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said the whole House condemns the display of morphed picture of Prime Minister Modi in the House and demanded action against MPs carrying it. Speaker Om Birla said it was completely against the rules, regulations and proprieties to bring placards in the House. "This House belongs to you. We all have decided that no one will bring placards inside the House. But you have come here with placards. Even you have come to the podium. Is it correct ? Please go back to

INDIA bloc should have 'charioteer' to steer it in LS polls: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday advised the Congress to take all allies together if it wants to strengthen the opposition INDIA bloc and pitched for appointing a "sarthi" (charioteer) to steer the alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. An editorial in the Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamana' also suggested the Congress, which is celebrating completion of its 138 years, to resolve to win minimum 150 seats (on its own) in the general elections due next year. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena (UBT), which is a constituent of the INDIA bloc, underlined that the results of the recent assembly polls in three states - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh - do not indicate ultimate win for the BJP. The opposition INDIA bloc will hold a meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday to deliberate on a blueprint for a joint campaign, seat sharing and redrawing the strategy for taking on the BJP in the 2024 general elections after the setback in the recent assembly polls. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool

Saudi Arabia emerges as top destination for skilled workers: Govt to LS

The data showed that 13,944 skilled candidates got jobs in Saudi Arabia, followed by Qatar (3646), United Arab Emirates (2832) and the United Kingdom (1248)

45 Oppn MPs suspended in Rajya Sabha, 33 in LS over security breach row

As many as 45 opposition members in Rajya Sabha were on Monday suspended from the House for unruly behaviour and disregarding the directions of the Chair after they raised slogans over the Parliament security breach issue and disrupted proceedings. Among those suspended were Congress MPs Pramod Tiwari, Jairam Ramesh, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala and Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav. The development occurred soon after 33 opposition members, including leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, DMK's T R Baalu and TMC's Sougata Ray, were suspended in Lok Sabha following similar scenes in the Lower House. While 34 of the Rajya Sabha MPs were suspended for the remainder of the Winter session, 11 have been directed to stay away from the House pending an inquiry report on their conduct by the Committee of Privileges. The members were suspended after the House adopted a motion moved by Leader of the House Piyush Goyal for suspension of 34 MPs for the remainder of the session

LOP Ranjan, 32 Oppn MPs suspended from LS on protests over security breach

The fresh action comes only days after 13 MPs, including nine from the Congress, were suspended for displaying placards and unruly behaviour

RBI imposed monetary penalties worth Rs 40 crore on 211 entities in 2022-23

Out of 211, 176 penalties worth Rs 14.04 crore were alone imposed on cooperative banks, Bhagwat Karad told Lok Sabha on Monday

LS proceedings adjourned till 2 PM, Telecommunications Bill introduced

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 PM on Monday due to protests by opposition members who were demanding a statement by Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue of breach of Parliament security. This is the second adjournment of the day as opposition members continued with their sloganeering and showing placards. As the House reassembled at 12 noon, Rajendra Agrawal, who was chairing the proceedings of the House, took up papers to be laid on the table. Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, amid the din. Agrawal asked opposition members to go back to their seats and not show placards to the chair. "Do not force the chair to take action against you," Agrawal told protesting members before adjourning the House till 2PM. When the Lok Sabha met in morning, members paid tributes to Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away on Saturday. Speaker Om Birla told the House about the steps taken by th

Sad that politics is being done on this: Birla on Parl security breach

The Speaker said he will continue to consult the members on the issue and urged them to take their seats

Floor leaders of INDIA bloc meet, demand statement on Parl security breach

Senior leaders like Farooq Abdullah, Jairam Ramesh, Ramgopal Yadav, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attended the meeting