Page 21 - Lok Sabha

Budget 2025-26: Lok Sabha gets Rs 903 crore, Rajya Sabha Rs 413 crore

Lok Sabha has been allocated Rs 903 crore in the Union Budget, more than double the amount given to the Rajya Sabha. A sizeable allocation -- Rs 558.81 crore of the total Rs 903 crore --? has been assigned to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, which also includes Grants in Aid to the Sansad TV. Of the Rs 413 crore allocated to Rajya Sabha, Rs 2.52 crore have been assigned for salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat. The budget for Rajya Sabha also has a separate allocation of Rs 3 crore for the salaries and allowances of Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and his secretariat. The budget has also allocated Rs 98.84 crore for members. For Lok Sabha, Rs 1.56 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and there is no separate provision for the office of the Leader of the Opposition. There was no Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for 10 years as no opposition party had the required numb

Report on Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 to be presented in Lok Sabha on Feb 3

According to the List of Business, Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the report

Parliament Budget Session to begin on Jan 31 with President's address

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will take up discussion on President Droupadi Murmu's address to Parliament on Monday as the Budget Session begins on January 31. The President will address both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Lok Sabha chamber on Friday and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the General Budget on Saturday. The Finance Minister will table the Economic Survey on Friday when both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will convene briefly after the President's address. Lok Sabha has provisionally allotted two days (February 3-4) for discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, while Rajya Sabha has earmarked three days for the debate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the debate in Rajya Sabha on February 6. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has convened a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on January 30 to ensure smooth functioning of the Budget Session. The first part of the Budg

Political parties should have code of conduct for lawmakers, says Om Birla

Amid disruptions in Parliament and state legislatures, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday urged political parties to devise a code of conduct for their lawmakers to uphold the dignity of their respective Houses. The two-day 85th All India Presiding Officers' Conference also adopted a five-point resolution that included a collective resolve to take steps to ensure "disruption-free" debate and discussion in their respective legislatures. The presiding officers agreed to deploy technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to bring legislative bodies closer to the people by making available debates in the local and two additional languages, Birla said. The presiding officers voiced concern over the decline in the number of sittings of state legislatures and agreed to implement the resolutions of previous meetings. "In an earlier meeting of the presiding officers, we had resolved that the state legislatures would hold at least 60 sittings in a calendar year. We h

Ethical concerns on use of AI demand robust safeguards: LS secy general

India has a unique opportunity to demonstrate how technology can reinforce democratic ideals, Lok Sabha Secretary General Utpal Kumar Singh said here on Sunday, making a strong pitch for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in the functioning of legislative bodies. Addressing the 61st Conference of Secretaries of Legislative Bodies, Singh said ethical concerns about AI, such as algorithm bias, misinformation and privacy risks, demand robust safeguards. He stressed the need to ensure that AI systems are accurate, context-aware and inclusive. "We must ensure that AI adoption prioritises transparency, fairness and public engagement while fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration," the Lok Sabha secretary general said. He said the role of AI in enhancing efficiency, transparency and inclusivity in governance cannot be overstated and made a strong pitch for leveraging it to strengthen democratic institutions. Singh said India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act and

Meta India official apologises for Mark Zuckerberg's India election remark

Appearing on the Joe Rogan podcast, Zuckerberg claimed that incumbent governments in many countries, including India, lost elections following the Covid-19 pandemic

I&B minister Vaishnaw fact-checks Zuckerberg on Lok Sabha poll results

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw hit back at Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on Monday for making a "factually incorrect" statement that the incumbent government in India lost the election in 2024 due to its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Zuckerberg, chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms, triggered a row by claiming in a podcast interview that the Indian government lost the election in 2024 due to its weak COVID-19 response. Vaishnaw opted for Meta's Facebook platform to call out Zuckerberg for spreading "misinformation". "It is disappointing to see misinformation from Mr Zuckerberg himself. Let's uphold facts and credibility," the Union information and broadcasting minister said, tagging Meta on X and other social media platforms. "From free food for 800 million, 2.2 billion free vaccines, and aid to nations worldwide during COVID, to leading India as the fastest-growing major economy, PM Modi's decisive 3rd-term victory is a testament to good governance and public trust," he ...

How is the Indian Union Budget prepared?

The Indian Union Budget is crafted through a multi-step process involving various stakeholders.

UK has strong belief in India's democratic values, growth story: Om Birla

There is a strong belief in India's democratic values and growth story here, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said in London during his ongoing visit to the UK. Addressing a community gathering at the High Commission of India in London on Wednesday evening, Birla shared insights from his dialogues with his UK counterpart House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and other members of Parliament. He noted that his interactions highlighted the strength of the India-UK parliamentary cooperation and the multifaceted nature of the bilateral partnership across multiple sectors. I had a good dialogue with leading UK parliamentarians and they displayed a strong belief in India's democratic values and growth story, Birla said. Our electoral process is transparent, which has helped reinforce a belief in democracy around the world. We take pride as the largest democracy of the world, dubbed the mother of democracy', and I extend an invitation to come visit India's new Parliament as we mark 75 year

Himanta vowed to make Assam top 5, now he is one of the richest CMs: Gogoi

While Sarma is among the wealthiest, Assam ranks 31st in the Human Development Index (HDI), which points out a gap between the state's economic progress and the chief minister's wealth

BJP stumbles in 2024 LS polls but stamps authority in state elections

The inauguration of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in January was meant to deliver an unprecedented electoral harvest to the ruling BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. And when it lost its majority, many thought it was the beginning of reverses awaiting the BJP. The outgoing year followed anything but a predictable path for the party. However, as the year drew to its end, the BJP has stamped its authority on the country's political map once again with remarkably improbable wins in what were seen as difficult state elections in Haryana and Maharashtra. The BJP's vulnerabilities and as well as strengths were in full display in the year but what stood out is its ability to adapt its message and methods to the voices from the ground, underlining the full-spectrum of its campaign machine in which various components rise and fall in importance depending on its electoral needs. If the RSS was seen to be less than fully active during the national elections, its affiliates and sympathisers were in full force

Only 27% of registered third gender electors voted in 2024 LS polls: EC

More people enrolled themselves in the voters' list for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the 'third gender' category but only 27 per cent of them turned up at the polling stations, according to Election Commission data. According to the data issued by the poll authority last week, 48,194 people were eligible to vote as third gender elector in 2024, compared to 39,075 in 2019 -- an increase of 23.5 per cent over the five-year period. But only 13,058 of them actually exercised their franchise, which comes to 27 per cent of the total registered third gender electors. As per the data, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of registered third gender elector -- 8,467. But only 2,709 cast vote. Their overall participation in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 14.64 per cent -- almost half as compared to the latest parliamentary polls. There have been reports that several enrolled third gender voters have expressed reluctance to queue up at polling booths, claiming that they are viewed with dis

Bills that rose above Parliament's din to become legislation in 2024

From 'One Nation, One Election' to financial reforms, here's a glimpse at the landmark bills passed this year that are poised to reshape governance, law, and the economy

Overseas Indian voters show poor participation in 2024 LS polls: EC data

Overseas Indians showed great enthusiasm in registering as electors, with nearly 1.2 lakh enrolling in the voter list, but a minuscule turned up to exercise their franchise in the Lok Sabha elections this year. According to the data released by the Election Commission, as many as 1,19,374 registered as overseas electors in 2024, with Kerala witnessing the highest registrations at 89,839. In 2019, as many as 99,844 had registered as overseas electors. The poll authority said only 2,958 overseas electors flew down to India to participate in the largest democratic exercise in the world. Of these, an overwhelming 2,670 were from Kerala alone. Several large states such as Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu saw zero turnout of overseas electors. Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, saw only two out of 885 overseas electors casting their votes in the Lok Sabha elections. The same was the story in Maharashtra, where only 17 of the 5,097 NRI electors voted. Despite an

28% of Lok Sabha seats had no woman candidate in 2024, shows ECI report

The highlight of the 2024 LS election was again the better turnout of woman electors in percentage terms than men

86% of 8,300 candidates who contested LS polls lost deposit: EC report

As many as 86 per cent of the over 8,300 candidates who contested the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year lost their deposits. According to the statistical data issued by the Election Commission on Thursday, a total of 12,459 nominations were filed in 2024, compared to 11,692 in 2019. Out of the over 12,000 who filed nominations, 8,360 qualified as contesting candidates after rejection of nominations and withdrawals across the country. The number of contesting candidates in 2019 Lok Sabha elections was 8,054. According to the data, 7,190 of the candidates lost their deposits, which comes to 86 per cent. Of the 7,190 who lost their deposit, 584 were from the six recognised parties, 68 from recognised state parties, 2,633 from registered, unrecognised political parties and 3,095 independent candidates. In 2019 Lok Sabha polls, 6923 candidates had lost deposit. A total of 3921 independent candidates had contested but only seven were elected. The vote share in percentage terms po

ECI releases world's largest electoral dataset for 2024 LS & Assembly polls

As per the data, Lok Sabha Elections created world record with 646.4 mn voters exercising their franchise

Lok Sabha to assemblies: India's young lawmakers don't have the numbers

MPs and MLAs are typically middle aged and form a majority in most political parties

Parliamentary panel on One Nation One Election set for first time on Jan 8

The first meeting of the 39-member parliamentary panel on 'one nation, one election' is set to be held on January 8, setting the tone for nationwide deliberations on the key poll reform measure of the BJP-led NDA government. Parliamentary sources said the first meeting of the Joint Committee on bills for simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, chaired by BJP member P P Chaudhary, is likely to be an introductory one with officials briefing the panel on the two bills to implement a long-cherished election promise of the BJP. The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill were introduced in the Lok Sabha last week and referred to the joint committee of Parliament on Friday, the last day of the Winter Session. The government decided to increase the committee's strength from 31 to 39 as more political parties expressed the desire to be part of the exercise to examine the two draft legislations on simultaneous elections. Form

V-P Dhankar calls for accountability of MPs over Parliament disruptions

Against the backdrop of Parliament witnessing poor productivity due to disruptions, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday called for accountability of lawmakers and said people would force them to think why they were sent to Parliament. He also said that for any democracy to succeed, expression and dialogue must go hand in hand with great responsibility on both sides. Dhankhar is the Rajya Sabha's ex-officio chairman. Calling for accountability among parliamentarians, he said, "... Make no mistake, I am referring to parliamentarians. People have learned to take disorder as order. There is no sense of revulsion." Hopefully, people will write and their thoughts will move, the vice-president said, according to an official statement. "People will force you to think, why did you go there (Parliament)?" he said. Addressing awardees of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Awards - 2024, the vice-president said agriculture was the spine of rural development. "Unless agriculture develops, the