Page 24 - Lok Sabha

Oppn MPs, Rahul Gandhi, stage walkout in Lok Sabha over Sambhal violence

Almost the entire opposition in the Lok Sabha, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a brief walkout from the House over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. As soon as the House assembled to take up the Question Hour, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav rose from his seat and raised the issue, seeking Speaker Om Birla's permission to speak on the subject. "This is a very serious matter. Five people have lost their lives," Yadav was heard saying. As the Speaker said members could raise the issue in the Zero Hour, Yadav and his party colleagues started to walk out in protest. Some SP members, meanwhile, rushed to the Well, raising slogans. While the SP members were protesting in the Well of the House, DMK member A Raja was seen exhorting other opposition members, including those from the Congress, to rise from their seats and join the SP protest. NCP and Shiv Sena-UBT members stood up in support of the Samajwadi Party MPs. Some of the

Govt introduces Coastal Shipping Bill in Lok Sabha amid noisy protests

A Bill that seeks to promote coastal trade and encourage the participation of Indian-flagged vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for national security and commercial needs was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal introduced the Bill amid noisy protests by opposition members over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and the Adani issue. Sandhya Ray, who was chairing the proceedings, asked Congress members Manish Tewari and Gaurav Gogoi to speak but they refused, saying that the House was not in order. Opposition members are allowed to speak on Bills if they wish to oppose it at the introduction stage itself. The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, was later introduced following a voice vote amid the din. The Bill is among the five new measures planned for introduction by the government in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

Parliament session highlights: LS, RS adjourned after protests over Adani issue, Sambhal violence

Parliament winter session news highlights: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

SBI planning to open 500 new branches across India in FY25: MoS Finance

The State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to open 500 new branches across India during the current financial year, Parliament was informed on Monday. Of this, 135 new branches have already been opened till October 31, 2024, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Currently, the endeavour of the government is to ensure availability of a banking outlet (bank branch/business correspondent/ India Post Payments Bank) within 5 kilometres of all inhabited villages in the country, he said. Availability of banking outlets is monitored by a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based app, namely, Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) app, he said. To another question regarding shortage of staff in SBI, Chaudhary said, public sector banks (PSBs) including SBI are board governed commercial entities. The requirement of manpower in each PSB is determined by the respective PSB keeping in view various factors which include, inter-alia, business requirement, spread

Govt, Oppn work to break impasse in Parliament; Constitution debate likely

The government and opposition parties have come close to reaching an agreement to break the impasse in Parliament with a discussion on the Constitution to mark its 75th year of adoption likely to take place in the coming days, sources said. The Samajwadi Party may also be allowed to raise the Sambhal issue and the Trinamool Congress happenings in Bangladesh in the Lok Sabha, they said. The opposition wants an official announcement of dates for the discussion on the Constitution before agreeing to the resumption of regular parliamentary proceedings, they added. "We are hopeful that Parliament will begin its work from Tuesday. Positive talks have happened," a source said. However, there is little possibility of any specific discussion on the Adani issue, sources added, noting that opposition members may touch on it during other debates. The Congress has been persistent in raising the issue of the indictment of US prosecutors of Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani and other company

Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned till Dec 3 amid opposition ruckus

Both Houses were adjourned for the day after they reconvening at 12 noon following adjournments since the sessions began at 11 am

Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon amid protests by opposition over Adani

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Monday amid protests by opposition members over the Adani indictment row, recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues. As soon as the House met after the weekend break, many opposition members, including those from the Congress, were on their feet, raising the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court on bribery charges, among other issues. Some members were in the Well of the House while other opposition members stood in the aisle and raised slogans. Speaker Om Birla asked the opposition members to allow the Question Hour and said they could take up their issues later. Amid the din, one question was taken up. However, the opposition members ignored the speaker's pleas, following which he adjourned the House till 12 noon. The Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out last week as well due to the protests by the opposition members on the same issues. Before the House assembled, Parliamentary Affairs Mini

Canada ended Student Direct Stream for students on Nov 8, Centre tells Parl

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha

13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Govt

Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations

Parliament highlights: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned amid protests by Opposition MPs

Parliament winter session news updates: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha adjourned for fourth day over protests

Proceedings of the Lok Sabha were adjourned for the day on Friday amid unrelenting protests by opposition members over violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and the Adani controversy.

Konkan Railway needs major replacements to ensure safety, minister tells LS

The infrastructure of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited has become more than 25 years old, requiring major renewal of capital assets to ensure safety of traffic, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday. Vaishnaw said the infrastructure replacement requires major capital expenditure and the five shareholders of KRCL - Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Karnataka, Government of Goa and Government of Kerala - have been approached by the Ministry of Railways to contribute for capital expenditure or to relinquish their share in favour of the ministry. The minister replied to questions raised by BJP MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, who wanted to know the status of merger of Konkan Railway. There are five shareholders in Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) namely the Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Karnataka, Government of Goa and Government of Kerala, Vaishnaw said. The infrastruct

Congress questions govt's silence on repeated parliament adjournments

With Parliament facing repeated adjournments, the Congress on Friday said the big mystery is why the government is not resisting the interruptions and instead facilitating the aggression of the INDIA parties especially on the Adani issue. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the government has much to feel defensive and apologetic about. "Yet another day of a washout in the Parliament on the Modani issue. Both Houses adjourned today after only a few minutes. The big mystery is why the government is not resisting the adjournments," Ramesh said in a post on X. "On the contrary, the government is facilitating the aggression of the INDIA parties on Modani especially - as also on Manipur, Sambhal, and Delhi's law and order. Clearly it has much to feel defensive and apologetic about," the Congress leader said. His remarks came soon after Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Friday as opposition MPs protested the rejection of adjournment

Congress files adjournment notice in LS to discuss Adani indictment issue

Congress MPs have continuously sought to discuss the Adani indictment in the Lok Sabha since the start of the winter session on November 25

Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon amid protests over Adani, Sambhal issues

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Thursday amid protests by Opposition members over the Adani issue, violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues. As soon as the House met for the day, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was elected from Kerala's Wayanad in the recent bypoll, and Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan, who was elected from Maharashtra's Nanded, took oath as Lok Sabha MPs. Immediately after the oath taking of the two new members, many Opposition members, including from the Congress, were on their feet as they sought to raise issues related to the allegations against the Adani Group and other issues. Some members from the Congress and Samajwadi Party were in the Well while other Opposition members stood in the aisle and shouted slogans. Speaker Om Birla asked the Opposition members to allow the Question Hour and said they can take up their issues later. "I have been giving you enough opportunities to raise your issues and will continue to do so

Watch: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra takes oath as Member of Parliament in Lok Sabha

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took oath as a Lok Sabha MP on Thursday following her thumping victory from Kerala's Wayanad in a bypoll.

Received 28 proposals from 23 states for new city development: Govt

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has received 28 proposals from 23 states for incubation of new cities, which are currently with the competent authority for examination, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday. In February 2021, the ministry announced that the central government would develop eight new cities to meet the demand for expansion of urban areas. The 15th Finance Commission, set up by the government, has recommended an outlay of Rs 8,000 crore for developing new eight cities in eight states. A state may have only one new city through this fund. In a written response to a question, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu said that the amount available for each proposed new city is Rs 1,000 crore. In line with the recommendations of 15th Finance Commission, the HUA ministry constituted an expert committee (EC) for finalisation of bid parameters for incubation of new cities, the minister said. The committee finalised minimum eligibility

ONGC awaits mining lease for new oil field discoveries in WB's Ashokenagar

State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has made four more discoveries since it first made an oil field near Asokenagar in West Bengal six years back but is still awaiting the state government's nod for a petroleum mining lease to develop them, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday. ONGC notified the first Asokenagar discovery in Block WB-ONN-2005/4 on September 24, 2018, Puri said in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha. The discovery, he said was the outcome of continuous exploration efforts of ONGC in the Bengal sedimentary basin over five decades. As per initial laboratory studies, crude oil, which is refined into fuels like petrol and diesel, discovered in the Ashokenagar discovery is a light variety with American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity of 40-41 degrees and is almost similar to Bombay High and Brent Crude. "ONGC, accordingly, applied on September 10, 2020, to the Government of West Bengal for a grant of Petroleum Mining Lease (PML) for an

Parliament session highlights: Both houses adjourned for the day amid massive Opposition protests

Parliament winter session news highlights: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

Corporate exits now happening in 70-90 days under C-PACE, says govt in LS

The average time for processing such applications has reduced to 70-90 days from over six months earlier