Page 91 - Lok Sabha

White paper reaffirms Indian economy's robust growth momentum: CII

The White Paper tabled in the Lok Sabha on Thursday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirms the Indian economy's robust growth momentum, industry body CII said, expressing confidence that the country's GDP will touch the USD 7 trillion mark before 2030. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled a 'White Paper on the Indian Economy' in the Lok Sabha. Sitharaman in her Interim Budget speech had announced that the government will come out with a white paper on the economy outlining the economic mismanagement in the 10 years of UPA rule till 2014. The NDA government has overcome the crisis of those years, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all-round development, Sitharaman said. R Dinesh, President CII, said the finding of the white paper tabled in Parliament reaffirms the Indian economy's robust growth momentum. "CII's in-house surveys capturing the pulse of the industry members have mirrored the optimism of the white paper on the ...

FM Sitharaman tables 'White Paper', blames UPA for 'mountain of bad loans'

The 'White Paper' states that the UPA government failed miserably to facilitate economic activities and created hurdles that held back the economy

BJP's 2-point programme to spread injustice, hatred, violence, says Rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit out at the BJP, alleging that the ruling party's two-point programme is to encourage injustice and spread hatred and violence. Gandhi was addressing a public meeting at Rengalpali village in Chhattsigarh's Raigarh district after his 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' entered the state from Odisha. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, claiming he was not an OBC by birth as his caste "ghanchi" was included in the Other Backward Classes list in 2000 in Gujarat by the then BJP government there. "The BJP's two-point programme is to encourage injustice and spread hatred and violence," Gandhi claimed. One year ago, the Bharat Jodo Yatra covered about 4,000 km from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (in 2022-23) against the BJP's act to spread hatred and create an atmosphere of violence. Now the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra has been started to seek justice for the people, he said. Reiterating his party's pitch for caste census, Gandhi said, "If Modi ji says ther

Ethanol blending benefits passed on to sugarcane farmers: Govt tells LS

The government has saved Rs 24,000 crore due to blending of ethanol with petrol and majority of the benefit has been passed on to sugarcane farmers, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He said at present the blending of ethanol stands at 12 per cent and the government plans to take it to 20 per cent as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Admitting that India's oil import has increased in the last few years, Shekhawat, who was replying to questions on behalf of Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, said the country has benefited by ethanol blending. "Oil import dependency has been increased over the past years. However, the growth of the country and energy demand go almost parallel," he said. Shekhawat said good thing is that Rs 24,000 crore has been saved in past few years due to ethanol blending. "Sixty-seventy per cent of this amount goes to farmers who produce sugar cane," he said. Replying to another question, the minister said dri

Railways had to spend over Rs 75 cr extra due to delays: PAC report

Delay in the provisioning of Availability Based Tariff (ABT) Metres by the West Central Railway resulted in an additional expenditure of Rs 75.10 crore on power purchase, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. The committee, which tabled its report in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, said the Railway Ministry had issued instructions in March 2015 to all zonal railways to get direct power from generating companies through open access and ensure the provision of ABT metres. The Ministry's instructions were aimed at reducing the traction tariff to optimise the unit cost of transportation. "Despite entering into an agreement in March 2016 under open access, power supply commenced only from January 2017 mainly due to a delay in the provisioning of ABT metres.The delay in shifting to open access resulted in an extra expenditure on power purchase amounting to Rs 75.10 crore," the report, which was based on a Comptroller and Auditor General of India report laid in Parliament in .

UPA ruined Indian economy, 'White Paper' to highlight deficiencies: BJP

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday that the Indian economy was ruined by the end of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) tenure in 2014, adding that the 'White Paper' likely to be presented by the Centre in Parliament would highlight the deficiencies in each sector that existed at that time.The government announced in the Union Interim Budget presented on February 1 that it would release a 'White Paper' to compare the economic performance of the Congress-led UPA government's 10 years with that of the BJP-led NDA government's 10 years.Speaking to ANI, Jayant Sinha said, "It is necessary that we present before the people that how a change has set in into the economy. There were deficiencies in every sector. If the economy is shining today and going ahead rapidly, it is due to our policies & work in these 10 years."Highlighting the economic mismanagement by Congress and the UPA during its tenure, Jayant Sinha, who was also the Minister of State (MoS) ...

Railways mismanaged land purchase for Hajipur-Sagauli project: House panel

The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned in 2003-04 at an estimated cost of Rs 24.66 crore, registered a huge cost escalation of Rs 2,066.78 crore in January 2019 due to indecisiveness of the Railway Administration, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. Tabled in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the report titled 'Loss due to indecision of Railway Administration in the matter of land acquisition: East Central Railway' was based on one of the findings of a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report of 2021. After carrying out a detailed examination, the PAC observed that the railways' lack of prudent decision-making and timely payments resulted in avoidable extra expenditure, underscoring the importance of meticulous financial planning and adherence to land acquisition policies. "The Hajipur-Sagauli New Line project, sanctioned by the Ministry of Railways in 2003-04, underwent a series of financial oversights and lapses in land acquisition processes, leading to

LS passes Finance Bill, completes exercise for interim budget 2024-25

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill, 2024, thus completing the exercise for passage of the interim budget 2024-25. The Finance Bill, 2024, does not propose any change in the tax structure as the final budget will be tabled in July after the new government assumes office post the general elections in April-May. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Finance Bill, 2024, does not propose any change in tax structure. "We have focused on development despite presenting an interim budget ahead of elections, Chaudhary said replying to a discussion on the bill. Earlier in the day the Lok Sabha approved the Rs 47.66-lakh crore interim Budget 2024-25 of the Union Government and second batch of supplementary demands for grants. The House also approved the Appropriation Bill authorising government to meet expenses for four months in the next financial year. The lower house also approved the Rs 1.8 lakh crore budget of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Railways made Rs 6.85 cr irregular payment to foreign vendor: House panel

The Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) of Indian Railways purchased equipment from a foreign vendor worth Rs 6.85 crore in 2017 for diesel locomotives whose production was already stopped, according to a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report. The committee, which tabled its report in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, expressed surprise that the vendor had delivered the equipment beyond the delivery schedule in violation of the purchase agreement and BLW would have rejected the supply. However, it agreed to buy at approximately 36 per cent discounted price, the report said. The issue relates to the purchase of 660 channel air boxes in November 2018 for manufacturing diesel locomotives. According to the report, in view of increasing electrification of routes, the Railway Board decided in May 2016 to manufacture electric locomotives at BLW and this was started from February 2017. From 2019-20, the production of diesel locomotives at BLW was completely stopped. The committee said that in May 2016,

We have been lot more prudent in managing fiscal deficit: FM Sitharaman

The FM also said that retail inflation had declined from an average of 6.8 per cent in April-December 2022 to 5.5 per cent in the corresponding period of April-December 2023

Budget session extended by a day till Feb 10: LS Speaker Om Birla

The Budget session of Parliament has been extended by a day till February 10, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced on Wednesday. The session, which began on January 31, was otherwise slated to end on February 9. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi had said on Tuesday that the government will table a 'white paper' comparing the state of the Indian economy before and after 2014, when the BJP came to power defeating the Congress. With the agenda items like the Finance Bill, budget discussion and demand for grants yet to be taken up by Parliament and the white paper also to be tabled, sources had said it was considered necessary to extend the session's duration by a day. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the 'white paper' to highlight the country's poor economic condition when the Congress-led UPA left power, as often charged by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and how the incumbent dispensation brought the turn around. She will table it in b

LS passes bill to tackle malpractices, irregularities in competitive exams

A bill, which seeks to deal sternly with malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations with provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine up to Rs 1 crore, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Piloting The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, Union minister Jitendra Singh said its provisions are meant to safeguard the interest of meritorious students and candidates. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha after rejecting amendments proposed by the opposition members. Singh said the government "will not allow meritorious (candidates) to be sacrificed at the alter of organised crimes". He added that the students and candidates do not fall in the purview of this bill and there will ne no harm to job aspirants. The move comes against the backdrop of cancellation of a series of competitive tests such as the teacher recruitment exam in Rajasthan, Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group-D posts in Haryana, recruitment exam for junior cle

No decision to introduce plastic notes: MoS finance to Rajya Sabha

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Tuesday said the government has taken no decision to introduce plastic notes. Efforts to enhance the durability and counterfeit resistance of the Indian banknotes is an ongoing process, he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. As per the RBI Annual Report 2022-23, he said, "The total expenditure incurred on security printing stood at Rs 4,682.80 crore for 2022-23. No cost has been incurred on printing of plastic notes". "Government has taken no decision to introduce plastic notes in terms of section 25 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Efforts to enhance the durability and counterfeit resistance of the Indian banknotes is an ongoing process," the minister said. In reply to another question, Chaudhary said trading illegal commodities using any kind of assets, including crypto assets, is a crime and is dealt with as per existing penal provisions. The Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) provis

266 fishermen in foreign jails, govt trying to secure release: Rupala

As many as 266 Indian fishermen are languishing in foreign jails, the government on Tuesday said, adding that efforts are being made to secure their early release. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala said, "As per the information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, there are 266 Indian fishermen languishing in foreign jails". "There are 41 fishermen went from Tamil Nadu in Sri Lanka, 184 fishermen went from Gujarat in Pakistan, 10 fishermen in Bahrain and 31 fishermen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the minister said. As per the data available, 1,172 fishing boats from Gujarat and 87 fishing boats from Tamil Nadu are under the custody of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively. "The Government attaches highest priority to the safety, security and welfare of Indian fishermen. As soon as cases of apprehension of Indian fishermen and their fishing boats are reported, immediate steps are taken by Indian Missions an

701 sedition, 5,023 UAPA cases registered in 2018-22: Govt to Lok Sabha

As many as 701 cases of sedition and offences against the State were registered from 2018 to 2022 and 5,023 cases were lodged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Union Minister Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Rai, however, said the number of cases registered under the sedition and offences against the State came down from 149 in 2021 to 68 in 2022. Similarly, in cases registered under the UAPA, the number has gone up from 814 in 2021 to 1005 in 2022, he said in a written reply to a question. The minister said during this period, 788 people were arrested and charge sheet was filed against 500 in sedition and offences against state cases. A total of 131 people were acquitted too. He said under the UAPA, 8,947 people were arrested and 6,503 people named in charge sheets. A total of 550 people were acquitted too.

Climate Change: Parliament panel unhappy over delay in submission of ATNs

A parliamentary committee has expressed displeasure over the "unprecedented" delay by the environment ministry in submitting action taken notes on the recommendations made in a report in 2018. In a report presented in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, the 30-member Committee on Estimates chaired by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal said that ministries and departments concerned are required to furnish action take notes (ATNs) on the panel's recommendations within six months of the presentation of its report to Parliament. The committee presented its 30th report (16th Lok Sabha) on Performance of the National Action Plan on Climate Change to Parliament on December 13, 2018. While the ministry was expected to provide the ATNs by June 12, 2019, "the first set of requisite ATNs were received after a long delay" on September 13, 2021, the committee said. Subsequent sets of ATNs were received on October 28, 2021; and July 18 and August 24 last year, the committee said. "The committee takes serious note of

41,606 women personnel in Central Armed Police Forces, Assam Rifles: Govt

Among the steps taken to encourage recruitment, the MoS said was that the recruitment is being conducted by making wide publicity through print and electronic media.

Congress flays PM Modi for 'vicious' attack on Nehru during LS address

The Congress on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of suffering from deep insecurities and complexes, saying this makes him "viciously" attack Jawaharlal Nehru. A day after Modi attacked former prime ministers Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said BJP veterans Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Kishan Advani never did this, but PM Modi by doing so is "demeaning" the high office he holds. "The Prime Minister was at his nonsensical worst in the Lok Sabha yesterday and undoubtedly will stage a repeat performance in the Rajya Sabha today," he said in a post on X. "He suffers from deep insecurities and complexes which makes him attack Nehru not politically, but personally in a vicious manner," Ramesh charged. "Vajpayee and Advani never did this. But Mr. Modi being who he is, thinks he is being clever but actually demeans the office he holds. Megalomania and Nehruphobia are a toxic mix that is leading to the Murder Of Democracy in India," the Congress

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra: Rahul Gandhi-led march to enter Odisha today

The Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is scheduled to enter Odisha on Tuesday. Biramitrapur, a small industrial town in Sundergarh district through which the yatra will enter the state from Jharkhand, has been decked up with banners, cut-outs and hoardings of Gandhi. Senior state Congress leaders have gathered in Rourkela steel city, around 35 km from Biramitrapur, and there is a palpable enthusiasm among the people to have a glimpse of Rahul Gandhi, who is referred to as "former PM Indira Gandhi's grandson" by locals, the party's Sundergarh district president Rashmi Padhee said. Although the Biramitrapur assembly seat is now represented by the BJP, it had earlier elected Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidates. Gandhi is expected to reach Biramitrapur in the afternoon. After according a grand welcome to him, the state Congress will take charge of the yatra. It will move for around 10 km before a night halt in the Bija Bahal area. The next day, Gandhi will resume his

LS to discuss Interim Budget; FM Sitharaman to move Finance Bill 2024

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to move The Finance Bill, 2024 for its consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday