Page 13 - Monsoon Session Of Parliament

Tax dept should conduct evasion searches with caution: Parl panel

"The committee are of the view that while stepping up enforcement action against wilful or chronic evaders, honest taxpayers should not be alienated," the report said

Parl Panel urges govt to review use of NMMS app for attendance, issues

A parliamentary committee on Thursday urged the government to review the use of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app for recording attendance in MGNREGA in light of the "difficulties" being faced by workers. It asked the government to come out with an acceptable provision at the earliest after ascertaining the issues. In a report tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday, the Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development noted the introduction of the NMMS app is aimed at capturing two time-stamped and geotagged photographs of the MGNREGA workers in a day. The Committee said it was understood that through the introduction of a new attendance system, the Department of Rural Development wanted to usher in increased transparency. However, they found that the actual success of this app depended upon various extraneous variables like the availability of smartphones, proper internet connectivity and the mandatory presence of MGNREGA workers at both the specified times to name a few. "Ta

'Consideration', consensus required for women's reservation bill: Govt

The women's reservation bill requires "careful consideration" on the basis of consensus among all political parties before it is brought to Parliament, the government said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. In a written reply to a question, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said gender justice is an important commitment of the government. "The issue involved needs careful consideration on the basis of the consensus among all political parties before a Bill for amendment in the Constitution is brought before Parliament," he said. The women's reservation bill provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies for 15 years. The 15th Lok Sabha could not pass the bill and the Constitution (108th Amendment) Bill, which was pending in the lower House since 2010 and lapsed following its dissolution. According to the law, any bill pending in Lok Sabha lapses with the dissolution of the House. Bills pending in Rajya Sabha are put in the "live register" and remain ...

India land of storytellers, must become a global content hub: Anurag Thakur

India is the land of storytellers and should emerge as the content hub of the world, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Thursday as Rajya Sabha passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill aimed at curbing piracy and simplifying licensing procedures. The government is soon going to open institutes for the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector to provide skilled manpower to the fast-growing field, Thakur said while replying to a debate on the bill, which seeks to amend the Cinematograph Act of 1952. The bill was passed by a voice vote after a brief discussion. The opposition staged a walkout during the introduction of the bill over its demand for a discussion on the situation in ethnic strife-torn Manipur. The bill will now go to Lok Sabha for its nod. The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill-2023 aims to curb piracy to help the film industry and simplify licensing procedures. The government has proposed a maximum three-year jail term and

Costing Rs 2.5 lakh per minute, logjams in Parliament are a costly affair

The Lok Sabha overall recorded a productivity of 34 per cent, while the Rajya Sabha's productivity was 24.4% during this Budget Session

Monsoon session: Edible oil prices fell up to 29%, Sale of wheat stopped

The retail prices of refined sunflower oil, refined soyabean oil and refined palmolien have fallen by 29 per cent

Bill introduced in LS to allow use of birth certificate as single document

A bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with an aim to allow use of birth certificate as single document for admission to an educational institution, issuance of driving licence, preparation of voter list, Aadhaar number, registration of marriage or appointment to a government job. The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 will also help create a national and state-level database of registered births and deaths which eventually would ensure efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits and digital registration. Introducing the bill on behalf of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (18 of 1969) (the Act) was enacted to provide for the regulation of registration of births and deaths and for matters connected therewith. He said the Act has not been amended so far since its inception and in order to keep pace with the societal change an

Consider resumption of economic ties with Pakistan: Par panel urges Centre

A parliamentary panel has asked the government to consider resumption of economic ties with Pakistan and work towards broader people-to-people contacts given the "cultural commonalities and civilisational linkages" between the two countries. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs chaired by BJP leader P P Chaudhary, in its report on 'India's Neighbourhood First Policy' presented to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, observed that the policy was dynamic and that it adjusts to the country's renewed interests in the region while evolving according to regional circumstances. The Committee urges the Government to consider the establishment of economic ties with Pakistan if they come forward and work towards broader people-to-people contacts in view of the cultural commonalities and civilisational linkages between our two countries and no feeling of enmity amongst citizens of both the countries, said the committee in its report. Being aware of China's Belt and Road vision and ...

236 districts yet to declare themselves manual-scavenging free: Govt

The Centre on Wednesday said 236 districts are yet to declare themselves free from manual scavenging even as it claimed that no district has reported the practice. Fourteen states and Union Territories have declared themselves manual-scavenging free, it said. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said 530 of India's 766 districts have reported themselves to be free from manual scavenging. "There is no report of (the) practice of manual scavenging in any districts. We have requested all districts either to declare themselves free from manual scavenging or upload the data of insanitary latrine and manual scavengers associated with it on the 'Swachhta Abhiyan' mobile app. However, no credible data has been uploaded on the app so far," Athawale said in a written response. Most districts of Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal are yet to

Odisha has highest drop out rate at secondary school level: Govt tells Parl

Odisha has the highest student dropout rate at the secondary school level followed by Meghalaya and Bihar, according to the Education Ministry. Union Minister of Education for State Annapurna Devi shared the data in response to a question in the Rajya Sabha. According to it, the national dropout rate for secondary school is 12.6 per cent while Odisha has a dropout rate of 27.3 per cent followed by Meghalaya 21.7 per cent, Bihar 20.5 per cent and Assam 20.3 per cent. States with drop-out rates of more than 15 per cent are Andhra Pradesh (16.3 per cent), Gujarat (17.9 per cent), Punjab (17.2 per cent) and West Bengal (18 per cent). At the primary school level, the highest dropout rate is in Manipur (13.3 per cent) followed by Meghalaya (9.8 per cent) and Arunachal Pradesh (9.3 per cent). At the upper-primary level, the highest dropout rate is in Meghalaya (10.6 per cent) followed by Assam (8.8 per cent) and Punjab (8 per cent). The data shared in Parliament is that of the Departmen

No-confidence motion against govt admitted in LS; Speaker to decide date

A no-confidence motion by the Congress against the Narendra Modi government was admitted in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, setting the stage for a showdown between the opposition and treasury benches amid concerted efforts by the anti-BJP bloc to force Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speak on the contentious Manipur issue in Parliament. Admitting the motion moved by Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi after a head count of 50 members in its support, a mandatory requirement, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said a date for a discussion on the motion will be decided after consulting the leaders of all parties. Sources in the opposition bloc said Birla has called a meeting of floor leaders of all parties in Lok Sabha on Thursday. As per the convention, once admitted the discussion on the motion has to be held within 10 days. The Monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to end on August 11. Although this no-confidence motion is bound to fail the numbers test, the opposition bloc Indian National ..

Oppn to wear black clothes to Parliament tomorrow to protest over Manipur

All MPs belonging to the Opposition's INDIA bloc will wear black clothes to Parliament on Thursday as a mark of protest against the government over the Manipur issue, sources said. All MPs belonging to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have been asked to come dressed in black to protest Prime Minister Narendra Modi not making a statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament till now, an MP of the Opposition bloc said. A no-confidence motion against the government by the Congress on behalf of the opposition alliance was admitted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday. Birla said a date for a discussion on the motion will be decided after consulting the leaders of all parties. The Opposition has often resorted to wearing black to register their protest against the government on various issues. The Opposition has been demanding that Modi make a statement on the Manipur issue in Parliament before a debate on the matter can be taken up. With the opposition a

No-confidence motion: PM Modi's 'prediction' from 2019 goes viral

With the opposition moving a no-confidence motion against his government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks in Lok Sabha in 2019 have gone viral in which he mockingly tells opposition parties to prepare hard to bring such a motion in 2023. "I want to send you my good wishes that you prepare so much that you get a chance to bring a no-confidence again in 2023," he had said during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address -- his last major speech in the House ahead of the 2019 general elections. The BJP went on to notch up a bigger win in the 2019 polls, bagging 303 seats compared to 282 in the 2014 general elections. Government sources shared this part of Modi's speech to highlight his "prediction". Responding to an opposition member, Modi said it was the consequence of arrogance that the Congress' tally fell from over 400 at one time to nearly 40 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. It was due to the spirit of service that the BJP rose from two seats to winning pow

Monsoon Session: Lok Sabha nod to Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill

Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to exempt land within 100 km of the country's borders from the purview of the forest conservation laws and permit setting up of zoos, safaris and eco-tourism facilities in forest areas. The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill-2023 was passed after a brief debate which was responded to by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav. Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the passage of the bill, which amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, amid continued protests by opposition members over the ethnic violence in Manipur. The bill exempts certain types of land from the provisions of the Act such as forest land along a rail line or a public road maintained by the government providing access to a habitation, or to a rail, and roadside amenity up to a maximum size of 0.10 hectare. Forest land that will also be exempted includes land situated within 100 km along the international borders, Line of Control, or Line of Actual Control, proposed to

Monsoon Session: Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned briefly amid din

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday claimed he was "insulted" as his mic was turned off while he was speaking in the House the previous day. In the morning session, the House also witnessed acrimonious exchanges between opposition and treasury benches and sloganeering by the two sides, leading to a brief adjournment. Referring to Tuesday's proceedings, Kharge said he was not allowed to speak in the House and "my mic was turned off". "It was a breach of my privilege. This is my insult. My self-respect has been challenged. "If the House is run on the instructions of the government, then I will understand that it is not a democracy," the Congress president said. Other opposition members supported Kharge with many of them raising slogans. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar asked them to take their seats. When he informed Kharge that several MPs were standing in the rows behind him, the Congress leader said, "Mere peechhe khade agar nahi

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Shah writes to Kharge, Adhir on Manipur; urges to rise above party lines

Seeking to break the current logjam, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday sought "invaluable cooperation" of the opposition to discuss the Manipur issue in Parliament and asked them to rise above party lines to find a "permanent" solution to the embroglio in a "harmonious" way. In identical letters in Hindi to opposition leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Shah said the people of Manipur want that MPs of all political parties give them confidence that the lawmakers are united and committed to the peace of Manipur. Kharge is the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Chowdhury is the Congress leader in Lok Sabha. Shah said the government is ready to discuss the Manipur issue and urged all to cooperate, rising above party lines. He said Manipur was experiencing a new era of peace and development during the last six years of the BJP rule but some court orders and some incidents resulted in violence in Manipur during May. The home minister said some "shameful .

Beneficiaries under PM-Kisan rises to 81.1 mn in March 2023: Centre

The number of beneficiaries under the Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme increased to 8.11 crore in the 13th instalment period December-March of the last fiscal from 3.16 crore in the first tranche, the government said on Tuesday. In reply to a written question, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the number of beneficiaries has increased from 3.16 crore in the first period (December 2018March 2019) to 8.11 crore in the 13th period (December 2022 March 2023). The PM-KISAN, one of the largest Central Sector Schemes, is being implemented to supplement the financial needs of the land-holding farmers of the country, subject to certain exclusion criteria relating to higher income status, he said. "Under the scheme, the financial benefit of Rs 6,000/- annually, in three equal instalments, is transferred into the Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts of farmers," the minister said. As per the data furnished in the written reply, the number of beneficiaries stood

I-T searches, assets seizure increased over the last three fiscals: Govt

The number of groups searched by the Income Tax Department and the resulting seizure of assets has shown an increasing trend over the last three financial years, according to a government data placed in the Parliament on Tuesday. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said, in a written reply, to the Rajya Sabha that a total of 741 groups were raided by the tax department and assets worth Rs 1,765.56 crore seized during the 2022-23 fiscal. Similarly, 686 groups were searched by the I-T department during the 2021-22 fiscal and properties worth Rs 1,159.56 crore were seized preceded by 569 groups raided in 2020-21 and assets worth Rs 880.83 crore were seized.

Monsoon session: NARCL acquired Rs 21K crore of bad loans in Q4FY23

A Parliamentary panel on Monday asked the government to look at the feasibility of setting up a specialised security agency for airports amid rising air passenger traffic