Page 4 - Monsoon Session Of Parliament

Parliament passes bill to replace century-old sea cargo carriage law

Parliament on Wednesday passed The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill 2025, amid Opposition protests and sloganeering over the Special Intensive Revision issue. A brief debate was held on the Bill amid protests. Several Opposition MPs who stood up to participate in the debate on the Bill, demanded a discussion on SIR. Chair Bhubaneshwar Kalita, however, said anything unrelated to the Bill will not go on record. Moving the Bill, Shantanu Thakur, Minister of State for Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said the Bill intends to replace 100 years old, pre-independence Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925. The Act establishes the responsibilities, liabilities, rights, and immunities in case of goods carried from a port in India to another port in the country or any other in the world, and is in conformance with the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading of August 1924 (Hague Rules) and subsequent amendments to it. The Bi

Lok Sabha adjourned till 2 pm due to Oppn protests over SIR discussion

The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm on Monday due to noisy protests by opposition parties demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar and other issues. When the House met at 11 am, opposition MPs, including Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans and holding up placards. The opposition is demanding a discussion on the SIR exercise initiated by the Election Commission in Bihar ahead of Assembly elections in the state. Speaker Om Birla said he has been trying every day to run the House smoothly but protesting members are systematically disrupting proceedings of the House. "You have been elected by lakhs of people to represent their hopes and aspirations and raise their issues. But you are not interested in allowing the House to function smoothly. You are lowering the dignity of the House by systematically obstructing the proceedings and by showing placards," he said. If the members have any issue th

Over 790 mn ABHA accounts created, 650 mn health records linked: Centre

As of July 28, 2025, a total of 79.71 crore accounts for the Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) have been created, and around 65.09 crore health records have been linked to it, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav told the Lok Sabha on Friday. In a written reply, he stated that around 4.17 lakh health facilities have been registered in the Health Facility Registry (HFR), and approximately 6.76 lakh healthcare professionals are registered on it. The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has been launched with an aim to create an online platform enabling the interoperability of health data within the health ecosystem to form a longitudinal electronic health record of every citizen, Jadhav said. He clarified that details regarding whether health facilities are located in urban or rural areas are not captured during the registration process of the HFR. Currently, there are 3,20,973 healthcare facilities equipped with ABDM-enabled software, and the number of districts hostin

Opposition protests rock Rajya Sabha; proceedings adjourned for the day

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Friday amid vociferous protests by Opposition members over the issue of Special Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The House could not function and both the Zero Hour and Question Hour were washed out. The House was earlier adjourned soon after laying of papers within minutes. When the House reassembled at 12 noon, there was no let up in the protests forcing the Chair to adjourn for the day. Some of the Opposition members even entered the Well and raised slogans against the SIR. The House will meet again on Monday. The Opposition has been demanding a discussion in the House in the SIR issue and the withdrawal of the EC's exercise which has come ahead of Assembly elections slated to be held later this year. In the morning session, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said he received 30 adjournment notices under Rule 267 for discussion on SIR, alleged discrimination against Bengali migrant workers in other states, impact of the US deci

Opposition MPs write to Om Birla, seek special discussion on Bihar's SIR

Leaders of several Opposition parties, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, on Friday wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, urging him to schedule a special discussion on the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar without any further delay. In their letter to Birla, the Opposition MPs expressed deep concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections. The signatories to the letter included Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gandhi, Congress' Deputy Leader in the House Gaurav Gogoi, DMK's TR Baalu, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, RSP's N K Premachandran, SP's Lalji Verma, TMC's Kakoli Ghose Dastidar, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Savant and RJD's Abhay Kumar. "We, the undersigned Members of Parliament representing various Opposition parties, wish to express our deep concern over the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar, especially a few months before the state assembly elections," the opposition MPs said in their ...

Shah to move resolution in RS for extension of President's rule in Manipur

The President's rule was imposed in Manipur on February 13, days after N Biren Singh resigned from the Chief Minister's position

Over 78,000 hectares of India's forest land diverted since 2021: Centre

The Centre on Thursday informed Rajya Sabha that over 78,100 hectares of forest land have been approved for diversion across the country in the last four years for various projects. In a written reply, Union minister Kirti Vardhan Singh also said that the government approved diversion of 12,324.32 ha of forest land in the first half of 2025. The data, shared by Singh, shows that a total of 78,135.84 hectares were approved for non-forest use between April 1, 2021 and March 31, 2025. Madhya Pradesh accounted for the highest area of forest land approved for diversion at 17,393.65 hectares, followed by Odisha with 11,033.08 hectares, Arunachal Pradesh with 6561.47 hectares, Uttar Pradesh with 5480.43 hectares and Chhattisgarh with 4,092.01 hectares. Gujarat reported diversion of 4,959 hectares of forest land, while Jharkhand saw 4,431.91 hectares being approved for non-forest purposes. Rajasthan recorded diversion of 4,180.06 hectares, Maharashtra 3,603.62 hectares and Uttar Pradesh .

LS adjourned till 4 pm amid continued Oppn protest over various issues

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the second time on Thursday amid protests by Opposition members over various issues, including poll roll revision in Bihar. As soon as the House met again at 2 pm, the Chair had to adjourn the proceedings till 4 pm as Opposition members continued with their noisy protests. Some Opposition members were in the Well of the House raising slogans as they sought to raise certain issues. Awadhesh Prasad, who was chairing the House, urged the members to take their seats but adjourned the proceedings as his pleas went unheard. Earlier, Speaker Om Birla had urged the protesting members to stop shouting slogans and go back to their seats. "You (protesting members) don't want to discuss issues?...," he said and also asked whether people have chosen them to indulge in sloganeering in the House. The House is for discussing issues and the behaviour of the members is not appropriate, Birla said before adjourning the proceedings till 2 pm. As the din cont

RS adjourned till 2 pm as Opposition parties press for discussion on SIR

Proceedings of the Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm on Thursday after Opposition MPs created uproar over the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls. The House was adjourned twice during the pre-lunch session over the SIR issue. Soon after the House met at 12 noon after one adjournment in the morning, Opposition MPs were on their feet raising slogans in support of their demand for a discussion on SIR of Bihar's electoral rolls. The MPs demanded that the special revision of electoral rolls should be discussed in the House. The Opposition has been demanding a roll back of the SIR in Bihar till the after the Assembly polls, which are due later this year. Ghanshyam Tiwari who was in the Chair urged the potesting MPs to maintain decorum in the House and allow the Question Hour to function. Unrelenting Opposition members, however, continued to raise slogans. Some of the TMC members also trooped into the Well and continued with their sloganeering. Amid t

Chidambaram calls Shah's Afzal Guru execution remark 'lie, distortion'

Congress leader P Chidambaram on Thursday slammed as a "lie and distortion" Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks alleging delay in carrying out the death sentence for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. The Congress leader's remarks came in response to Shah's statement in the Rajya Sabha that the death sentence for Guru could not be carried out for as long as Chidambaram was the home minister. In a statement, Chidambaram said, "Home Minister Mr Amit Shah made a statement in the Rajya Sabha that 'Afzal Guru could not be executed as long as P Chidambaram was Home Minister'. The statement is a mixture of insinuation, lie and distortion." After the conviction and sentence by the courts, Guru's wife filed, on his behalf, a mercy petition to the President of India in October 2006, Chidambaram said. "The President rejected the mercy petition on 3-2-2013. Afzal Guru was hanged six days later on 9-2-2013. I was Home Minister during 1-12-2008 and 31-7-2012," he said. "During the entire perio

Sonowal to move shipping bill in LS; ST quota bill for Goa up for debate

Meanwhile, in Rajya Sabha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will move a resolution to extend President's Rule in Manipur for a further period of six months

INDIA bloc continues protest against Bihar's SIR, Congress leaders join in

Sonia Gandhi joined the protest, holding the large banner 'SIR-attack on Democracy,' and stood beside her daughter and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi

PM Modi denies foreign pressure to stop Operation Sindoor offensive

Coincidentally, the PM opened and ended his speech by saying that he has put forth "Bharat's perspective" on Operation Sindoor

Jan Aushadhi outlets saved ₹38,000 crore for citizens in 11 years: Govt

Jan Aushadi outlets have saved about Rs 38,000 crore for the citizens over the last 11 years, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Anupriya Patel said 16,912 Jan Aushadhi Kendras (JAKs) have been opened across the country till June 30, 2025. "As a result of the scheme, in the last 11 years, estimated savings of about Rs 38,000 crore have accrued to citizens in comparison to the prices of branded medicines," the minister stated. The scheme has contributed significantly to the sharp reduction in out-of-pocket expenditure by households from 62.6 per cent of total health expenditure in 2014-15 to 39.4 per cent in 2021-22 as per the National Health Accounts Estimates, she added. "With a view to further expand reach to jan aushadhi medicine and thereby reduce out-of-pocket expenditure, the government has set a target to open 25,000 Jan Aushadhi Kendras by March 2027," Patel said. The outlets cover 2,11

Op Sindoor debate: Nadda apologises to Kharge over 'mental balance' remark

The Rajya Sabha witnessed heated exchanges between the Opposition and treasury benches after Leader of the House J P Nadda made some objectionable remarks against Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge that he later withdrew and apologised. Rising soon after Kharge spoke over one hour during the discussion on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack, Nadda first accused him of "losing his mental balance" as he made some remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Nadda demanded that Kharge's remarks on the Prime Minister be expunged from the records as they were made in a "flow of emotions". However, Kharge as well as Opposition benches made strong objections to Nadda's "mental balance" remark and demanded an apology. Kharge also said that Nadda is one of the ministers in the NDA government whom he respected, but said it was a matter of shame that he made such remarks against him and demanded his apology. Nadda soon got up to say that he has already withdrawn his wo

Amit Shah slams Chidambaram for 'clean chit' to Pakistan in Pahalgam attack

Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday accused P Chidambaram, a previous incumbent of the ministry, of giving a "clean chit" to Pakistan in the Pahalgam terror attack, asserting that it amounted to questioning India's attack on terror facilities in the country. Shah lashed out at the senior Congress leader as informed Lok Sabha during a discussion on the terror strike and Operation Sindoor that three terrorists killed by security forces in Kashmir on Monday were behind the horrific Pahalgam incident. He said the government had proof of the three being from Pakistan, including that the voter numbers of two of them. He added that they carried chocolates made in Pakistan, turning up the heat on the former home minister. The Congress leader, a Rajya Sabha member, Shah said, raised the questions when Parliament was to begin this discussion. "Whom do you want to save? What will you gain by shielding Pakistan?" In an interview, Chidambaram had raised questions on the claim that the terrorists

3 terrorists killed in Op Mahadev linked to Pahalgam attack: Amit Shah

Speaking on Operation Mahadev on the floor of the Lok Sabha, Home Minister Amit Shah said the killed terrorists have been identified as Suleiman, Afghan, and Jibran

Lok Sabha sees Question Hour proceed smoothly after 6 days of disruption

Lok Sabha on Tuesday witnessed smooth functioning of the Question Hour for the first time since the beginning of the Monsoon session on July 21. The House has been witnessing repeated disruptions over the Opposition's demand for a debate on electoral roll revision in Bihar and Operation Sindoor. While the debate on Operation Sindoor commenced in the House on Monday, the Opposition disrupted the first half of the day demanding an assurance from the government that a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar will be held after that. Tuesday was the first time in six days that the House could take up the Question Hour without disruptions. Speaker Om Birla has been insisting that members should participate in the Question Hour as issues related to key ministries are taken up and the government is held accountable.

'Halted trade but play cricket': Owaisi questions govt over India-Pak match

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said his conscience won't permit him to watch the September 14 India-Pakistan Asia Cup match

Pakistan 'admitted defeat' in Op Sindoor, Rajnath Singh tells Lok Sabha

In Lok Sabha, Rajnath Singh said over 100 terrorists were killed in PoK in a 22-minute strike; India stopped Pakistan's missile-drone attack and gave a strong reply by hitting key military sites