Page 22 - Parliament Winter Session

Govt to take serious note of dumping of lithium-ion battery waste: Gadkari

The government will take serious note of any report about ill effects of dumping lithium-ion battery waste on the environment and is promoting circular economy for recycling of various waste materials, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The issue of ill effect of lithium-ion battery waste dumping and on workers in manufacturing units of this storage system was raised by Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha. In a supplementary question, Ranjan stated that there is a research report which highlights the ill effect on the health of workers involved in the process of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. The report also shows that the dumping of these batteries after completing life cycle affects the environment and poisons earth and deteriorates soil fertility, she stated. In response, Gadkari said, "There is no such report or finding with us. If anything of such sort comes to our notice then we will .

Meet Senthil Kumar, the DMK MP whose 'gaumutra' remark stirred controversy

The DMK Parliamentarian's comments drew criticism from political figures, demanding an apology

RS to continue discussion on country's economy on Day 3 of Winter Session

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to table a statement showing the Supplementary Demands for Grants, 2023-24, sources said

82% rise in medical colleges since 2014, MBBS seats up by 112%: Govt

MBBS seats went up from 51,348 to 1,08,940 while PG seats surged from 31,185 to 70,674, in the same period, she said

Banks write off Rs 10.5 trn in 5 yrs, NPA recovery worth Rs 7.1 trn: FinMin

Banks have written off Rs 10.57 lakh crore during the last five financial years, of which Rs 5.52 lakh crore was in respect of loans pertaining to large industries, the government informed the Parliament on Tuesday. "As per RBI data, scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) have written off an aggregate loan amount of Rs 10.57 lakh crore during the last five financial years," Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The scheduled commercial banks have also recovered Rs 7.15 lakh crore of non-performing assets (NPAs) during the five-year period. "Comprehensive steps have been taken to recover NPAs, enabled by which, SCBs have made an aggregate recovery of Rs 7,15,507 crore (RBI provisional data for FY 2022-23) in NPA accounts, including written-off loans, during the last five financial years," he said. In reply to a separate question, Karad said: "Scheduled commercial banks have written off an aggregate amount of Rs 5.52 lakh crore in resp

NMC allowed foreign medical graduates from Ukraine to complete course: Govt

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has allowed foreign medical graduates (FMGs) from the war-hit Ukraine to complete their remaining medical course from different countries as a one-time opportunity, the Rajya Sabha was told on Tuesday. Considering the hardships faced by medical students who returned to the country due to the war in Ukraine, the NMC has devised a scheme as a part of which Indian students who were in the last year of their undergraduate medicine course and have subsequently completed their studies and granted certificate of completion of course/degree on or before June 30, 2022, are permitted to appear in FMG examination, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply. After qualifying the FMG examination, such foreign medical graduates are required to undergo compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI) for a period of two years enabling them for registration. "The NMC has conveyed No-objection to the Academic Mobility Program offered

Economic indicators paint concerning picture: Opposition targets govt in RS

Opposition parties on Tuesday targeted the government in Rajya Sabha, saying while it claims there has been economic growth, indicators such as trade deficit, rising inflation and growing unemployment paint a concerning picture. Participating in a short discussion on the economic situation of the country, members from opposition parties, including the Congress, also raised questions over the impact of schemes. The ruling BJP, however, claimed there has been a turnaround in the economy under its government. Congress member Amee Yajnik raised issues related to landless farmers and MSMEs. Following the Covid pandemic, thousands of MSME units, considered the backbone of the economy, closed down but the government does not have proper data on it, she claimed. "You are continuously comparing with Germany, the UK, the US and other foreign countries. Have you tried to look internally? You are giving ration to more than 50 per cent of the population, but what about unemployment?" she ...

FinMin gave Rs 10,000 crore advance for MGNREGS from contingency fund: Govt

The finance ministry has provided Rs 10,000 crore as advance for the rural employment guarantee scheme from Contingency Fund of India, over and above the budgetary allocation of Rs 60,000 crore, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In reply to a question on the MGNREGS funds being exhausted, Minister of State for Rural Development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti said the Union government has released Rs 66,629 crore to states for wage, material and administrative components under the scheme till November 29. Financial allocation of Rs 60,000 crore was made for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for the financial year 2023-24 at budget estimate stage. "Further, an amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been provided by the Ministry of Finance as an advance from Contingency Fund of India. The (rural development) ministry seeks additional funds from the Ministry of Finance as and when required for meeting the demand for work on the ground," the minister said in her

455,900 jobs have been created so far under PMMSY: Govt informs Parliament

The government on Tuesday informed Parliament that about 45.59 lakh employment opportunities have been created under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said the PMMSY aims to generate 55 lakh direct and indirect employment opportunities between 2020-21 and 2024-25. "... It is estimated that so far about 45.59 lakh employment opportunities comprising 11.46 lakh direct and 34.13 lakh indirect have been created under PMMSY," he said. The Maharashtra government has reported that a total of 3,351 beneficiaries of PMMSY are directly employed and about 1,04,790 are indirectly employed in fishing and allied activities in the state, he added. PMMSY is also aiming to enhance the income of fish farmers through various initiatives like enhancement of fish production, quality inputs, disease management, creation of shelf life for fish and fisheries products, efficient fis

Just 11.75% women in police forces in country: Govt informs Parliament

There are just 11.75 per cent women in the police forces in the country despite the central government's repeated efforts to enhance the strength of the women police to 33 per cent, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued advisories on May 21, 2014, May 12, 2015, June 21, 2019, June 22, 2021 and April 13, 2022 to all the state governments and Union Territory administrations to increase the representation of women police to 33 per cent of the total strength. He said all the state governments and Union Territory administrations have been requested to create additional posts of women constables and sub-inspectors by converting the vacant posts of constables and sub-inspectors. The aim is that each police station should have at least three women sub-inspectors and 10 women police constables, so that a women help desk is manned round the clock, he said in a written reply to a question. Rai informe

'One flag, one PM, one constitution' not a political slogan: Shah in LS

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday asserted that the concept of "one flag, one prime minister, one constitution" was not a political slogan and the BJP firmly believes in the principle and finally implemented it with regard to Jammu and Kashmir. Responding to a remark by TMC's Saugata Roy in the Lok Sabha that "ek nishan, ek pradhan, ek samvidhan (one flag, one head, one constitution)" was a "political slogan", Shah wondered as to how can a country have two prime ministers, two constitutions and two flags. He said Roy's remarks were "objectionable". While responding to a remark from the opposition benches, Shah said, "Whosoever did it was wrong. Narendra Modi has corrected it. Your approval or disagreement does not matter. The entire country wanted it." This comment was made in an apparent reference to the abrogation of provisions of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. He went on to state that "one symbol, one head, one constitution" was not an election slogan. "We had been saying

'On track to have 50% installed power capacity via non-fossil fuel sources'

India is on its track to have 50 per cent of its installed power generation capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, Union Minister R K Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The country's installed power generation capacity from non-fossil source is 186.46 gigawatt (GW), which is 43.82 per cent of its total installed capacity, the minister for new and renewable energy said. "India is on track for achieving its target of having 50 per cent of its installed source generation capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030," Singh, who also holds the portfolio of Power Minister said. Of the total 186.46 GW capacity, 178.98 GW is renewable energy and 7.48 GW is nuclear power. In addition, 114.08 GW of capacity is under implementation and 55.13 GW of capacity is under tendering. The non-fossil electricity capacity increased from 32.54 per cent in March 2014, to 43.82 per cent in October 2023. Singh further said that the government has taken several measures to promote renewable ene

Winter session: Birla cautions MPs against bringing placards in LS

Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday cautioned MPs against bringing placards in the Lok Sabha and said dignity and discipline need to be maintained in the House. The comments by the Speaker came a day after BSP member Danish Ali hung a placard around his neck in protest demanding action against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri for allegedly making derogatory remarks against him. "In the business advisory committee meeting yesterday, there was a consensus among parties that they will not bring placards in the new Parliament House. I appeal to everyone to maintain dignity and discipline in Parliament. I will have to take action against MPs bringing placards," Birla said. As Ali protested with a placard hung around his neck on Monday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi brought it to the notice of the Speaker and requested him to ask Ali to remove the placard. The speaker then told Danish Ali that it was against Parliamentary rules to come to the House with placards and asked the BSP MP to ...

PSBs get back Rs 15,183 cr following ED action under PMLA: Sitharaman

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated assets worth Rs 15,186.64 crore under the stringent prevention of money laundering law and almost all of these have been restituted to public sector banks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Replying to supplementary questions in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said specific actions through various legal provisions are being taken against defaulters and as a result, "huge monies" are going back to the banks. Sitharaman informed the House that as of March 31, 2023, legal suits were filed for recovery against 13,978 loan accounts, action under the SARFAESI Act has been initiated in 11,483 cases, FIRs have been filed in 5,674 cases, and an aggregate amount of Rs 33,801 crore has been recovered. "As of December 1, 2023, assets amounting to Rs 15,186.64 crores under the PMLA have been confiscated by the ED out of which Rs 15,183.77 crores have been restituted to the Public Sector Banks," she said. Chair

Rajya Sabha to discuss country's economy on Day 2 of Winter Session

Earlier, on Monday, the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament saw two Bills being passed, with the Rajya Sabha also deciding to discontinue the suspension of AAP MP Raghav Chadha

RS passes Post Office Bill to amend 125-year-old Indian Post Office Act

The Rajya Sabha on Monday passed the Post Office Bill, 2023 that seeks to repeal the 125-year-old Indian Post Office Act and consolidate and amend the law relating to post offices in the country. According to the proposed legislation, "the central government may, by notification, empower any officer to intercept, open or detain any item in the interest of the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, emergency or public safety, or upon the occurrence of any contravention of any of the provisions of any law for the time being in force". Replying to the discussion for the consideration of the Bill in the Upper House of Parliament, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw explained the provision for interception. "In a society which is as complex and diverse, and times which are as difficult as they are, it is very important that interception is done. This kind of a provision is kept for national security," he said. The Bill was introduced in the Raj

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LS members pitch for removing touts from lower as well as higher judiciary

A Bill which aims to regulate the legal profession by a single Act and seeks to target "touts" was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal saying there should be no role of touts in the country's courts. "The legal profession is a noble profession. The law commission was given a mandate to bring judicial reforms as per new circumstances. There should be no role of touts in the court premises in the country. Hence, it was felt that in the amendment there should be provisions related to touts," Meghwal said. Initiating the debate, Karti Chidambaram of the Congress said, injustice anywhere is a threat to justice and touts thrive because of the complexity in dealing with our legal system. "Because of the asymmetry in our society in terms of education, access to people in authority and wealth, sometimes people do not know how to navigate the legal system. This is what is being exploited and some people step in as touts. Touts thrive because of the ...

CPI (M) raises Silkyara tunnel incident in Rajya Sabha, demands fair probe

CPI (M) Member of Parliament P V Sivadasan in Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of collapse of Uttrakhand's Silkyara tunnel and demanded an inquiry into the incident alleging that safety measures were not implemented by the company concerned. A part of the Uttarkashi tunnel -- around 200 metres from the entrance -- had collapsed on November 12 trapping 41 workers. A rescue team pulled out all trapped workers on November 28 in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Sivadasan termed the incident very painful and accused the tunnelling company of violating all security measures, rules and norms. "...transparent and fair inquiry is very necessary," said the MP from Communist Party of India - Marxist. Silkyara was the not the sole incident and such events have happened before in the area, he said. Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP said Sivadasan may have his own views on the incident, but the

Dhankhar reconstitutes panel of vice-chairpersons with 50% women MPs

Dhankhar made the announcement regarding the reconstituted panel in the Upper House on the first day of the Winter Session of the Parliament