An average 50 days of employment per household was provided to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the last five years, Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The flagship rural employment scheme guarantees up to 100 days of wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. In a written reply in the Upper House, Paswan said in 2024-25, average days of employment provided per household under MGNREGS was 50.24. The figures for previous years were similar. In 2023-24, the average number of workdays per household was 52.07, in 2022-23 it was 47.84, in 2021-22 it was 50.07, and in 2020-21 it was 51.54. Altogether, the average number of days of employment per household during the last five years comes to 50.35. In his reply, Paswan also said the responsibility for implementation of the MGNREGS at ground level lies with th
Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues
Parliamentary panel will summon aviation regulators and major airlines to review recent flight cancellations and ongoing safety concerns, including ATC fatigue, pilot shortages and infrastructure gaps
Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Stay tuned as discussion on electoral reforms is set continue in Rajya Sabha after the Opposition staged a walkout from both houses on Wednesday
BJD Rajya Sabha member Manas Ranjan Mangaraj on Thursday appealed to the government to relocate Parliament's Winter and Budget sessions out of Delhi until air quality improves, calling the capital's annual pollution crisis a "man-made disaster". Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Mangaraj, who hails from Odisha, drew parallels between his state's efficient response to natural calamities and the need for similar urgency in addressing Delhi's air pollution. "Coming from Odisha, a state that fights cyclones, floods and natural calamities with unmatched discipline, I know what a crisis looks like. But what troubles me is... Delhi," he said. The MP highlighted the daily exposure to toxic air faced by members, parliamentary officers, drivers, sanitation workers, and security personnel who keep the House functioning. "We cannot ignore their suffering. We cannot pretend this is normal," he said, adding that holding crucial parliamentary sessions during peak pollution months puts lives at .
Shah attributed the Opposition's protest against the SIR to the incompetence of its leadership to win elections, and not Electronic Voting Machines or 'vote chori (theft)'
During a debate on election reforms, Home Minister Amit Shah said the Election Commission has the full mandate to conduct SIR under Article 326 of the Constitution
Parliament Winter Session HIGHLIGHTS: The discussion on electoral reforms continued, with speakers from the BJP-led NDA and its allies accusing the Opposition of double standards
Parliament Winter Session HIGHLIGHTS day 7: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues
The Congress leader said that there is institutional capture of the Election Commission that directly controls the election system of the country
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said no innocent Indian should face harassment or inconvenience due to any law or rule, and such measures should always be for the convenience of the common people. Addressing an NDA parliamentary party meeting here, Modi also said reforms should be brought in all aspects of society and not just in the economy. Briefing reporters after the meeting, which was attended by all NDA MPs, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Prime Minister Modi gave very good guidelines for the lawmakers. The PM said no Indian should face any inconvenience as a citizen and everyone must ensure that rules and regulations are for the convenience of the common people and improve their lives, he said. "The prime minister said laws should not be a burden for anyone but should be for people's convenience. Rules and regulations must be for improving the system, not to harass people. There should be no law which harasses people without any reason," Rijiju
Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates day 6: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues
PM Modi told the Lok Sabha that the 150-year legacy of Vande Mataram is a reminder of unity, recalling how its 100th year fell during the Emergency when the Constitution was weakened
The opposition on Monday demanded in the Lok Sabha that the government should inform the country about what it is doing in the wake of the IndiGo flight disruptions and the inconvenience being faced by the people at various airports across the country. Speaker Om Birla said Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu will give a detailed statement on the matter in the Lower House on Monday or Tuesday. Speaking in the Lok Sabha soon after the Question Hour, Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said, "Through you (the Speaker), we request the government that the Civil Aviation Ministry should tell the country through this House that why people in all airports across the country since many days (are facing trouble), there are dialysis patients, people who have weddings in their house, people who want to reach their elderly, there is chaos at the airports." "We were told that even people wearing Hawai chappals will travel in airplanes but prices have soared to Rs 20,000, .
Parliament passes Central Excise (Amendment) Bill 2025
Parliament Winter Session Day 4 LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues
The Bill was tabled earlier amid the Opposition's protest demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls
Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues
Leaders of several opposition parties met in Parliament on Wednesday to discuss their joint strategy for the Winter Session. Floor leaders of various parties, including the Congress, DMK, RJD, SP, JMM, CPI-M, CPI, IUML, NCP-SP, and SS-UBT, attended the meeting, while Trinamool Congress (TMC) skipped it. The TMC was also absent from the last meeting of Opposition leaders, held on December 1 the first day of the winter session. Leaders of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, were present at the meeting, which was held in Kharge's chamber. During the meeting, the leaders also stressed that their unity and continued pressure on the government have forced it to agree to their demand for a discussion on Electoral reforms, including SIR. They also called for the smooth functioning of Parliament, saying it is the government's responsibility to ensure it. The Opposition has been protesting in Parliament over their demand for a discussion on ...
The Bill aims to raise excise duties and cess on tobacco products, with an amendment to the Central Excise Act, 1944