Page 2 - Parliament

Govt set to introduce Bill to hike FDI in insurance sector to 100%

The government is planning to introduce a Bill in Parliament this week to raise FDI in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, with a view to providing insurance to all by 2047. The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025, seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act, 1956, and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, according to the Bill circulated to members of Parliament ahead of its introduction in Parliament. The amendment will raise the Foreign Direct Investment limit in the insurance sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent, it said. Despite the Bill to hike FDI in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, one of the top officials Chairman, Managing Director, or CEO must be an Indian citizen. It also paves the way for the merger of a non-insurance company with an insurance company. The Bill received the Union Cabinet's nod on Friday, paving the way for its introduction in Parliament. The Bill further ai

Brazilians protest bill that would reduce ex-Prez Bolsonaro's time in jail

Tens of thousands of Brazilians demonstrated Sunday against a bill that advanced in Congress this week which would reduce the time former President Jair Bolsonaro spends behind bars following his sentence of more than 27 years for attempting a coup. Protests took place in the capital Brasilia and in other major cities across the country, including Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, Salvador and Recife. On Copacabana's boardwalk in Rio de Janeiro, crowds composed of left-wing voters chanted No amnesty and Out with Hugo Motta, a reference to the speaker of the lower house, which approved the bill on Wednesday. It is now with the Senate. It's an attempt to protect those who tried to attempt a coup, said Antonio Edson Lima de Oliveira, a 56-year-old geologist who was at the protest in Rio. Brazil has already had several dictatorships and they were awful for the country. We never want it to happen again. Famed musicians including Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil performed in Rio, where the sun wa

Wangchuk's HIAL doing exemplary work, must be given recognition: Parl Panel

The Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL), founded by Ladakh educator and activist Sonam Wangchuk, is doing "exemplary" work and should be granted recognition by the University Grants Commission, a Parliamentary panel has noted. In its report tabled in Parliament earlier this week, the committee headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh expressed its concern over pending recognition of HIAL by UGC. The panel also recommended that the Ministry of Education closely study the HIAL model and consider how it can be replicated elsewhere through Centres of Innovation in Education or other interventions. "During its study visit to Ladakh, the committee was impressed with the academic, research, and entrepreneurship ecosystem at the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), especially its success in implementing experiential education and learning rooted in local socio-cultural and ecological contexts," said the report of the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Youth and ...

2001 Parliament attack: Vice Prez, PM, MPs pay tributes to fallen heroes

Vice President C P Radhakrishnan on Saturday led Parliamentarians in paying floral tributes to those who died fending off terrorists who attacked the Parliament House in 2001. On the 24th anniversary of the attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Radhakrishnan, who is also the Rajya Sabha Chair, were among the first to offer tributes. A brief function is held outside the now old Parliament building (Samvidhan Sadan) every December 13 to mark the day. CISF personnel presented a salute or "samman guard" at the venue, after which a moment of silence was observed to mark the anniversary. Till 2023, the CRPF used to offer 'salami shastra' (present arms). Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a senior party leader, were also present at the event. Union ministers Kiren Rijiju, Jitendra Singh and Arjun Ram Meghwal also lined up to offer flower petals at the photographs of the personnel who went down foil

Average 50 days of employment per household under MGNREGS in five years

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: FM Sitharaman introduces Appropriation Bill in Lok Sabha

Parliament Winter Session LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

IndiGo crisis: Parliamentary panel may summon DGCA, MoCA officials

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 HIGHLIGHTS: RS adjourns for the day, to meet at 11 am on Friday

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

Shift Parliament sessions out of polluted Delhi, BJD MP urges government

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 .

SIR opposed to keep illegal immigrants on poll rolls, says Amit Shah

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)'

Amit Shah defends SIR, asks if illegal immigrants should vote in India

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: Lok Sabha begins discussion on electoral reforms

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: Vote chori biggest anti-national act, says Rahul Gandhi

Parliament Winter Session HIGHLIGHTS day 7: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

'Vote chori biggest anti-national act': Rahul Gandhi's big charge at EC

The Congress leader said that there is institutional capture of the Election Commission that directly controls the election system of the country

Laws must ease citizens' lives, not burden them, says PM Modi at NDA meet

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: FM Sitharaman introduces Health Security Cess Bill in Rajya Sabha

Parliament Winter Session LIVE updates day 6: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues

At 100 years, Vande Mataram saw India 'in chains of Emergency': PM Modi

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

Opposition seeks govt statement on IndiGo disruptions, flights chaos

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, .

New cess revenue to be shared with states, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Parliament passes Central Excise (Amendment) Bill 2025

Parliament Winter Session LIVE: FM moves Health Security se National Security Cess Bill in Lok Sabha

Parliament Winter Session Day 4 LIVE Updates: Follow all the latest updates from Parliament as government and opposition debate key issues