Page 20 - Parliament

Income-Tax Bill, 2025 to be tabled in Parl: New tax slabs, reforms & more

The new Income Tax Bill is expected to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday, Feb 13, replacing the six-decade-old Income Tax Act of 1961. Here are the highlights of the Bill

Budget 2025: 'Middle class gets nothing', says Raghav Chadha in Parliament

Chadha noted that reports indicate a decline in the spending capacity and consumption of the middle class

Speedy rebound in growth on strong foundation: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

India's economy is expected to grow by 6.4 per cent in real terms and by 9.7 per cent in nominal terms, according to advance estimates released by the National Statistics Office

Budget Session highlights: Govt using 99% borrowings for capex, which is 4.3% of GDP, says FM

Parliament Budget Session: Catch all the Parliament updates here

Budget Session highlights: After tax cuts, all eyes on Finance Bill, new Income Tax Bill

Parliament Budget Session highlights: Catch all the major updates from the ongoing Budget session of the Parliament

Draft UGC regulations for VCs selection 'anti-constitutional': Mahua Moitra

TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday termed as "anti-constitutional" the draft UGC regulations for selection of vice chancellors in Central and state universities. Demanding a rollback of the criteria of the search-and-selection committee of vice chancellors of state-aided universities, Moitra said during Zero Hour that there is no state-government representative in the committee even though states pay completely for the state-run universities. The draft UGC regulation, 2025, which seeks to replace the UGC regulation 2018, is "over-centralised, anti-constitutional and anti-federal", Moitra said. According to the draft regulations, industry experts, as well as senior professionals from public administration, public policy and public sector undertakings, might soon be eligible for appointment as vice chancellors. The draft norms have also given power to chancellors or visitors to constitute the three-member search-cum-selection committee to appoint vice chancellors. The new guidelines wil

Translation services extended to 6 new languages in Parliament: Om Birla

Translation services were available in 10 languages including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, and Telugu, in addition to Hindi and English

Congress leader Chidambaram finds faults with Budget in Rajya Sabha

Chidambaram termed it a "politically-driven budget" with the income tax cut being the "main thrust" of the Budget with an eye on the Delhi Assembly polls

Parliament Budget Session Highlights: Sonia Gandhi urges govt to conduct Census at earliest

Parliament Budget Session: Catch all the Parliament updates here

Opposition targets govt over rising inequality, inflation, lack of jobs

Opposition parties on Monday attacked the Union government on various issues, including rising inequality in terms of income amid rising inflation and joblessness in the country. Participating in the discussion on Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the Union Budget shows the government's priorities and intent. "The Budget is not merely a statement of accounts, but one of intent. Our Prime Minister has described this Budget as a roadmap for Viksit Bharat. But the numbers reveal that the path seems only a mirage," he stated. He noted that the Budget was presented as a proclamation of progress but it conveniently hides the realities of the time like stagnant growth, growing inequality, and a sizable demographic dividend slipping off the fingers. "This government's policies have only enriched the privileged few, leaving behind a section of people with joblessness, inflation, and shrinking opportunities," Siva said. He noted that 1 per cent of people in t

Delhi HC to pass order on Engineer Rashid's plea for custody parole today

The Delhi High Court will pass its verdict on Monday on the plea of jailed MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh alias Rashid Engineer seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Justice Vikas Mahajan is scheduled to pronounce the order at 2:30 pm on a plea by the Baramulla MP, who is facing trial in a terror funding case. The judge had reserved the order on Friday, February 7. Rashid had moved the high court earlier alleging that he had been left without any remedy after the NIA court dealing with his bail application left him in a limbo post his election to the Lok Sabha last year on account of it not being a special MP/MLA court. As interim relief, he prayed for grant of custody parole. The counsel appearing for the NIA opposed the grant of custody parole, saying Rashid had no vested right to attend Parliament and he had not shown any "specific purpose" while seeking the relief. The agency had also raised security concerns as well. Rashid has been lodged in Tihar jail h

Parl panel suggests security assessment of all Indian missions, posts

A parliamentary panel has recommended that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) should conduct a "comprehensive security assessment" of all missions and posts of India taking into account the geopolitical situation, potential threats and vulnerabilities in host countries. In its report, the Committee on External Affairs has also noted that India currently lacks resident missions in 42 countries. While acknowledging the challenges involved in establishing new missions, the committee recommended "accelerating efforts to bridge these gaps, particularly in countries where India has significant economic or strategic interests or a large diaspora presence". The 'Fourth Report of the Committee on External Affairs (2024-25) on Demands for Grants (2024-25) of the Ministry of External Affairs' was presented in Parliament last week. The panel is headed by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. The committee further said in its report that it has also "taken note of the criteria" for establishing new .

Probe agencies line up measures to crack down on illegal travel agents

According to the data that the government provided in Parliament last year, the Centre and states had notified 3,094 'illegal agents' on the eMigrate Portal until October 2024

Workers rights to deepfake: Nearly 50 pvt members' Bills introduced in RS

Nearly fifty private members' bills, including those seeking to protect employees' rights in relation to use and implementation of artificial intelligence in workplaces; prevent and criminalise creation and use of deepfake contents were introduced in Rajya Sabha on Friday. Members across political parties, from ruling BJP to opposition TMC, Congress, RJD, CPI, CPI(M) and AAP introduced several private members' bills, including two separate bills seeking to increase the sitting of Parliament to at least 100 to 120 days a year, in the post lunch session of the Upper House. TMC member Mausam B Noor introduced the Artificial Intelligence (Protection of Rights of Employees) Bill, 2023 that seeks to protect the rights of employees in relation to the use and implementation of AI atworkplaces. It also seeks to regulate the use of and ensure transparency in the implementation of AI technologies at workplaces. Noor also introduced the Deepfake Prevention and Criminalisation Bill, 2023 that ..

Number of Indian prisoners in foreign jails at present is 10,152: Govt

As per the information available with the Ministry of External Affairs, the number of Indian prisoners, including undertrials, in foreign jails at present is 10,152, the government informed Parliament on Friday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha shared country-wise data on such prisoners. The data shared under the head 'total number of Indians under trail and convicted in foreign jails at present' included for 86 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Nepal, Pakistan, the US, Sri Lanka, Spain, Russia, Israel, China, Bangladesh and Argentina. While 2,633 Indian prisoners are in jails in Saudi Arabia and 2,518 such prisoners are in jails in the UAE, as per the data shared in his response. Also, 1,317 Indian prisoners are in jails in Nepal, while the corresponding numbers in Pakistan and Sri Lanka stand at 266 and 98 respectively, according to the data. "As per the information available wit

BJP MP flags 'alarming' rise in junk food consumption, urges govt action

Stating that the consumption of junk food has increased multifold over last few years, Rajya Sabha BJP MP Sujeet Kumar on Friday urged the government to make regulations related to packaged food more stringent, and levy additional tax to discourage people from consuming it. Raising the issue in the House during Zero Hour, the MP from Odisha said the increase in consumption of junk food can be linked to the rise in non-communicable diseases in India. "There is an alarming rise in consumption of junk food, which are high in salt, sugar, unhealthy fat, but offer minimal nutrition," Kumar said. He quoted a WHO report from 2023, and said there has been a 40 times increase in consumption of packaged junk food between 2006 and 2019. "Excessive consumption of junk food combined with poor lifestyle is one of the key reasons for increase in non-communicable diseases (NCD)," he said. Kumar cited an ICMR report to say that NCD-related deaths increased "from 37.9 per cent in 1990 to 61.8 per c

Opposition MPs protest against arrest of Indian fishermen by Sri Lanka

Opposition MPs on Friday held a protest in the Parliament complex against Sri Lanka continuing to arrest Indian fisherfolk, and demanded that the government find a permanent solution to the issue. The protest was led by DMK, Congress and Left party MPs from Tamil Nadu and joined by parliamentarians from several other opposition parties, including Derek O'Brien of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Sudama Prasad of CPI(ML) Liberation. The protesting MPs held up placards with slogans that read "Justice For Tamil Fisherman", "Bring Back Our Fishermen", "No More Arrests", and "Tamil Nadu Fishermen Are Indians". DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said the matter of Tamil fisherfolk's arrest was a national issue as they were Indians being mistreated by Sri Lanka. "Many other parties also took part in the protest. It is an issue which should not be restricted to the state. They are Tamil fishermen, they are Indians," Siva told PTI. "Fishermen are being tortured, harassed and killed for years and the ...

HC reserves order on Rashid's plea for parole to attend Parliament

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its order on a plea by jailed MP Rashid Engineer, facing trial in a terror funding case, seeking custody parole to attend the ongoing Parliament session. Justice Vikas Mahajan heard the counsel appearing for the Baramulla MP as well as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and said, "Judgement reserved." The counsel appearing for the NIA opposed the grant of custody parole, saying Rashid had no vested right to attend Parliament. It was further said that he did show any "specific purpose" while seeking the relief and there were security concerns as well. Rashid's counsel emphasised that his constituency was not being represented in Parliament and he ought to be allowed to attend the session. "I represent the largest constituency of J&K. Don't prevent the representation when the process of inclusion has started... Don't stifle the voice of the constituency," the counsel argued. The court was hearing Rashid's petition alleging that he had ..

Centre takes note of China's announcement of mega dam project: MoS

The Union government has "taken note" of China's announcement of a mega dam project on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (upper reaches of the Brahmaputra) river in the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Centre informed Parliament on Thursday. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha also said various issues relating to trans-border rivers are discussed with China under the ambit of an "institutionalised Expert Level Mechanism," which was established in 2006, as well as through diplomatic channels. The ministry was asked whether China's decision to construct a hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra river, which flows into India and Bangladesh, has raised concerns about its potential impact on millions of people living downstream. "The Government of India has taken note of China's announcement of a mega dam project approved on the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (upper reaches of the Brahmaputra) River in the Tibet ..

The world seeing 'Bharat rate of growth', says PM Narendra Modi

The PM said economists coined the phrase "Hindu rate of growth" to describe the country's economic progress during the tenure of the Congress governments