Page 89 - Parliament

Southern states may lose seats in parliament: Jairam on India population

With India becoming the world's most populous country, the pioneering states in family planning mostly in the south may end up losing seats in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Friday. The seat allocation to states and Union Territories is done on the basis of the population. "India overtaking China as the world's most populous country has evoked much comment. But what hasn't is how the pioneering states in family planning-mostly southern-will end up losing seats in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha," Ramesh said on Twitter. "They need assurance that this won't happen. I've raised this issue many times," the Congress leader also said.

SC urged to use authority to ensure acceptance of same-sex marriages

The petitioners seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to use its plenary power "prestige and moral authority to push the society to acknowledge such a union as would ensure LGBTQIA persons lead a dignified life like heterosexuals as they have no representation in Parliament. Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, urged before a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud the State should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage. Rohatgi referred to judgements, including the one that decriminalised consensual gay sex, to say the court was revisiting something which has already been decided. If the consensual sexual relationship in private is accepted legally then the next natural consequence is the validation of the marriage so that homosexuals are not treated as lesser mortals in public space, he said. Our parents have accepted us despite belonging to older ...

EV industry body seeks Parl's intervention in release of pending subsidies

Electric vehicle industry body SMEV on Tuesday appealed to a parliamentary panel to direct the government to release the pending subsidy of Rs 1,200 crore earmarked for the liquidity-hit sector. In a petition to the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Industry and Estimates, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) stated that EV adoption is slowing down due to the financial stress being faced by the industry. The industry body said the EV segment has been besieged by irritants designed to disturb the momentum of the FAME 2 scheme. "Now that the country is almost ready with the entire supply chain, the only thing holding up the sector is the Rs 1,200 crore worth of subsidies that have been withheld leading to a serious liquidity crisis in the industry," it said. The need of the hour is for the government and the industry to work together to resolve issues and put India back on track to meet its electric mobility targets, the petition said. In December last year, U

MPLADS: Rs 1,500 crore remains non-disbursed in FY23, shows govt data

In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoSPI, informed that until March 30, only Rs 2,387 crore had been disbursed

Indians in Sudan asked to stay indoors amid army-paramilitary clash

The Embassy of India in Sudan advises Indians to stay indoors in view of reported firings and clashes in the country

Ensuring scrutiny by Parliament

The recent passage of the Budget for 2023-24 without discussion underlines the need for an institutional fix

For Congress, one person above country, Parliament, courts: Anurag Thakur

Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Saturday that for the Congress, one person is above the country, Parliament and courts, and added that even some allies of the opposition party were deserting it due to this attitude. Talking to reporters here, the Union information and broadcasting minister also targeted Gandhi over a host of Congress leaders, including chief ministers, accompanying him to a court in Gujarat to file an appeal against his conviction in a criminal defamation case. The fact is that it did not even require his presence to file the appeal, Thakur said and charged that he tried to put pressure on the court. Following his conviction and two-year jail sentence in the defamation case of 2019 over his Modi surname remark, Gandhi was disqualified from Lok Sabha last month. Gandhi should have apologised for insulting the backward classes but he chose otherwise and his arrogance has come to the fore once again, Thakur said. For the Congress,

Pak President Alvi returns to Parl Bill curtailing chief justice's powers

Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Saturday returned to Parliament for reconsideration a bill aimed at clipping the powers of the chief justice, citing that the proposed legislation is beyond the jurisdiction of the legislative body and can be assailed as a "colourable legislation". Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Uma Ata Bandial on Tuesday fixed May 14 as the new date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commission's decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8. The apex court's verdict was criticised by the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, which has refused to accept it. The government also is keen to curb the suo moto (on its own) powers of the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP), Bandial. The Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill, 2023 was approved

Targeting Adani, demand of JPC worthless, says Pawar on Hindenburg report

Extending support to the Adani Group, Pawar said that the report seems like an individual industrial group of the country was targeted

Parliamentary panel asks govt to take steps to revive loss-making PSUs

The ministry should also give details of the steps taken and plans conceived to revive and strengthen the CPSEs within its administrative ambit to the panel

'Means Parliamentary Democracy is dead': Chidambaram on TN Guv's remark

Congress veteran and former finance minister P Chidambaram on Friday slammed Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi over his "Bill is dead" remark, saying it means "Parliamentary Democracy is dead".Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Thursday, while interacting with the civil services aspirants, explained the role of the Governor in the Constitution, saying that he has the option to give assent or withhold a Bill passed by the Assembly, adding that the latter means that the "Bill is dead".In a tweet, Chidambaram said, "Governor, Tamil Nadu has given a strange & peculiar definition to the withholding of assent to Bills passed by the Legislature. He has said that it means the 'Bill is dead'. Actually, when a Governor withholds assent for no valid reason, it means 'Parliamentary Democracy is dead'."The Governor said "withholding" is a "decent language" used for rejecting a Bill.Interacting with the civol services aspirants here, Ravi said the responsibility of the Governor is to protect the ...

Country won't forgive Oppn for disrupting Parliament for Rahul: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday claimed that people would not forgive the opposition parties for disrupting Parliament proceedings over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Lok Sabha based on a legislation brought by the Congress-led UPA government. Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the Kaushambi Mahotsav, he exhorted people to elect Narendra Modi as prime minister once again in 2024 for the all-around welfare of all sections of society. "The country will not forgive opposition parties for disrupting Parliament proceedings over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification... Democracy is not in danger, it is casteism and dynastic politics ('parivarwad') which are in danger," Shah said. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, his deputies Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, and state BJP president Bhupendra Chaudhry also attended the event. In a big blow to the Congress, its leader Rahul Gandhi was on March 24 disqualified from Lok Sabha, nearly 24 hours after

17th Lok Sabha likely to be shortest since 1952, says PRS report

Looks set to beat the previous record low set during the 16th LS

Parliament adjourns: Budget session a near-washout amid Oppn protests

MPs of the Congress and DMK, mostly dressed in black, ignored the speaker's pleas and continued their protests

Govt blames Oppn for logjam in Parliament as productivity dives in Houses

The government on Thursday blamed the Opposition for the virtual washout of the second half of Parliament's Budget Session, saying the ruling BJP was ready to drop its demand, a likely reference to its insistence on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's apology, if opposition parties reciprocated its gesture on their stand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the Adani issue. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal told reporters after the session concluded that the government wanted a discussion on the Finance Bill before it was passed. "We were ready to give up our stand. But they should have also given up their stand. We had a strong stand," he said, without directly referring to the BJP stand. He noted that Speaker Om Birla had called a meeting to defuse the logjam, but the Opposition stuck to its stand. Meghwal said the productivity of Lok Sabha was 34 per cent and of Rajya Sabha 24.4 per cent during the session, which had begun on January 31. Overall

LS Budget session ends, House adjourned sine die following Oppn protest

Lok Sabha's Budget session ended as scheduled on Thursday after Speaker Om Birla announced that the House had been adjourned sine die (for indefinite period). As soon as the House met for the day, opposition members came to the well raising slogans and demanding a JPC probe into the Adani issue. They were also carrying placards with their demands written on them. The speaker said the behaviour of opposition members had lowered the dignity of the House and they had "systematically" disrupted proceedings. Such behaviour, he added, is against the parliamentary system and not good for the House or the country. However, opposition members ignored the speaker's pleas and continued their protests. Birla announced the adjournment of the House sine die after completing his customary valedictory speech.

Govt not considering to regulate artificial intelligence growth: Vaishnaw

The government is neither considering to bring any law nor has any plans to regulate the growth of artificial intelligence in the country, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written submission to the Lok Sabha said there are ethical concerns and risks around artificial intelligence, and the government agencies have started making efforts to standardise responsible AI and promote the adoption of the best practices. "NITI Aayog has published a series of papers on the subject of Responsible AI for All. However, the government is not considering bringing a law or regulating the growth of artificial intelligence in the country," Vaishnaw said. In a reply to a separate question on ChatGPT technology, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said it is a Large Language Model (LLM) launched by OpenAI. "While it has made significant strides, there are still many challenges with these types of models," Chandrasekhar said.

Rajya Sabha proceedings adjourned till 2 pm amid sloganeering by Oppn

Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2 pm on Wednesday as MPs from the Congress and other opposition parties created a ruckus in the House, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into fraud allegations against the Adani Group. Opposition MPs started raising slogans as the listed papers were laid on the table of the House at the start of the day's proceedings. Several Congress MPs were dressed in black as a mark of protest. Sloganeering increased as Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said he has received a notice from Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge under Rule 267 of Rajya Sabha for suspension of the scheduled business of the day. Amid the din, the Chairman adjourned the proceedings till 2 pm.

Historic changes coming in law with Parliament's nod to Competition Bill

The amendments are expected to improve ease of doing business, attune India's competition law regime with global trends

Parliament clears amendments to competition law without any discussion

Parliament on Monday cleared the amendments to the competition law that will pave the way for promoting the ease of doing business as well as enhance the framework to deter entities from indulging in unfair business practices. Reduction of CCI's assessment time frame for combinations to 150 days from the date of filing the notice, introduction of a settlement and commitments framework and imposition of penalties on erring entities based on their global turnover are among the key features of the Competition (Amendment) Bill. The bill has been approved by Parliament nearly eight months after its introduction in Lok Sabha, which gave its nod on March 29. The bill was also referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which tabled its report in Parliament on December 13 last year. Rajya Sabha approved the bill on Monday after Lok Sabha cleared the same on March 29. Amid din, both the Houses passed the bill without any discussion. Corporate Affairs and Finance Minister ...