Page 2 - Rajya Sabha

India's strategic oil reserves at 64% capacity, govt informs Rajya Sabha

India's strategic oil reserves, designed to provide cover for about 9.5 days of supplies during disruptions or price shocks, are currently sitting at only two-thirds capacity, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday. India, the world's third-largest energy consumer and heavily dependent on imports for about 88 per cent of its crude oil needs, has built strategic underground storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes across three locations -- Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Mangaluru and Padur in Karnataka -- to store crude oil used for producing fuels such as petrol and diesel. "Quantity of the crude available in the caverns varies depending on market conditions," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said in a written reply in the Upper House. "Currently, ISPRL has around 3.372 million tonnes of crude stock available, which is around 64 per cent of the total storage capacity." Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) is the speci

Shah to table CAPF bill on recruitment, promotion in Rajya Sabha on Monday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will introduce in the Rajya Sabha on Monday an "umbrella law" for central armed police forces (CAPFs) to regulate recruitment, deputation, promotion and other conditions of services of their officers, according to the List of Business issued by the House. All the CAPFs -- CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB -- are governed by their respective Acts. The rules under these Acts govern the recruitment and conditions of service of Group A General Duty Officers and other officers and members in the CAPFs. The Central Armed Police Forces (General Administration) Bill, 2026, provides that for the purposes of appointment of officers from the Indian Police Service in CAPFs, 50 per cent of the posts will be filled by deputation in the rank of Inspector General and a minimum of 67 per cent of the posts will be filled by deputation in the rank of Additional Director General. The posts in the ranks of Special Director General and Director General shall be filled by deputation

Nitish Kumar files nomination for JD(U) president, likely to be unopposed

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has filed his nomination for the post of JD(U) president as he prepares to return to national politics with his election to the Rajya Sabha. JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha submitted Kumar's nomination at the party's central office here on Thursday. Jha is one of the proposers for Kumar. The Bihar chief minister did not come to Delhi to file his nomination. Party sources said Kumar is set to be elected unopposed, as there is hardly any possibility of anyone else filing the nomination for the post. JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said the last date for filing of nomination for the post is March 22 white the last date for withdrawal of candidature is March 24. The scrutiny of the documents of the candidates will be done on March 23, he said. "The counting of votes will take place on March 27 if any other candidate files a nomination. So far, only one (Nitish Kumar's) nomination has been filed," he told PTI. Kumar

Congress issues notices to 4 Haryana MLAs over cross-voting in Rajya Sabha

The Congress has issued show-cause notices to four of its Haryana MLAs who allegedly cross-voted during the recent Rajya Sabha elections. The action comes after the party on Wednesday named four out of the five legislators it suspected of defying the official line. The name of the fifth MLA has not been disclosed yet. Of this, two MLAs on Thursday denied that they had cross-voted and said that their names are being dragged into the episode unnecessarily. The party has directed the four legislators to reply within a week of receiving the notices and explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them. "We have served show-cause notices to the four party MLAs," Dharampal Malik, chairman of the state Congress disciplinary committee, told PTI over phone. The notices state that it has been brought to the attention of the party leadership that the MLAs allegedly cast their vote in a manner contrary to prescribed procedures and official direction issued by the party, ...

‘There's no full stop in politics’: PM Modi bids farewell to 59 Rajya Sabha MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday praised the contributions of retiring Rajya Sabha members, saying their experience and participation strengthened parliamentary traditions.

Watch EAM S Jaishankar's statement on West Asia conflict | Rajya Sabha | US-Iran war | Israel | Oil

India advocates de-escalation and return to dialogue and diplomacy, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday on the widening West Asia conflict, while stressing on respect for sovereignty

Watch: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar files Rajya Sabha nomination

Bihar saw a major political development on Thursday as the sitting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah present at the even

'There's no full stop in politics': PM bids farewell to 59 Rajya Sabha MPs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi bid farewell to retiring Rajya Sabha MPs as senior leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Sharad Pawar, and several others completed their terms in the Upper House

Odisha Congress suspends 3 MLAs for cross-voting; BJD calls PAC meet

Odisha Congress suspends three MLAs over cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls, while BJD calls a PAC meeting amid political tensions and reported dissent within ranks

India not facing energy crisis, domestic LPG capacity ramped up: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said supply remains steady, citing economic resilience and policy measures

BJP's Sanjay Bhatia, Congress' Karamvir Singh elected for RS from Haryana

BJP's Sanjay Bhatia and Congress party's Karamvir Singh Boudh have been declared elected to two Rajya Sabha seats in keenly watched elections as developments unfolded over allegations of violation of vote secrecy. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, in a late-night press conference, congratulated both the leaders on their win. Calling the elections interesting, Saini slammed the Congress, accusing it of holding its MLAs captive and transferring them to different places, referring to the shifting of Congress legislators from Himachal Pradesh. "I have seen for the first time that Congress did not trust its MLAs", he claimed. The Congress is "finished", and it has "no future", Saini said. The chief minister also lashed out at the INLD for abstaining from voting and said it acted as a "B team" of the Congress. The INLD indirectly supported the Congress, he claimed. Replying to a question on the Independent candidate, Saini said, "How could they stop anyone from contesting th

Four elected to Rajya Sabha from Odisha amid cross-voting allegations

Two BJP candidates, one BJD nominee and an Independent backed by BJP win seats as contest for fourth berth ends in a tie and is decided by second-preference votes

Rajya Sabha to observe holiday on March 19-20, to sit on March 28-29

The Rajya Sabha will function on the weekend on March 28-29 as the government has accepted the request of some members not to hold sittings on March 19-20 on account of festivals, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan informed members on Monday. During a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held on March 11, 2026, certain members had suggested that in view of several festivals such as Navaratri, Gudipadwa, Ramadan etc, starting from March 19, it would be inappropriate to hold sittings of the House. "I wish to inform the members that the request made in this regard has been considered favourably by the government. Accordingly, the sittings of the Council scheduled for Thursday, 19 March 2026, and Friday, 20 March 2026, stands cancelled. "However, in order to make up for the time so lost, the Council will instead sit on Saturday, 28 March 2026, and Sunday, 29 March 2026. Members may kindly take note of the same," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

Rajya Sabha elections for 37 seats today; voting for 11, others unopposed

Voting will now take place for the remaining 11 seats, including five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana

House panel on subordinate legislation examining CCI commitment regulations

Rajya Sabha panel on subordinate legislation has begun examining the Competition Commission of India's commitment regulations that allow firms to avoid abuse of dominance investigations

Odisha Congress shifts MLAs to Karnataka resort ahead of Rajya Sabha polls

Nine Congress MLAs have been moved to a Karnataka resort amid fears of cross-voting and horse-trading ahead of the closely contested Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha

Census 2027 to record transgender heads of households, govt tells RS

The upcoming Census will collect data on sex of head of household--Male, Female and Transgender, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, in a written response, said Census 2027 will be conducted in two phases. The questions for the first phase, which covers Houselisting and Housing Census, have been notified. "Information on Housing condition, Household particulars including name and sex of the head of the household, amenities available and assets possessed by household will be collected in this phase. Three categories of sex of head of household viz. Male/Female/Transgender will be collected," Rai said. Questions for the second phase, which is Population Enumeration where information of each individual will be collected, will be notified in due course, he added. The minister said enumerators shall undertake house-to-house field visits in the entire enumeration area for the collection of Census data to avoid any exclusion on any

AAP MP Raghav Chadha urgers govt to open Udan Yatri Cafes at more airports

The Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha on Monday urged the government to ensure that more Udan Yatri Cafes are opened at airports across the country to provide affordable eating options to passengers. Raising the issue in the special mentions in Rajya Sabha, he lauded the Udan Yatri Cafes, a government-backed initiative providing affordable, high-quality snacks and beverages at major Indian airports. Chadha, however, said that the "ground reality" is that these cafes are only there at a few airports. "Usually, passengers eat in the waiting area before boarding, but the Udan Yatri cafes are before check-in and security, so passengers are not able to use them," he said. "Due to limited counters, there are long queues, especially during peak traffic hours. Further, the limited menu options and capacity constraints restrict accessibility," he added. Chadha urged the government to ensure these affordable cafes are opened at all airports and are made more accessible.

As Nitish Kumar eyes Rajya Sabha seat, a look at the longest-serving CMs

Nitish Kumar, Bihar's longest-serving CM, does not feature among India's top five longest-serving chief ministers and currently ranks eighth with a cumulative tenure of 19 years and 199 days

Day after Nitish filed RS nomination, JD(U) workers continue to vent spleen

JD(U) workers on Friday continued to protest the decision of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to enter the Rajya Sabha, a move seen as signalling the end of his more than two-and-a-half-decade-long stint in Bihar politics. At the JD(U) office here, situated right across the street from the BJP's state headquarters, irate party workers staged a demonstration alleging that "traitors" had hatched a "conspiracy" with the alliance partner to "get rid of" their leader, who had been an eyesore for the "powerful liquor lobby" ever since he brought prohibition. "There are some people in our party who are playing the role of Jaichand (12th-century Rajput chieftain who aided Afghan invader Muhammad Ghori). One is in the Union cabinet, and the other has come from the BJP and is lording over us now", an irate JD(U) worker alleged. The allusion was to Union minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan, an old aide of Nitish Kumar and a former party president, and Sanjay Kumar Jha, the JD(U)'s working ...