Page 33 - Rajya Sabha

Govt moves Bill to regulate poll body authorities' appointment conditions

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, in the Upper House

Rajya Sabha passes J-K reservation, reorganisation amendment bills

Today, Supreme Court upheld the intention behind Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Bill, 2019, its constitutional validity and the process said Shah in Rajya Sabha

SC takes note of end of suspension of Raghav Chadha from RS, closes plea

The Supreme Court on Monday took note of the supervening development about revocation of the indefinite suspension of AAP MP Raghav Chadha from the Rajya Sabha on December 4 and disposed of his plea contesting it. The Rajya Sabha had on December 4 adopted by a voice vote the motion moved by BJP member GVL Narasimha Rao to end the suspension of Chadha, a member of the upper house from Punjab. The MP was held guilty by the Privileges Committee of presenting "misleading" facts to the media, and was allowed to attend the House proceedings after his suspension was withdrawn. As soon as a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took up Chadha's plea, his counsel Shadan Farasat submitted that his suspension stands revoked. In view of the supervening development, the petition has become infructuous. The petition is disposed of, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. The lawyer thanked the bench for its intervention in the matter. Earlie

Winter session: Amit Shah to table 2 J-K Bills in Rajya Sabha today

The House will also see Ministers making statements on the status of the implementation of various reports and several private members move for leave to introduce Bills

IT modernisation of Postal Department has costed Rs 445 cr so far: Govt

Expenditure to the tune of Rs 445.4 crore has been incurred so far this fiscal for the IT modernisation project of the Department of Posts, Parliament was informed on Friday. IT modernisation project 2.0 was approved in February 2022 by the government for the continuation of the technology project in the Department of Posts with a total outlay of Rs 5,785 crore for eight years, Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha. The expenditure for 2022-23 stood at Rs 1,087.48 crore, and for 2023-24 (so far), it was Rs 445.41 crore. The IT modernisation project is implemented centrally pan-India, and hence state-wise expenditure is not applicable, the minister said. Quantifiable targets achieved in the last five years include central connectivity of the Post Office network through a dedicated Wide Area Network. Moreover, mail operations are digitalised, including delivery through the Android-based Postman Mobile Application, and department

Govt continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade pacts: RS told

The government is continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade agreements with key countries to expand its share in world commerce, Parliament was informed on Friday. These initiatives include bilateral meetings, stakeholder consultations, and the exchange of trade data, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. She also said a number of bilateral meetings have been held with the Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU) to discuss the trade agreement. Draft texts and terms of reference have been exchanged. "EaEU's trade data from January 2022 onwards, necessary to determine the scope of the agreement and potential gains from the agreement, is awaited from EaEU," she said, adding that "the government is continuously taking initiatives to conclude trade agreements with significant trade partners, including EaEU, with a view to expanding its share in world trade". In a separate reply, the minister said India's mobile phone exports h

Over 290,000 vacancies filled up in Railways in last 5 years till Sept 30

The requirement of manpower in different categories also differs based on changes in priorities and technology upgrades

Ignorant forces depriving Muslim, Christian women of dignity: BJP leader

The Uniform Civil Code has no relation with any religious practices or marriage customs. It is only related to humanity," Yadav said

Winter session: Dept-related Parl Standing Committees to lay reports in RS

The House will also see Ministers making statements on the status of the implementation of various reports and several private members move for leave to introduce Bills

Govt in process of clearing 112 names HC judges: Law Minister Meghwal

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday told the Rajya Sabha that the government is in the process of filling up 112 vacant posts of High Court judges. Appointment of judges in higher judiciary is a collaborative and integrated process involving the executive and the judiciary. It requires consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities, he said during the Question Hour in the Upper House. Meghwal said the total sanctioned strength of high court judges is 1,114 out of which 790 posts are filled while 234 are vacant, he said. Different High Court Collegiums have recommended 292 names out of which, 110 have been appointed while 112 are in the process, the law minister added. He told the House that the sanctioned strength of judges in the Supreme Court is 34 and all of them are filled up as of now. Meghawal also mentioned that the Narendra Modi government raised the sanctioned strength of judges for both the High Courts and the Supreme Court. During the UP

Shah to move Bills on J-K in RS, discussion on economic situation to go on

The two bills were earlier passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday

LIVE: 50,000 to stage protest in Delhi to demand hike in minimum pension

Catch all the latest updates LIVE from across the globe here

10 BJP MPs elected to assemblies quit Parl amid suspense over new roles

BJP had fielded 21 of its MPs in the Assembly polls - seven each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, four in Chhattisgarh, and three in Telangana

Internet connectivity in govt schools at 24.2% in 2021-22: MoS Education

Internet connectivity in government schools in India improved from 5.5 per cent in 2017-18 to 24.2 per cent in 2021-22, with Bihar, Mizoram, Odisha and Telangana being the only states with fewer than 10 per cent government schools having Internet connectivity. The information was shared was shared by Union Minister of State for Education Annapurna Devi in a written reply to a question asked by the BJP's Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik in the Rajya Sabha. According to the Union Ministry of Education, apart from the Union Territories -- Puducherry and Chandigarh, which recorded 100 per cent Internet connectivity in government schools -- Delhi is the only state in the list. Other states with high Internet penetration in government schools are Kerala (94.6 per cent) and Gujarat (94.2 per cent). Rajasthan is the only other state where more than 50 per cent of government schools have Internet connectivity. The lowest in the rung are Bihar (5.9 per cent), Mizoram (6 per cent), Odisha (8.1 per

Ladakh introduced new tech for cultivation in harsh conditions: MHA

"This has considerably brought down the need of bringing vegetables from outside"

Govt to take serious note of dumping of lithium-ion battery waste: Gadkari

The government will take serious note of any report about ill effects of dumping lithium-ion battery waste on the environment and is promoting circular economy for recycling of various waste materials, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The issue of ill effect of lithium-ion battery waste dumping and on workers in manufacturing units of this storage system was raised by Congress member Ranjeet Ranjan during the question hour in the Rajya Sabha. In a supplementary question, Ranjan stated that there is a research report which highlights the ill effect on the health of workers involved in the process of manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. The report also shows that the dumping of these batteries after completing life cycle affects the environment and poisons earth and deteriorates soil fertility, she stated. In response, Gadkari said, "There is no such report or finding with us. If anything of such sort comes to our notice then we will .

228 agri credit societies applied for retail petrol/diesel dealership: Shah

Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said in the Rajya Sabha that around 228 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) have so far applied for retail petrol/diesel dealership. Shah, in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, said the government has allowed PACS to operate retail petrol/diesel outlets and LPG distributorships. In this regard, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued revised guidelines for selection of dealers for regular and rural retail outlets, as well as unified guidelines for selection of LPG distributorship, he said. As per the revised guidelines, PACS have been included under Combined Category 2 (CC-2) for retail petrol/ diesel dealership and Combined Category (CC) for LPG distributorship for which they can apply online as per the advertisements issued by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). Further, PACS have also been given one-time option to convert their wholesale consumer pumps into retail outlets, for which Ministry of Petroleum and Natural

RS to continue discussion on country's economy on Day 3 of Winter Session

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to table a statement showing the Supplementary Demands for Grants, 2023-24, sources said

Opposition members in Lok Sabha seek time-frame for assembly polls in J-K

During the debate, which was initiated by Congress member Amar Singh, several members also said that the government should restore the statehood of Jammu and Kashmir

Banks write off Rs 10.5 trn in 5 yrs, NPA recovery worth Rs 7.1 trn: FinMin

Banks have written off Rs 10.57 lakh crore during the last five financial years, of which Rs 5.52 lakh crore was in respect of loans pertaining to large industries, the government informed the Parliament on Tuesday. "As per RBI data, scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) have written off an aggregate loan amount of Rs 10.57 lakh crore during the last five financial years," Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad said in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The scheduled commercial banks have also recovered Rs 7.15 lakh crore of non-performing assets (NPAs) during the five-year period. "Comprehensive steps have been taken to recover NPAs, enabled by which, SCBs have made an aggregate recovery of Rs 7,15,507 crore (RBI provisional data for FY 2022-23) in NPA accounts, including written-off loans, during the last five financial years," he said. In reply to a separate question, Karad said: "Scheduled commercial banks have written off an aggregate amount of Rs 5.52 lakh crore in resp