Page 5 - Winter Session

Maharashtra Winter Session: Oppn stages protest against ban on onion export

Opposition legislators on Monday staged a protest on steps of the Vidhan Bhavan building here in Maharashtra against the ban on export of onions by the Centre. Some of the legislators wore garlands made of onions as a mark of protest, before the House proceedings began on the third day of winter session of the state legislature. Leader of opposition in the legislative assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, LoP in the legislative council Ambadas Danve, NCP leader Anil Deshmukh and many other leaders participated in the protest. They raised slogans against the government while demanding a roll-back of the ban on export of onions, proper price for the key kitchen staple and assistance for farmers. The Centre has banned onion exports till March 31, 2024, to increase domestic availability and keep prices in check. Talking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Danve claimed the central government's policy of ban on onion export was "anti-farmer". The onion farmers were suffering, he said, ad

LIVE: Cong holds meeting to review party's performance in Assembly polls

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Making technical changes: MEA on Hamas designation question in Lok Sabha

A technical correction is being made mentioning V Muraleedharan's name as the minister who replied to a Parliament question on the designation of Hamas, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Saturday. The clarification from MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came hours after Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi said she did not approve any answer to the question. Both Lekhi and Muraleedharan are ministers of state in the MEA. Responding to a post on X, Lekhi on Saturday said she did not approve any answer to the question and said an "inquiry will reveal the culprit". "We have noted that Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 980 answered on December 8 needs a technical correction in terms of reflecting V Muraleedharan as the Minister of State replying to the Parliament question. This is being suitably undertaken," Bagchi said. His response came on media queries on the matter. The written answer to the unstarred question number 980, uploaded on the Lok Sabha's website, was attributed to

LIVE: Top Congress brass reviews poll defeats in Chhattisgarh, MP

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Crypto wrap: Cryptocurrency in Parliament; Bitcoin's surge to 18-month high

This week, in reply to a question in the Parliament in the ongoing Winter Session, the Centre revealed that as many as 28 Virtual Digital Assets service providers have registered themselves with FIU

LIVE: Supreme Court to deliver verdict on scraping of Article 370 on Dec 11

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India's Q2 growth rate highest in world; fundamentals strong: FM Sitharaman

The finance minister also informed the Rajya Sabha that the manufacturing sector in India had registered its highest growth of 13.9 per cent in Q2FY24

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

Govt to move Bill to establish Central University in Telangana in Lok Sabha

Also, BJP MP Chhedi Paswan will lay the Statements of the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (2023-24)

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

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Coal import drops 5% in Apr-Sep period to 125.21 MT: Govt in Parliament

Country's coal import has registered a drop of five per cent at 125.21 million tonnes (MT) in the April-September period of the ongoing financial year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, coal and power minister Pralhad Joshi said that, had the production through auction, commercial coal auction not started, then as per compound annual growth rate (CAGR) there would have been a need to import 150 million tonnes (MT) of coal, but the country has actually imported only 125.21 MT of coal during the April-September period of 2023-24. "In the current year 2023-24, coal import up to the month of September 2023, was 125.21 MT, which is a decline of 5 per cent over the corresponding period last year," the minister said. The government has taken several measures to substitute coal imports. There is a thrust on enhancement of domestic coal production which is key to achieve self-reliance and reduce dependence on imported coal. In 2022-23, coal ...

Wide stakeholder consultations needed to frame national e-comm policy: Govt

E-commerce is an emerging and dynamic sector and wide stakeholder consultations are required for formulation of a national policy on the sector, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that a draft e-commerce policy was placed in public domain on February 23, 2019 for public consultations. "Suggestions have been received from various stakeholders. Since e-commerce is an emerging and dynamic sector, wide stakeholder consultations are required for formulation of National e-Commerce Policy," he said. The minister added that the government has implemented several legislative and policy measures for streamlining and regulating e-commerce industry in the country. Some of these measures are FDI policy; Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999; Consumer Protection Act, 2019; Competition Act, 2002; and Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. "Provisions of the Competition Act are applicable in res

Govt seeks nod from LS for additional spending of Rs 58,378 cr this fiscal

The government on Wednesday sought Lok Sabha nod for a net additional spending of Rs 58,378 crore in the current fiscal. The first batch of supplementary demands for grants for 2023-24 fiscal was tabled in the lower house of the parliament by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary. The supplementary demands for grants include gross additional spending of over Rs 1.29 lakh crore, which would be matched by savings of Rs 70,968 crore. The proposal involves the net cash outgo aggregating to Rs 58,378.21 crore, said the document tabled in Lok Sabha. The additional spending includes an expenditure of Rs 13,351 crore towards fertiliser subsidy.

DMK MP Senthil Kumar expresses regret for north-south divide remark

DMK MP D N V Senthil Kumar on Wednesday expressed regret in the Lok Sabha over his controversial 'north-south divide' remark which had sparked a backlash. Kumar had on Tuesday used a pejorative to describe Hindi heartland states while attacking the ruling BJP. His comments led to ruckus and adjournment in the House, and were expunged by Speaker Om Birla later. MPs from the ruling BJP created a ruckus over the issue on Wednesday, and the House witnessed a brief adjournment during the Question Hour over the issue. At 12 noon, when the House reassembled for the Zero Hour, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal raised the issue, and asked if DMK leader TR Baalu, and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi agree with the comments. Demanding an apology, he said, "Is TR Baalu standing with him? Is Rahul Gandhi standing with him? Voters have made BJP victorious in three states, and this is what they say. This is the thinking of dividing India in north and south. We will not allow it," he said. Baalu, who

LIVE news: Revanth Reddy to take oath as Telangana CM on December 7

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Winter session: Centre to move J-K reservation bills in LS for passage

Both the Bills, as per the list of business in the Lower House, are to be moved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah for consideration

Winter session: Kharge calls meeting of parliamentary leaders of 'INDIA'

Meanwhile, the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament saw two bills being passed with the Rajya Sabha also deciding to discontinue suspension of AAP MP Raghav Chadha

LIVE: Foxconn halts iPhone production at India facility due to heavy rains

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CPI (M) raises Silkyara tunnel incident in Rajya Sabha, demands fair probe

CPI (M) Member of Parliament P V Sivadasan in Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of collapse of Uttrakhand's Silkyara tunnel and demanded an inquiry into the incident alleging that safety measures were not implemented by the company concerned. A part of the Uttarkashi tunnel -- around 200 metres from the entrance -- had collapsed on November 12 trapping 41 workers. A rescue team pulled out all trapped workers on November 28 in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Sivadasan termed the incident very painful and accused the tunnelling company of violating all security measures, rules and norms. "...transparent and fair inquiry is very necessary," said the MP from Communist Party of India - Marxist. Silkyara was the not the sole incident and such events have happened before in the area, he said. Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP said Sivadasan may have his own views on the incident, but the

Dhankhar reconstitutes panel of vice-chairpersons with 50% women MPs

Dhankhar made the announcement regarding the reconstituted panel in the Upper House on the first day of the Winter Session of the Parliament