Page 13 - Lok Sabha

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demands discussion on internal security in LS

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday demanded a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the country's internal security situation. Speaking in the House, Chowdhury alleged that the security situation from Kashmir to Punjab has worsened and the number of terror camps has increased in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 377. "The law and order is worsening in the country so there should be a discussion (in the House) on internal security situation," Chowdhury said. Speaking during the Zero Hour, Harsimrat Kaur Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal) demanded that government consult farmers before proceeding with the amendments in the Electricity (amendment) Bill, 2022. She said the Government had given written assurances to the farmers following which they withdrew their year-long agitation in December 2021. "The Government has not acted on the written assurances given to farmers in December last year and the farmers are getting ready for further agitation," Badal said. Preneet Kaur (IN

Adjournment motion notice in LS to discuss judiciary-govt confrontation

Manish Tewari stated that such statements prima facie undermine the faith in our country's highest court and the justice system in general

BJP to win, secure 404 seats in 2024 Lok Sacha elections: GVL Narasimha Rao

BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao on Saturday said that the results of the Gujarat Assembly elections are a testimony that Narendra Modi will return as the Prime Minister for the third time in 2024

1,000 Khelo India centres to open across India next year: Anurag Thakur

The minister said as compared to 2014, when the budget of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports was Rs 1,219 crore, it had increased to 3,062 crore for the year 2022-23

No plan as of now to bring All India Judicial Service, says govt

Due to divergence of opinion amongst the various stakeholders, there is no proposal "at this juncture" to bring an All-India Judicial Service to select judges of lower courts, the government said in Lok Sabha on Friday. The government has been pushing for an all-India judicial service on the lines of IAS and IPS to select judges or judicial officers for subordinate courts. "In view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst stakeholders, there is no such proposal of All India Judicial Service at this juncture," Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply. According to the government, "a properly framed" All India Judicial Service is important to strengthen the overall justice delivery system. "This will give an opportunity for induction of suitably qualified fresh legal talent selected through a proper all-India merit selection system as well as address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalised and deprived sections of society," the

More than 50 private member bills introduced in Lok Sabha on Dec 9

More than 50 private member bills, including the one seeking to revert to the old system of voting through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), were introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday. The bill to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was introduced by BSP member Danish Ali. The other bills were related to shutdown of internet, loan waiver and prevention of mob lynching. DMK's Thamizhachi Thangapandian introduced a bill to provide for setting up of an effective system to prevent internet shutdown and procedural safeguards to bring greater transparency and accountability for the shutdown. Congress member Dean Kuriakose introduced a bill for setting up of a board for the identification of loans to be waived as a one-time measure in national interest within the country. E T Mohammed Basheer of the IUML introduced a bill to prevent mob lynching and provide adequate punishment for persons committing mob lynching with a view to instill a sense of fear a

4 bills introduced in Lok Sabha to revise ST lists in as many states

Four separate bills were introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday to revise the lists of Scheduled Tribes in as many states. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda introduced the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bills for Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill seeks to to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tamil Nadu. Similarly, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill aims to provide for inclusion of certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Himachal Pradesh. Another bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. The fourth bill aims to include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Chhattisgarh. From time to time, the government brings such bills to give effect to modifications proposed by various states in relation to the ST list.

Over 155k cattle deaths so far this year due to lumpy skin disease: Govt

Over 1.55 lakh cattle have died in the country this year so far due to lumpy skin disease (LSD), the government informed the Rajya Sabha. LSD is a contagious viral disease that affects cattle and causes fever and nodules on the skin. It can also lead to death. "As per the latest 20th Livestock census, the cattle population in the country is approximately 19.34 crores," Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Minister Parshottam Rupala said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Cattle deaths due to lumpy skin disease in the country during the year 2022 stands at 1,55,366. As per the data, Rajasthan saw the most cattle deaths at 75,819, followed by Maharashtra (24,430), Punjab (17,932), Karnataka (12,244), Himachal Pradesh (10,681), Gujarat (6,193), Haryana (2,937) and Jammu & Kashmir (2,698). "Lumpy Skin Disease was reported initially from Odisha in September, 2019," he added. As gathered from the states/UTs, the number of cases and vaccinations done during 2022 stood at ...

No report of starvation deaths from states and UTs, Smriti Irani tells LS

There is no report of starvation deaths from states and Union Territories, the government informed the Lok Sabha on Friday. Responding to a question, Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani said the Global Hunger Index did not reflect India's true picture as it was a flawed measure of "hunger". It should not be taken at face value as it is neither appropriate nor representative of hunger prevalent in a country, she said. India ranked 107th of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index - 2022 with its child wasting rate, at 19.3 per cent, being the highest in the world. "There is no report of starvation deaths from states/UTs," Irani said in a written reply in response to a question on the number of starvation-related deaths among children and adults in India since 2014. Responding to another question, Irani provided data as per which 140,575 children went missing since 2019 and 125,445 children had been recovered during the same period.

No conclusive data to show correlation of death due to air pollution: Govt

There is no conclusive data available to establish a direct correlation of death or disease exclusively due to air pollution, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar told the Lok Sabha on Friday. The minister, however, said air pollution is one of the many factors affecting respiratory ailments and associated diseases. Health is impacted by a number of factors which includes food habits, occupational habits, socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc., of the individuals apart from the environment, Pawar said in a written reply. "There is no conclusive data available to establish a direct correlation of death/disease exclusively due to air pollution. "While air pollution is known to be one of the aggravating factors for many respiratory ailments, specific information on the number of deaths exclusively due to air pollution is not available," Pawar said. Pawar listed several steps taken by the government to address air pollution issues such as Pradhan

Cancer screening, treatment affected due to Covid, picking up again: Govt

Cancer screenings and treatment were affected due to Covid but the screening services have gone up post-pandemic, Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Pawar informed Lok Sabha on Friday. Replying to a supplementary question in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, she said the government is focusing on increasing screenings and early detection of cancer. "Due to Covid, cancer screenings and treatment were affected. After Covid, screenings have increased," Pawar said. She said cancer screening services are being provided through 1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres (HWC) across the country. Through these HWCs, 16 crore cases of oral cancer, eight crore cases of breast cancer and around 5.53 crore cases of cervical cancer have been detected, the minister said. "Whether it is rural or urban areas, these services need to be increased. In that view, we are going to increase our 1.5 lakh HWCs throughout the country and through that, we are providing very good screening services," she

'500%' improvement in passport services under Modi govt: MoS Muraleedharan

Passport services in the country have improved by "500 per cent" ever since the Modi government came to power in 2014, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Friday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has been continuously working to speed up issuance of passports, the minister said in Lok Sabha during Question Hour. He also said that as many as 32 million Indians or Indian origin people live abroad and the Ministry of External Affairs has been rendering services to all of them. "Passport services have improved very much in the last eight years, I would say 500 per cent. The number of offices which process passport applications was 110 before 2014 and the number now stands at above 550," Muraleedharan said. He said the MEA is working continuously to speed up passport issuance and meet high or seasonal demand for passports by taking various steps including organising special drives or melas on weekends. Since June, a total of 234 passport melas hav

FM to present statement on demands for grants for current fiscal in LS

She will also present a statement showing excess demands for grants for 2019-20 in the Lower House

Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice in LS on face-off with judiciary

Amid the ongoing friction on the issue of appointment of judges, the Supreme Court told the Centre that Collegium system was the "law of the land", which should be followed

Top Headlines: No census before LS polls, HUL's health and wellbeing foray

Business Standard brings you the top headlines at this hour

Gujarat election result 2022: Bhupendra Patel firmly in the saddle

Patel's work was hyper-local - which left leaders like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to emphasise how the BJP had managed to propel India to the centre stage globally

LPG connections up to 325 million: Union minister Puri tells Lok Sabha

Number of LPG connections increased from 14 crore in 2014 to 32.5 crore this year. Of these, 9.6 crore connections were provided under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Lok Sabha on Thursday. To create awareness and improve LPG usage among PMUY beneficiaries, the government and Oil Marketing Companies organised LPG panchayats, social media campaigns and public events across the country, the minister for petroleum and natural gas said during the Question Hour. Highlighting the steps taken by the government to encourage LPG consumption, Puri said a subsidy of Rs 200 on 14.2 kg refill up to 12 refills per year had been given for 2022-23, in addition to the options of 5 kg Double Bottle Connection and swap from 14.2 kg to 5 Kg, upto three free refills under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package from April to December 2020. The PMUY was launched in 2016. Despite rise in international prices, he said, the government maintained a lower gas ..

Congress, TMC raise issue of denial of Parliament panel chairmanship in LS

The Congress and Trinamool Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of the two parties being denied parliamentary standing committee chairmanship as has been the convention in the past. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the winter session of Parliament, Leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay flagged changes made in the composition of the committees in October. "The convention of appointing chairman of parliamentary committees from opposition parties is being done away with," Chowdhury said. Bandyopadhyay said that despite the TMC being one of the largest party in the Lok Sabha, it was informed by the Parliamentary Affairs Ministry that it will not be given chairmanship of any committee. In a reconstitution of parliamentary panels, notified by secretariats of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, chairpersons of several committees were changed in the Congress. The Congress and TMC had lost chairmanship of four key parliamentary pan

Coal import by power sector rose to 39 MT in Apr-Oct FY23: Centre to LS

Import of coal by the power sector has increased in ongoing financial year and the sector imported 38.84 million tonne (MT) of the dry fuel in April-October period, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. "...import of coal by the power sector increased during current financial year of 2022-23. As against the total import of 27 MT by power sector in entire year of 2021-22, the import of coal by power sector in first 7 months increased to 38.84 MT," Coal Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a written reply to Lok Sabha. However, much of the rise in import has gone to feed domestic coal-based plants, and the restoration of power generation by imported coal-based plants to its potential level has remained slow. As per the current import policy, coal is kept under open general licence and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice as per their contractual prices on payment of applicable duty. The Centre does not interfere in this matter. However, the power ministry had

Mainpuri by-polls 2022: Security beefed up, sensitive booths identified

Ahead of the high-octane Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypolls on Monday, the administration has stepped up the security with heavy deployment of the security forces, according to an official on Sunday