Page 11 - Parliament

Nepal's PM 'Prachanda' to take vote of confidence in parliament today

Nepal's newly-appointed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' would seek a vote of confidence in the parliament on Tuesday, amid uncertainty over the support from his allies. The 68-year-old CPN-Maoist Centre leader was sworn in as the Prime Minister for the third time on December 26 after he dramatically walked out of the pre-poll alliance led by the Nepali Congress and joined hands with opposition leader K P Sharma Oli. Nepal's first Parliament session after the appointment of Prime Minister Prachanda began here on Monday. The Nepali Congress - the largest political party in parliament - is likely to vote in support of Prime Minister Prachanda while staying on the opposition bench, My Republica newspaper reported. Prime Minister Prachanda on Monday met Nepali Congress chief Sher Bahadur Deuba and sought his support in parliament, the paper said. "Deuba has said that our party will take a decision whether to support the new government after the parliamentary party meeting

New Parliament building to be ready by January-end, say govt sources

The new Parliament building will be ready by the end of January and finishing touches to its interior are being given at a very fast pace, government sources said on Monday. They said the decision on whether the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament will be held in the new building or the existing one is yet to be taken. The new Parliament building is part of the redevelopment of the Central Vista, the nation's power corridor. Revamping the three-km Rajpath from the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the India Gate, constructing a common central secretariat, a new office and residence of the prime minister, and a new vice-president enclave are also part of the project being executed by the CPWD, which comes under the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. "The new Parliament building will be ready by the end of this month. The internal finishing work is going on at a very fast pace," a government source said. The construction work had begun two years ago. Another source said on Monday that

Big Tech uneasy over call for introduction of a digital competition law

Govt studying Parl panel's recommendations to introduce new rule to ensure transparency

Second part of budget session likely to be held in new parliament building

The new Parliament building is likely to be inaugurated in March, when the House convenes for the second part of the Budget Session. Officials said work was going on in full swing on Parliament building and is expected to be completed by February. The second part of the Budget session is likely to be held in the new Parliament building, sources said. The Budget session is conventionally held in two parts -- the first part usually commences on January 30 or 31 with the address of the President to the joint sitting of the two Houses. The Union Budget is tabled on February 1. The first part usually concludes on February 8 or 9. The second part of the session usually commences in the second week of January and continues till early May. Parliamentary sources said the part two of the session is likely to be held in the new Parliament building which has come up adjacent to the present structure. Last month, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said constructi

Frame rehabilitation policy for Kashmir's houseboat owners: Parl panel

A parliamentary committee has recommended formulation of a rehabilitation policy for Kashmir's houseboat owners who want to leave their traditional business and go for alternative livelihood opportunities. A houseboat is designed or modified to be used primarily as a guest house and found on the famous Dal Lake and other water bodies in Kashmir. Most of the houseboats are not motorised as they are usually moored or kept stationary at a fixed point. These are built on deodar wood, which does not decompose in water. "The committee recommends that a rehabilitation policy may also be formulated for those houseboat owners who want to cease their houseboat business," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs said in a report. The panel takes note of the proposal which is under consideration of the government for providing timber to the houseboat owners at concessional rates for repair or re-construction of their houseboats. The demand of the houseboat owners or 'shikarawalas'

Parl panel concerned over poor fund usage for smart meters manufacturing

A Parliamentary panel has expressed disappointment over poor utilisation of budgetary allocation of the Centre's National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM)

Data Bill to cause a behavioural change in firms: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

MeitY to come up with all rules of the bill before tabling the bill in the parliament: MoS IT

Winter session: Both houses adjourned sine die, 6 days ahead of schedule

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on Friday, six days ahead of schedule. The Winter Session of Parliament, which commenced on December 7, was to otherwise end on December 29. Before adjourning the House sine die (indefinitely), Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the productivity of the House was 102 per cent. The House held 13 sittings totalling 64 hours 50 minutes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge were present in the House.

Winter Session ends: PM, other leaders attend meeting hosted by LS Speaker

Prime minister Narendra Modi, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and other leaders on Friday attended the customary meeting at Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's chamber at the end of the Winter Session

Parliament panel raises concerns over production of electric locomotives

Raising concerns over missed targets in electric locomotive production during this financial year, a parliamentary standing committee has asked the Railway Ministry to closely monitor the manufacturing capacity of production units. The Standing Committee on Railways, in its report presented in Parliament on Thursday, noted that with the national transporter heading towards 100 per cent electrification on broad-gauge lines, the requirement of diesel locomotives would reduce substantially, while that of the electric ones would increase to a great extent. The committee also noted that the Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) and the Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW) were given targets to manufacture 450 and 200 electric locomotives for 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. While BLW manufactured 104 electric locos during the 2021-22 financial year till February 2022, PLW manufactured 331, it said. "The committee are of the firm belief that manufacturing of electric locos should be accorded highest

Parliament passes Bill to give tribal status to Betta-Karuba community

Parliament passed a bill on Thursday to include "Betta-Kuruba" along with "Kadu Kuruba" in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka. The Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2022 through a voice vote on Thursday. The Lok Sabha had, on December 19, passed the bill that was piloted by Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda in the Upper House. The minister said the bill seeks to provide justice to the Betta-Kuruba community of Karnataka, which has only about 5,000 members living in the southern state. "The state government of Karnataka has requested to include 'Betta-Kuruba' community as a synonym of 'Kadu Kuruba' in entry 16 in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Karnataka," said the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. Responding to the issues raised by Opposition members, Munda alleged that the Congress has not done anything for the welfare of the tribal community and is now shedding crocodile tears. Munda said the Narendra Modi

Number of road accidents rises to 4,12,432 in 2021 from 3,66,138 in 2020

The number of road accidents in the country rose to 4,12,432 in 2021 from 3,66,138 in 2020, Parliament was informed on Thursday. The road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said that the number of road accidents reported in the country in 2019 was 4,49,002. The minister noted that the ministry has taken major initiatives based on road engineering to restructure and strengthen road safety in the country. Replying to a separate question, Gadkari said the ministry is not considering shutting down any ongoing National Highway (NH) project. "However, in some cases, projects that are delayed substantially due to some reason(s), are either foreclosed or terminated on caseto case basis and those projects are usually re-awarded subsequently as separate work," he said. Replying to another question, he said the total number of vehicles scrapped at Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities (RVSFs) till date is 5,215. The minister said eight RVSFs

Parliamentary panel suggests evaluation of competitive behaviour ex ante

The committee, which is headed by BJP MP Jayant Sinha, has further recommended that an SIDI must not favour its own offers over the offers of its competitors when mediating access to supply and sales

Oppn floor leaders to meet today in Parl to discuss further strategies

Disappointed over not being allowed to take up the issue of Chinese transgression in Arunachal Pradesh border in Parliament, the Opposition floor leaders have decided to meet on Thursday

Chadha seeks discussion in Parl on Covid surge, demands ban on flights

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on Thursday gave a Suspension of Notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Rajya Sabha

Maiden Pharma cough syrup row: Gambian Parliament seeks legal action

WHO, however, said samples tested in Ghana and Switzerland were found to be contaminated

Parliament passes anti-piracy bill to ensure India's maritime security

Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill which provides for prevention of maritime piracy and stringent punishment to those convicted of such crimes. The Rajya Sabha passed the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill 2022 by voice vote on Wednesday. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday. Moving the bill for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said it has provisions for the prevention of maritime piracy, will strengthen India's maritime security and give it an effective legal instrument to combat the menace. The bill will also enable the country fulfil its international obligations and improve India's standing at global forums. "Ensuring maritime security is key to safeguard India's security and economic wellbeing," he said. The bill was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019 and referred to the Standing Committee on External Affairs for examination. Jaishankar said the ministry had held several rounds of extensive ...

Scheme on compressed biogas plants lacks clarity: Parliamentary panel

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas has expressed displeasure over slow pace of government's scheme on compressed biogas 'SATAT'

Action against 2,724 corrupt officials in 2021, Govt tells Parliament

Action has been taken against 2,724 corrupt officials, including 248 cases of prosecution sanction in the year 2021, says govt

RS nominates 10 members to panel on Multi-State Cooperative Societies Bill

Rajya Sabha on Wednesday nominated 10 members to the joint committee of Parliament to examine the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Lok Sabha Tuesday referred the Bill to the committee. Cooperation Minister Amit Shah had said 21 members of the joint panel will be from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. While moving the motion in the Upper House, Minister of State for Cooperation B L Verma named the 10 members of the Rajya Sabha who will be in the joint panel. These members are Ghanshyam Tiwari, Surendra Singh Nagar, Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik and Ram Chander Jangra of the BJP, Rajani Ashokrao Patil of the Congress, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of the Trinamool Congress, N R Elango of the DMK, Vikramjit Singh Sahney of the AAP, Sujeet Kumar of the BJD and S Niranjan Reddy of the YSRCP. The Upper House adopted a motion for nomination to the joint committee of Parliament on this Bill through a voice vote. The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bi