Page 12 - Parliament

NIIMH has 448 books on history of medicine, 285 palm leaf manuscripts: Govt

The collection has several classical texts of Ayush systems and European medicine, which includes some early editions, Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal told the Rajya Sabha

Parliament's Winter Session likely to end on December 23, says report

The Winter Session of Parliament is likely to conclude on December 23, a week ahead of schedule, official sources said on Tuesday. The decision to recommend early conclusion of the session was taken at a meeting of Lok Sabha's Business Advisory Committee chaired by Speaker Om Birla, they said. The Winter Session began on December 7 and was originally scheduled to end on December 29. Several Opposition leaders had urged the government and Birla to end the session early, citing Christmas and New Year festivities.

Top 50 wilful defaulters in India owe Rs 92,570 crore to banks: MoS Karad

Karad also said that in the last five years, the banks in India have written off loans worth Rs 10.1 trillion

Bill to amend multi-state cooperative society law may create chaos in LS

A discussion on a bill which seeks to amend the law on multi-state cooperative societies is likely to be a stormy affair in Lok Sabha when the proposed measure comes up for passage this week. With parliamentary sources indicating that the Winter session could conclude on December 23, earlier than scheduled, opposition parties could make a fresh pitch for a discussion on Tawang issue. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses of Parliament. Indian and Chinese troops had clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh on December 9 and the face-off resulted in minor injuries to a few personnel from both sides. The session is officially slated to conclude on December 29. The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to bring transparency and accountability in the sector, was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 7 amidst demands from Opposition MPs that it be referred to a standing committee f

China's attempts at transgression, economy dominate Parliament proceedings

China's attempts at transgression at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, the government's strong desire to have a say in the appointments to the higher judiciary and heated debates on the state of the economy were some of the issues that dominated the Parliament proceedings this week. The Lok Sabha approved the Supplementary Demands for Grants to the tune of Rs 3.26 lakh crore, primarily to fund the higher subsidy bill on items such as fertilisers, food and cooking gas, besides ramping up capital expenditure in sectors such as railways and roads. The Lower House also passed two bills to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order to add the Narikoravan and Kurivikkaran communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) of Tamil Nadu and include the Hattee community of the Trans Giri area of Sirmour district in Himachal Pradesh to the ST list of the hill state. On Tuesday, as opposition members raised the issue of clashes between Indian and Chinese troops near ..

Disappointed over less faculty in institutes for disabled: Parl panel

A parliamentary standing committee has expressed disappointment over the majority of national institutes for the disabled having much less faculty members than their sanctioned strength. The panel's report on social justice and empowerment on the 'review of the functioning of national institutes established for different types of disabilities' was tabled in Lok Sabha on Friday. The committee is "disappointed" to note that the faculty members in most of these institutes are much less in comparison to their sanctioned strength. Insufficient faculty even in those Institutes which were established decades back is an alarming revelation. The situation at Composite Regional Centres (CRCs) is also not good, the report said. "For instance, the sanctioned strength for all the CRCs of the National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities is 26, out of which 20 posts are vacant," the report said. "Similarly, out of the sanctioned strength of regular posts of 20 and contractual posts of 106 at CR

270 urban forest projects approved since 2020: Govt tells Parliament

Nagar Van Yojana, launched in 2020, aims to enhance green cover, biodiversity in cities

Nuclear plants are 'well protected' from all types of intrusions: Govt

The government on Thursday asserted that nuclear plants in the country are "well protected" from intrusions including from cyber attacks. Minister of State (Independent Charge), Department of Atomic Energy, Jitendra Singh also said the government has entered into Inter-Government Agreements with the Russian Federation for setting up Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project. He was asked about the steps being taken by the government to prevent cyber attacks on nuclear plants. "Certainly there was one such report last year following which we have put in place a mechanism whereby different levels of screening is done and monitoring is done. "I can assure this House that the nuclear plants are well protected from all kinds of intrusions including the cyber attacks," Singh said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha. The minister said the government has entered into IGAs with Russian Federation for setting up Kudankulam Nuclear Power Projects comprising six units of 1000 MW each. Two units KKNP

Introduce personal finance lessons in college: BJP MP in Parliament

Important for students to know about value of money, rate of return, mutual funds etc, says Tejasvi Surya

National Credit Framework released for public feedback: Govt to Parliament

The government has developed the National Credit Framework meant to seamlessly integrate the credits earned through school education, higher education and vocational & skill education for public consultations, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan informed Parliament on Wednesday. The Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship shared that the framework aims to enable the integration of academic and vocational domains to ensure flexibility and mobility between the two. "The National Credit Framework (NCrF) is an inclusive umbrella Framework to seamlessly integrate the credits earned through school education, higher education, and vocational & skill education. "Such integration enables numerous options for further progression of students and inter-mingling of school & higher education with vocational education & Experiential learning including relevant experience and professional levels acquired. The Framework has been released for public consultations on 19 ...

Parliament passes bill to rename New Delhi International Arbitration Centre

Parliament on Wednesday passed a bill to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as the India International Arbitration Centre. The Rajya Sabha passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which was piloted by Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in the house on Wednesday. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill on August 2022, which expands this to include the conduct of other forms of alternative dispute resolution besides arbitration. While replying to the debate, Rijiju in the Upper House said this bill will help India emerge as an attractive destination for arbitration at the global level. "India is still not a hub for arbitration, while small countries and cities have emerged as major centres for arbitration," the minister said. He assured the members saying that with the steps being taken by the Modi government, India would emerge as an arbitration centre in the coming years. "This amendment has been brought with that approach,"

Competition (Amendment) Bill: Panel wants annual review of deal valuations

Proposed Settlement and commitment mechanism

Army bravely thwarted Chinese attempt at Yangtse, no fatalities: Rajnath

Chinese troops tried to "unilaterally" change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Yangtse area of Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector last week but the Indian Army compelled them to retreat by its "firm and resolute" response, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Parliament on Tuesday. In similar statements in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Singh said there were "no fatalities" or serious injuries to the Indian soldiers and that the clash led to injuries to a few personnel on both sides. With the opposition questioning the government's handling of the border issue with China, Home Minister Amit Shah told reporters that no one can capture an inch of India's land till the Narendra Modi government is in power. In his statement, Singh said,"on December 9, PLA troops tried to transgress the LAC in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector and unilaterally change the status quo. The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner." "The ensuing ...

Parliamentary panel says women in CAPFs 'abysmally low', demands action

A parliamentary committee has expressed its disappointment over the very minuscule number of women being recruited in Central Armed Police Forces like the CRPF and BSF and sought action to create a conducive environment at border outposts so that women are motivated to join security forces. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs, headed by BJP's Rajya Sabha member Brijlal, noted that despite efforts of the home ministry to encourage the recruitment of women in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles, the strength of women personnel is "abysmally low". "The committee observes that in 2016, it was decided by the government to reserve 33 per cent posts at the constable level for being filled by women in CRPF and CISF to begin with and 14-15 per cent posts at the constable level in border guarding forces i.e. BSF, SSB and ITBP. "The committee is disappointed to note that women constitute only 3.68 per cent of the total strength of CAPFs. The committee ...

IGI Airport CEO asked by Parliamentary panel to discuss congestion issues

Amid rising complaints of congestion at New Delhi's IGI airport, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture has summoned the airport chief to discuss the matter

2,302 insurance claims of Rs 50 lakh each cleared for Covid health workers

The government told Parliament on Tuesday that 2,302 claims of Rs 50 lakh each have been paid under the insurance scheme for health workers fighting COVID-19, and 465 of these pertain to the families of doctors. Fifty-three claims have been paid to the families of doctors in Bihar, 64 in Uttar Pradesh, 43 in Maharashtra, 38 in Karnataka and 37 each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. Pawar said the Government of India maintains data of total cases and deaths due to COVID-19 as reported by states and Union territories. Disaggregated data on deaths due to COVID-19 by profession or otherwise is not maintained centrally. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP)-Insurance Scheme for Health Workers fighting COVID-19 was implemented with effect from March 30, 2020 to provide an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh for providing comprehensive personal accident/life insurance cover to around

Parliamentary panel suggests changes to Competition (Amendment) Bill

A Parliamentary panel on Tuesday recommended various changes to a bill to amend the competition law, including bringing cartels under the scope of settlements as a "pragmatic recourse". In its report tabled in the Lok Sabha, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance also said the "current prima-facie opinion timeline and that of passing the order for approval of combinations, should remain unchanged". Under the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that was introduced in the Parliament on August 5, the corporate affairs ministry has proposed reducing the timeline for CCI to form a prima-facie opinion on a case to 20 days from 30 days. Also, it has proposed cutting down the timeline for approval of combinations to 150 days from 210 days. In this regard, the committee said that apprehensions were raised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and stakeholders that it will put the authority in a difficult and onerous position. "The committee is of the opinion that reducing th

Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi pay tribute to 2001 Parliament attack victims

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi remembered who laid their lives during the terror attack in Parliament in 2001, by saying that their sacrifice inspires us

Lok Sabha pays tributes to victims of 2001 terror attack on Parliament

Lok Sabha on Tuesday paid glowing tributes to those who laid down their lives while foiling a terror attack on Parliament 21 years ago. As soon as the house assembled, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said it was a sad day for the country as terrorists carried out a cowardly attack on Parliament. He said that the whole nation stands behind the family of those killed in the terrorist attack and the country stands solidly against any form of terrorism. The members of the house also stood in silence for some moments in memory of the victims. On December 13, 2001, terrorists attacked the Parliament complex and opened fire, killing nine people. The attack victims included five Delhi police personnel, a woman Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper, two Parliament watch and ward staff and a gardener. A journalist who was injured died later. All five terrorists were shot dead.

FM Sitharaman to introduce Appropriation Bills in Parliament today

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Appropriation Bills 2022 in the Lok Sabha to seek nod for the payment and appropriation of amounts from the Consolidated Funds of India