At the customary meeting ahead of the session beginning Monday, the opposition raised various issues, including voter roll revision in Bihar, the Pahalgam terror attack and Trump's 'ceasefire' claims.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
Census exercise with caste enumeration will be carried out with the reference date of October 1, 2026, in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and of March 1, 2027, in the rest of the country, the Home Ministry announced on Wednesday.
The suspension of 18 Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from the Karnataka Legislative assembly for six months has been revoked, Speaker U T Khader said on Sunday.
The Assam Assembly has discontinued the decades-old practice of a two-hour break on Fridays to allow Muslim legislators to offer 'namaz'. The decision, which was made in August but implemented this session, has been met with criticism from opposition MLAs who argue that it was imposed by the ruling BJP. The decision was taken by the House's Rules Committee, which was headed by the Speaker, and was justified as a move to promote secularism and productivity.
The next Census' findings will help identify the extent of India's ageing population and vulnerability levels.
The Delhi assembly which held 74 sittings over its five-year term, met for an average of 15 days a year. On the days it met, the assembly sat for an average of three hours.
Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha committees had recommended that their suspension be withdrawn after they expressed regret for their conduct during the Winter session when their relentless protests prompted the Chairs to take action.
Congress legislators continued their sit-in protest inside the assembly while the party held protests at all district headquarters on Saturday against the suspension of six party MLAs.
A corrigendum to the joint parliamentary committee report on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, was tabled in the Rajya Sabha after Opposition MPs alleged that dissent notes were redacted from the report. BJP MP Medha Vishram Kulkarni tabled the corrigendum, which included the un-redacted dissent notes. The Opposition MPs, led by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, had earlier accused the government of misleading the House by deleting the dissent notes. The government, however, denied the allegations. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar thanked the government for the corrigendum, saying it showed that parliamentary institutions are blossoming. Opposition MPs, however, said it was done under their pressure.
'India has the potential to grow at more than 7%, with the monetary policy providing a supportive hand.'
Few finance ministers announce any taxation measure that could upset the stock market. Ms Sitharaman decided to take that risk, observes A K Bhattacharya.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
Opposition MPs, some of whom have given their dissent, slammed the exercise as undemocratic, claiming that they were given little time to study the final report and frame their dissent notes.
The parliamentary panel's meetings have become a virtual battleground between the opposition and the ruling party members, who have been vociferously debating the changes to the Waqf Bill proposed by the government.
The Indian government has increased the salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs) by 24 percent, effective April 1, 2023. This increase was based on the Cost Inflation Index and brings their monthly salary to Rs 1.24 lakh. The notification also included increases in daily allowances for sitting members, pension, and additional pension for former MPs. While some MPs welcomed the increase, others expressed dissatisfaction and instead advocated for a rise in the MP Local Area Development Fund (MPLADS). The increase has been implemented based on the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act and the Cost Inflation Index specified in the Income Tax Act of 1961.
India has allocated Rs 1.72 trillion, or 27.67 per cent of the total defence budget to cater to modernisation of the country's arsenal. Modern militaries spend up to 50 to 60 per cent of their total defence budget so that they go into combat with superior weaponry and equipment.
on Thursday adjourned sine die, ending the four-week-long second leg of the Budget session, during which treasury and opposition members locked horns over Rahul Gandhi's 'democracy' remark and the Adani issue.
Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi, suspended from the Maharashtra assembly over his remarks praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, will be '100 per cent' put in jail, Chief Minister Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in the legislative council.
'Understand your financial goals. Next, categorise them by size. Then evaluate your investment options.'
'Cases of molestation and rape are reaching the doorstep of households irrespective of their socio-economic status. That's the extent to which criminals are feeling emboldened today.'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has slammed the Maha Kumbh as a "Mrityu Kumbh" (Death Kumbh), accusing the Uttar Pradesh government of suppressing the actual toll in the stampede that occurred at the religious gathering. Banerjee also criticized the lack of planning and management at the event, highlighting the plight of Bengal residents who died in the stampede. The BJP, however, has condemned Banerjee's remarks, calling her an "anti-Hindu chief minister" and accusing her of political opportunism.
In response to the tragic incident, many committees scaled back their celebrations significantly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Mukhwa temple in Uttarakhand, the winter abode of Goddess Ganga, and offered prayers. The visit is expected to boost winter pilgrimage and tourism in the state. Modi also flagged off a trek and bike rally and addressed a public meeting in Harshil. This comes a day after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved two major ropeway projects to Kedarnath and Hemkund Sahib worth over Rs 6,000 crore.
Modi's inability to make peace with a renewed Opposition will only embolden his coalition partners and it is just a matter of time before they begin asking probing questions besides politely disagreeing with his tactics, predicts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
The disqualification of wrestler Vinesh Phogat in the Olympics after being found overweight before the final bout also saw the government and Opposition come to blows in Parliament.
Parliamentary proceedings were disrupted for the third consecutive day in the Winter Session as opposition parties continued their protests over the Adani issue and violence in Manipur and Sambhal. Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned within minutes of convening, despite appeals from the Chair to engage in productive dialogue and refrain from disruption. The opposition members raised slogans demanding action against the perpetrators of violence in Sambhal, and sought discussions on allegations of irregularities against the Adani Group and the violence in Manipur.
'If it doesn't, it will continue with measures to infuse liquidity, signalling a new cycle,' predicts Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The Lower House of Parliament took up the Demands for Grants and Appropriation Bills after two adjournments as the ruling and Opposition MPs engaged in a matching duet over demands for an apology by Rahul Gandhi and the Adani issue.
Lok Sabha could function for only 45 hours this Budget Session against its scheduled 133.6 hours because of daily disruptions and frequent adjournments, a think tank data has shown.
If this happens, it will be an "unprecedented development" in the civic body's journey as budget is traditionally passed by a House, they said.
This is the highest number of Indian-Americans in the history of the US Congress.
This is the Upper House's third best productive session in the last 14 sessions since the Monsoon Session (243rd Session) of 2017, the Rajya Sabha officials said.
In the Union Budget for Financial Year 2023-24 (FY24), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had held forth on the need for better governance and investor protection in the banking sector. She had proposed certain amendments to the Reserve Bank of India Act (RBI Act), 1934; the Banking Regulation Act (BR Act), 1949; and the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act, 1970.
India has its share of both large tech companies and large national laboratories, but why is it that these don't seem to be at the forefront of any innovation news headlines? asks Ajit Balakrishnan.
The country's 5,000 MPs, MLAs and MLCs should resolve in this historic year to return to the people the favour they have been doing by relentlessly nurturing democracy over the last 70 years, he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday returned to power in Delhi after more than 26 years to sweep away the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party with a two-thirds majority on the back of a hyper localised campaign and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'AAP-da'(disaster) blitzkrieg.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and some other MPs suspended from Parliament will not be able to attend the meetings of parliamentary committees of which they are a member or chairperson till their suspension is revoked.
The White House and the Indian-American community are solidly backing the nomination of Neera Tanden as the director of Office of Management and Budget, describing her as the most appropriate candidate to hold the position.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday released its manifesto for the November 17 Madhya Pradesh elections promising MSP for wheat at Rs 2,700 per quintal and paddy at Rs 3,100 and houses for beneficiaries of the state's flagship scheme 'Ladli Bahna'.
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