The world has recognised India as a bright star as the country is recording healthy economic growth despite global uncertainties, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. India's growth at 7 per cent in the current fiscal is the highest among major economies and the Indian economy is on the right track, she said in her Budget speech.
A day before her scheduled appearance before the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case, Bharat Rashtra Samiti leader K Kavitha led a hunger strike here on Friday seeking the passage of the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill in this Budget session of Parliament.
The Budget session of the Parliament is likely to begin from February 25 with the Presidential Address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha followed by presentation of rail budget and general budget on February 26 and 28.
The Congresssaid BJP veterans Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Kishan Advani never did this, but PM Modi by doing so is "demeaning" the high office he holds.
Don't expect less tax on your income. The Finance Minister can, however, delay DTC, incentivise equity investments, and give a higher tax break for home loans.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will kick start the customary pre-Budget consultation exercise with stakeholders from Wednesday by holding the first such meeting with experts of agriculture and agro-processing industry. She will be seeking inputs from various stakeholders, including industry bodies, farmer organisations and economists for reviving consumption and boosting growth hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth this year is expected to be in the double-digit during the current fiscal.
Sources said that the Congress was working to move the motion on Wednesday and is in the process of filing a notice in this regard.
Anguished over the stalemate in Parliament over demand of Joint Parliamentary Committee into 2G Spectrum scam, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday said she would "do anything" to ensure that it does not spill over to the budget session.
On the third day of Budget session, Lok Sabha will elect a new Speaker.
BJP President and Leader of Opposition L K Advani on Tuesday conceded that the National Democratic Alliance's boycott of the Budget session of Parliament had created a 'wrong perception' in the public.
Party sources said Sonia, addressing the CPP, the first in the Budget session, faulted the main opposition for its stalling tactics in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Seeking to lift investor sentiments, the government on Monday said that it will not wait for the Budget, which is due in February, to address the issues concerning retrospective amendment to Income Tax laws.
The government on Tuesday asserted in Lok Sabha that it was ready to discuss issues related to farmers both inside and outside Parliament amid vociferous protests by the Opposition which forced repeated adjournments of both the Houses.
Ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Opposition parties convened by the government, Congress on Friday appeared to have softened its stand on the joint parliamentary committee probe issue in a bid to break the deadlock in Parliament on the 2G spectrum allocation scam."We are open to discussing such a resolution in Parliament on the JPC issue," Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan said, noting that she was seeking cooperation of the Opposition to ensure a smooth budget session.
Nepal plunged into a political crisis after President Bidya Devi Bhandari dissolved the House of Representatives and announced dates for mid-term elections at the recommendation of Prime Minister Oli on Sunday, sparking protests from a section of the ruling party and various opposition parties.
The vehicle can attain a maximum speed limit of 25 km per hour and is the first of its kind in the small variants of bullet proof vehicles.
This is despite expectations of a stormy session, given the unresolved standoff on the Opposition's insistence on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the telecom spectrum controversy.
Asked whether it will be possible to hold the session if there are strict social- distancing norms still in place in June-July, Birla said a way out could be found when that situation comes.
Though the government was ready for a discussion on the issue, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Left and the United National Progressive Alliance members paralysed proceedings in the two Houses giving vent to their anger on inflation which has touched a three year high of 7.41 per cent. It was trouble from the word go in the Lok Sabha on the issue, while in the Rajya Sabha protests erupted after the new members were sworn in.
The rising goods and services tax (GST) and personal income-tax collections may bolster the Narendra Modi government's ability to announce new schemes or enhance existing ones.
This time, it might start between March 5 and 12 in view of polls, government sources said, citing that counting of votes is scheduled for March 4.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi to include only those who perform well as parliamentarians.
The contentious anti-corruption Lokpal bill will come up for discussion next month in Parliament after the ongoing one-month recess of the budget session, Union Minister V Narayanasamy said on Sunday.
The BJP warned if the government did not table the report in the beginning of second half of the Budget session it will not allow the House to function smoothly.
'When voting clause by clause on Waqf came up in the JPC, the TDP and JD-U supported the BJP on each and every clause.'
With the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Opposition stalling Parliament's proceedings over the issue of 'tainted' ministers, both the Houses were adjourned for the day without transacting any business
The Centre on Friday ruled out sine die adjournment of Parliament before the last day of Budget Session and made a veiled attack on main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party for the disruption of House proceedings.
Congress leaders on Monday tried to gherao Parliament House to protest against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government over price rise and rail fare hike.
The much-delayed Insurance Bill seeks to raise the foreign investment cap in the sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, with a rider that the management control rests in the hands of Indian promoter.
Mahajan was known for his ability to carry with him friends and opponents alike, the tributes said.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP and leader of the party in the Upper House Derek O'Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Lok Sabha MP and leader of the party in the Lower House, have written to presiding officers of both Houses, urging then to wind up proceedings on Monday (March 23).
It was also the shortest speech by Sitharaman, who had delivered the longest speech last year. Her first Budget speech in July 2019 went on for around 137 minutes and in 2020, it went on for more than 160 minutes and was cut short after she felt unwell.
Bharatiya Janata Party's parliamentary spokesperson Vijay Kumar Malhotra has in consultation with the party's leadership sent as many as 50 amendments to the speech made by the President Pratibha Patil on the opening day of Budget session of Parliament.
With the Budget Session of Parliament getting underway, the United Progressive Alliance government is hoping that its pending legislations will eventually be approved this time even though financial business will naturally have to be given precedence,k says Sunita Moga
They said the proposal to bring a motion was mooted at the meeting of party MPs this morning and Congress leaders are now talking to other party leaders over it.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured that the Women's Reservation Bill would be tabled in the budget session of Parliament. Singh told a delegation of women leaders, which included MPs, that an all-party meeting would be convened on March 20 to arrive at a consensus and hinted that there had been some kind of a "breakthrough" in negotiations with other political parties on the issue.
India's new Finance Minister P Chidambaram has directed his ministry officials to be prepared to present the Union Budget on either July 2 or July 5.
The Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday NCP leader Mohammed Faizal's plea against the Lok Sabha Secretariat for not withdrawing a notification disqualifying him as an MP upon his conviction and 10-year sentence that was later stayed by the Kerala high court.
The Opposition on its part wants to corner the government by raising issues like alleged shortcomings in the healthcare system during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic and the distribution of Covid vaccines to states.
