Indications of a stormy start to the Budget session emerged at an all-party meeting with opposition accusing the government of "setting the agenda for disruption".
The government is open to extending the first half of the ongoing Budget session by two days if need be and Parliament can meet on March 23 and 24 to pass key reform bills on coal and mines and minerals. The first half of the session is otherwise slated to end on March 20.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
The Union Budget 2025-26 has allocated Rs 1,024.30 crore for expenses incurred by the Council of Ministers, the Cabinet Secretariat and the Prime Minister's Office, and for hospitality and entertainment of state guests. The allocated amount is a bit more than the Rs 1,021.83 crore earmarked in 2024-25.
A new book reveals that Atal Bihari Vajpayee rejected an offer to become President of India, a move that would have made Lal Krishna Advani Prime Minister. Vajpayee believed that a sitting PM becoming President would set a bad precedent for Indian democracy.
Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surged in early trading session on Tuesday after India and the US agreed to a trade deal under which Washington will bring down the reciprocal tariff on Indian goods to 18 per cent from current 25 per cent.
The opposition has a whole host of issues to target the government.
Market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as investors position themselves for the upcoming Union Budget and the US Fed's interest rate decision, where expectations are muted.
'Storytelling will never change.' 'As long as storytelling can be unpredictable... AI cannot tell you an unpredictable story.'
The Congress party has accused the government of stifling opposition voices in the Lok Sabha, alleging that opposition leaders are not being allowed to express their views while the government side faces no such restrictions.
Rahul Gandhi's absence has shocked political circles who say it is unthinkable for a political party to not have its vice-president present in Parliament to stand up and raise his voice against the government's more than a dozen controversial policies in its less than nine-month rule.
This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Droupadi Murmu's assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Catch all the action in Parliament live here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha.
His term saw the lowest average of 57 hours.
The opposition has been demanding a debate on Operation Sindoor -- the strike on terror sites in Pakistan by the Indian armed forces in response to the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22.
Only four working days are left for the ongoing budget session to come to an end on April 4.
Indian equities declined on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty posting its worst weekly fall since September, as foreign investor sentiment remained weak amid tepid earnings growth and little progress on the India-US trade front.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded the Union Budget as a "people's budget" that fulfills the dreams of every Indian and said that it is a "force-multiplier" that will boost consumption, investment and growth. He highlighted a host of measures for different sectors, including welfare initiatives for gig workers, tax relief for the middle class, and support for the manufacturing sector.
With clouds of storm hovering over Parliament's budget session, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday sought the "cooperation" of all MPs in the smooth conduct of legislative business but gave no indication of plans to bring changes in the controversial land acquisition ordinance.
The prime minister has called a meeting of chiefs of all parties having representatives in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on June 19 to discuss 'one nation, one election'.
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.
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.
Australia all-rounder Cameron Green has confirmed that he will be fully available to bowl in the Indian Premier League's 2026 season, clarifying that his listing as a batter rather than an all-rounder ahead of Tuesday's auction was due to a "stuff-up" by his manager.
So tell us, does Sitharaman's budget deserve cheers or boos?
The session will conclude on July 3.
The Bill is likely to pave the way for amending two existing legislations -- the Atomic Energy Act 1962, and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act 2010.
On Friday, January 31, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Economic Survey 2024-2025 in the Lok Sabha.
The Union Cabinet on Friday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, a move that was welcomed by industry as it would help attract more capital and global expertise, while boosting insurance coverage in the country. A bill to amend the insurance law is likely to be tabled on Monday in Parliament, whose winter session is slated to conclude on December 19.
With less than six months left for this financial year and poor response from applicants, launching the scheme this year is unlikely.
Kush Maini will get the taste of a modern Formula 1 machinery for the very first time when he takes the wheel of the current Alpine car in the Young Driver Test.
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.
The BJP has criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his explanation of decentralisation using a car and motorcycle engine analogy at a university in Colombia.
The Rajasthan unit of the BJP expelled state spokesperson Krishna Kumar Janu for six years for publicly criticizing the party's treatment of former governor Satya Pal Malik and ex-vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Opposition parties have called for a discussion in Parliament on the Maha Kumbh tragedy and the UP government's alleged focus on VIPs rather than the common pilgrims. Union minister Kiren Rijiju has stated that the Business Advisory Committee will decide on the agenda of the Budget Session, which will start from January 31. The Session will commence with President Droupadi Murmu addressing the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Union Budget will be presented on February 1.
The productivity of the Budget session was abysmal. The Lok Sabha functioned for 33% of its scheduled time (46 hours); the Rajya Sabha 24% (32 hours).
The total assets of the country's sitting legislators amount to Rs 73,348 crore, which is more than the combined annual Budgets (2023-2024) of Nagaland (Rs 23,086 crore), Tripura (Rs 26,892 crore), and Meghalaya (Rs 22,022 crore), totaling around Rs 72,000 crore.
This has been our history of good governance: Things that were difficult to do and required planning and implementation were first taken up and then abandoned, notes Aaakr Patel.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday constituted a 31-member Select Committee of the lower house to examine the Income Tax Bill. To be headed by Bharatiya Janata Party's Baijayant Panda, the panel is mandated to submit its report by the first day of the next session.
