Like the winter session of the Parliament, the budget session has also begun on a stormy note.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to opposition parties to support the delimitation-linked Women's Reservation Bill, highlighting its 40-year struggle. The bill aims to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in legislatures and increase Lok Sabha seats, requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. Despite previous setbacks and ongoing efforts to secure numbers, the government continues to push for this crucial legislation.
A communication from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said on Thursday that the session would conclude on April 8.
Battle lines have already been drawn and the opposition has insisted on a debate on demonetisation.
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
New Delhi was told it had given something up; in reality it had stopped talking about it, notes Dr Abhishek Puri.
The budget session of the Parliament begins today.
Can AI transform grassroots 'If technology can help develop players a little quicker and make coaching more informed, then it has done its job.'
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.
Battle lines have already been drawn and the opposition has insisted on a debate on demonetisation.
The Congress party has accused the government of scheduling a 'special session' to pass bills related to women's quota and delimitation with the intention of gaining political advantage in the upcoming West Bengal and Tamil Nadu elections, calling it a violation of the model code of conduct.
Sarma said his government was looking forward to the legislation on the Uniform Civil Code, which will be considered during a special four-day session of the Uttarakhand assembly that is starting from February 5.
BJP sources said the government would introduce a fresh Bill on the issue and has reached out to parties that opposed the earlier legislation.
The government is likely to introduce a bill seeking amendments to the Insurance Act, 1938, during the upcoming Budget session to achieve 'Insurance for All by 2047'. Some of the provisions, which could be part of the amendment bill, include composite license, differential capital, reduction in solvency norms, issuing captive license, change in investment regulations, one-time registration for intermediaries and allowing insurers to distribute other financial products, sources said.
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.
In the Rajya Sabha, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu could not read out his customary closing remarks that sum up the business conducted in the House during the session, as Shiv Sena and other opposition MPs created a ruckus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said elections keep happening but Parliament's Budget session is very important and urged all MPs to make it fruitful.
Several parties had requested that the session, which was originally scheduled to continue till April 8, be curtailed due to the five assembly elections being held in eight phases till April 29.
'It is not because of the war in West Asia, which began on February 28.' 'Petroleum product prices are already going through the roof. They are bound to have a serious inflationary impact.' 'A country's leadership is tested in trying times. It is here that the current leadership is failing.'
The session will begin with President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha assembled together in the Central Hall and chambers of both the Houses in view of the COVID-19 situation.
Amid a tussle with the Aam Aadmi Party government, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that he has summoned the assembly for the budget session on March 3, even as the top court told both sides that constitutional discourse has to be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship.
Budget session is likely to start from Feb 25.
The session will begin with the address of the President to the joint sitting of the two Houses on Friday morning followed by the presentation of the Union Budget on February 1.
The Budget Session of Parliament will commence on Monday and is scheduled to conclude on April 8 wherein the first part of the session will extend up to February 11, said the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Sunday.
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.
The government told an all-party meeting Monday that it does not intend to bring any legislative business in Rajya Sabha during the first part of the Budget Session which is till February 11, sources said.
'Fencing work for 4.35 km of the border could not be carried out due to objections by the Border Guard Bangladesh.'
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.
'The BJP has all the instruments with them and they do have a sense of purpose, so I don't think there will be a challenge.'
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
The session began with President Pranab Mukherjee's address outlining the government's agenda and vision.
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) is grappling with a severe internal crisis, evident as rival factions occupied separate sections of the opposition benches during the West Bengal assembly's budget session. This public display of disunity follows the party's defeat in the 2026 assembly elections and ongoing legal challenges over leadership.
The winter session of Parliament usually starts from the last week of November or the first week of December, while the budget session starts from the last week of January and the Union Budget is tabled on February 1.
The first part of the session will conclude on February 11. After a month-long recess, the part two of the session would begin from March 14 and conclude on April 8.
The Railway Budget will be presented on February 25 while the Union Budget will be presented on February 29.
Top leaders of the alliance met at Vajpayee's residence in the morning and decided to extend the boycott to the entire session.
It is the anti-rape law that poses the biggest challenge.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced a Rs 100 crore allocation for sports infrastructure and athlete development during a Sports Conclave in Raipur. The state government is focused on promoting sports, nurturing talent, and providing employment opportunities for outstanding sportspersons, alongside organising major sporting events like the Bastar and Surguja Olympics.
Notwithstanding pressure from pro-Telangana groups, the Centre may not take any decision on the demand for a separate state during the ongoing budget session of Parliament, which will continue till May 10. A government functionary said internal consultations within the government and the Congress Party have been going on and so a decision during the budget session is not likely.
