More than five questions and supplementaries, mostly related to agriculture and horticulture, were taken up before the proceedings were first adjourned till noon. The Question Hour went on for nearly 40 minutes.
The bill to nullify retrospective taxation offers a fair solution within the framework of Indian law and Parliamentary sovereignty to companies which have been subjected to such demands, Finance Secretary T V Somanathan said on Thursday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced 'The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021' in the Lok Sabha that seeks to withdraw tax demands made using a 2012 retrospective legislation to tax the indirect transfer of Indian assets. The Bill provides for the withdrawal of tax demand made on "indirect transfer of Indian assets if the transaction was undertaken before May 28, 2012 (i.e. the day the retrospective tax legislation came into being)."
Discussion on the two bills could not take place as Opposition members continued to stage protests demanding a discussion on the Pegasus snooping allegations and the farmers' demand of repealing the three new agri laws.
Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday allocated portfolios to the new ministers, keeping 14 departments with himself and giving home affairs to deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and health to other deputy O P Soni.
His likable boy-next-door face and casual approach to public speaking have a unique appeal for the younger generation, but it stops there, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, various states have announced partial or complete lockdown and also there is increased focus on social distancing to curb the spread of the deadly virus which has infected over 400 people in the country.
Lok Sabha on Thursday passed two bills before the proceedings were adjourned for the day amid continuous protests by opposition members over the Pegasus spying row and farmers' issue.
The Opposition intensified its noisy protests in Lok Sabha on Wednesday over Pegasus snooping, farm laws and other issues with some unruly members even hurling papers and torn placards in the House, but the government went ahead with its legislative agenda and three bills were passed amid the din.
In 2019-20, the capital expenditure of Indian Railways (IR) increased 60 per cent over 2016-17. The draft National Railways plan envisages a further increase in IR's capital expenditure, but an analysis by Business Standard shows that IR has come to depend more on borrowings and budgetary support. In 2016-17, while 11 per cent of its capital expenditure (capex) was funded by internal sources, in 2019-20 the ratio dropped to less than 1 per cent. A 2015 Committee on Restructuring Railways had flagged that over-reliance on borrowings could exacerbate the financial situation of Railways.
A formal decision is expected to be announced next week after the meeting of the Union Cabinet.
'So you have welfare programmes, you reach out to the poor, you cut out the middlemen, you cut out the leakages and you try to raise the standard of living.'
Among the panels announced on Thursday is the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) to be headed by the prime minister with Shah as the other member.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, which met on Friday to discuss the chit fund scam, was of the view that there should be a 'single law and a single regulator' to deal with investment schemes, sources said.
Parliamentary standing committee on labour, led by Biju Janata Dal MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, has said in its report that it is unjustifiable for owners to pay workers' wages during natural calamities.
At a press conference on Monday, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said when the final version of the Bill was tabled in Parliament, the government would abide by the recommendations of the parliamentary standing committee on DTC.
The Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which four farmers were killed, is "absolutely condemnable," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said, emphasising that there are issues of such nature happening in other parts of India equally which should be raised "when they happen and not when it suits others" because there is a Bharatiya Janata Party government in Uttar Pradesh.
Will the Parliament function today or the logjam continue? Watch.
Developers grappling with labour shortage and getting construction material to sites could be among a list of problems.
BJP's Adhikari said that an opposition MLA is usually appointed as the PAC chairperson following the norm, but the TMC misused that rule to appoint Roy as its chairman.
As the Centre pushes reforms in the power sector, especially for the beleaguered electricity distribution segment, several states, especially those ruled by Opposition parties, are clamouring against it. Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerela have voiced their reservations against the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003. The irony is the states opposing the amendments on the ground of threat of privatisation already have private partnerships in power supply. The proposed Bill was slated to be placed on the floor of Parliament in the Monsoon session. But it still awaits Cabinet approval amid several states complaining that they have been not consulted on the issue.
The Sena also suggested that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi should join Pawar's effort to unite the Opposition, only then can a consolidated front gain real strength.
The move to resume work in ministries comes nearly a month after the government issued work from home protocols in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
The finance ministry on Friday asked state governments to accord priority to employees of banks and insurance companies for Covid-19 vaccination, saying they are exposed to high risks during these difficult times.
The Assam government has set up an eight-member committee to prepare a framework for implementation of all clauses of the 36-year-old Assam Accord, especially the Clause-6 report prepared by a central panel pertaining to protecting the cultural, social and linguistic identity and heritage of the indigenous people, officials said on Saturday.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance reportedly discussed market volatility on Monday, which was its second meeting on the issue.
It was a mixed outing for super rich candidates as five of them emerged victorious and an equal number suffered defeat in the Lok Sabha polls.
For the Congress to be taken seriously, it has to convince those around it that it could actually double its Lok Sabha seat share from the existing 52, and vote-share by a third more from the stagnating 20 per cent in 2014 and 2019, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
His about-turn in the farm laws proves that he sees everything in just one dimension: Politics. That helps sometimes. But not always, observes T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.
Modi said that he wanted a vast and qualitative discussion on financial issues in both the houses.
Gota has to decide if he could order elder brother Mahinda's arrest as the agent provocateur of Monday's violence. Then he has to prepare for an interim government, in which no one would now want to become a cabinet minister leave alone prime minister, explains N Sathiya Moorthy.
As a politician, Yadav is amiable and a consensus-maker, not hamstrung by dogma.
The DMK parliamentary party appears to be a house divided, reports R Rajagopalan.
The verdict, upholding Centre's November 15, 2019, notification bringing personal guarantors of corporate debtors under the net of the IBC, assumes significance in view of the fact that various high-profile industrialists may now face insolvency proceedings along with their debt-ridden firms under the IBC.
Patel's closeness to the Gandhi family was undeniable. But unlike others, he resisted the temptation to use it to leverage personal business, says Aditi Phadnis.
Jaitley's concerns are unlikely to cut much ice with the Congress.
However, Bajpai ruled out any possibility of an epic battle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections between Sonia Gandhi and Arun Jaitley.
The reshuffle had politics at its heart, so the biggest complement of new ministers, both Cabinet rank and below, came from UP, which will see assembly elections in a few months.
After discussions, there may be changes the Bill.
The 75-year-old veteran politician and Nepali Congress President took the oath of office and secrecy from President Bidya Devi Bhandari during a swearing-in ceremony which was delayed by over two hours.
'What matters is meeting the needs and expectations of the people who have voted to provide governance for the country.'
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