The aspirations, energy, enterprise and skills of the youth will be the force for India's economic transformation
The Budget session of Parliament concluded on Wednesday with passage of record official business in recent years but the government failed to ensure passage of the controversial Land Acquisition Bill as also key reform measure of GST amid stiff resistance from opposition.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday justified its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam, saying just holding discussions in Parliament on the issue would have no outcome as it happened in the case of price rise.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Monday appeared before the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which is probing the 2G spectrum scam, to explain how the government auditor quantified the losses in the spectrum allocation at Rs 1.76 lakh crore. Rai was asked to brief the Committee, chaired by Congress leader P C Chacko, on the allocation and pricing of telecom licences and spectrum during 1998 to 2009.
While players in the financial ecosystem are opening up to the idea of receivables funding for the sector, this market needs a regulator, which a Parliament panel feels only RBI can provide.
The Congress, which was not a petitioner before the apex court, wants the Rafale deal to be referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee to go into the price arrived at by the BJP government versus the one negotiated by the previous UPA regime, as also how billionaire Anil Ambani's group with virtually no experience in manufacture of fighter jets was selected as an offset partner for the deal.
The RBI holds its next policy meeting in early June.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday said Murli Manohar Joshi will continue as chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee for 2011-12, currently looking into anomalies in the 2G spectrum scam, as he is doing a "good job".
With the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament on a questioning spree in 2G spectrum scam case, it has not gone down well with Joint Parliamentary Committee chairman PC Chacko who feels that the PAC has gone beyond its mandate, and wants a 'conflict' to be avoided. Chacko underlined that the PAC's mandate was limited to looking into accounting irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation as highlighted by the comptroller and auditor general, and it should not give an impres
Earlier in the day, the Comptroller and Auditor General came in for some tough questioning at the JPC meeting on its presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer in 2G spectrum allocation with some members questioning its mandate of looking into a policy decision for arriving at the figure.
The government's negotiations with protesting farm unions hit a roadblock on Friday as the farmer leaders stuck to their demands for a complete repeal of three farm laws they find pro-corporate and a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP), even as the Centre asked them to reconsider its proposal for putting the Acts on hold for 12-18 months.
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.
'A brief statement was made by the Army on the sensitive issue. But no questions were taken,' a member said.
'The Himmatsinghji Report is still 'missing'.' 'It is a great loss for the knowledge of India's borders.' 'It would have an immense value at a time China is bound to shift its attention to other border fronts in the Himalayas,' notes Claude Arpi.
Badal said farmers are braving the cold and waiting at Delhi's borders but the government's "eyes and ears are shut".
The Joint Action Committee formed to spearhead the agitation for a separate Telangana, has removed the Telugu Desam Party from the body, saying it had gone against the committee's cause.
The Congress protested vociferously both inside and outside Parliament on Monday against the political developments in Maharashtra as it stalled proceedings and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of "murdering democracy" in the state.
PM Modi should also be summoned for inviting ISI to Pathankot, demands Mann.
Hyderabad is getting ready for yet another show of strength by the supporters of a separate Telangana state. Lakhs of people are expected to respond to a call given by the Telangana Joint Action Committee to attend the Sagara Haaram March on Sunday afternoon.
Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects the announcements made by the Indian Government regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said.
Pawar will be accompanied by Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, Communist Party of India leader D Raja and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP T R Baalu.
Former telecom minister and Dravid Munetra Kazhagam politician A Raja has threatened to start a hunger strike unless he is allowed to appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee that is probing alleged irregularities in the allocation of 2G spectrum and licences during his ministerial tenure in 2008.
Communist Party of India-Marxist member in the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 2G spectrum allocation Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday supported calling former Telecom Minister A Raja as a witness before the panel saying it will help reaching "closer to the truth".
Gandhi's remarks came after the Supreme Court gave clean chit to the Modi government on the purchase of 36 fully-loaded Rafale fighter jets from French company Dassault Aviation.
A joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate adopted a resolution containing 14 recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security for ties with the US and overall foreign policy
Normal life was disrupted in the Telangana region on Monday due to a bandh called by the Telangana Joint Action Committee to protest police action against members of parliament and Members of Legislative Assembly during Saturday's rail roko.
The Telangana Rastriya Samithi has upped the ante against the idea of sharing the capital once Telangana is formed. At Hyderabad, the TRS has warned that it would lead to serious repercussions in case Hyderabad is shared.
This is the first time that no-confidence motion notices have been moved against the Modi government in 4 years.
The government said it will appoint an independent regulator for the aviation sector by October this year. After clearance from the Parliament, it would take about three months to set up the regulator. The regulator would look into aspects like aeronautical charges, user development fee, passenger fee and others. Govt is also considering a Greenfield Airport Policy. It will also soon come out with a Vision Document 2020 that will contain plans for airport infrastructure, etc.
The Covid pandemic has left a question mark on how the central government manages its staff.
The stormy monsoon session of Parliament came to an end on Thursday, becoming a virtual washout and delaying legislations which could not be passed because of continuous acrimony.
On December 4, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill that seeks to grant citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan if they faced religious persecution there. The government intends to introduce bill in Parliament's Winter Session next week. What is this legislation and why is it contentious?
The Opposition has questioned the stringent provisions like criminalisation of a civil wrong in the triple talaq bill.
Parliament was shut down for the 11th day running on Thursday without transacting any substantive business, costing the taxpayer a staggering sum of Rs 85.80 crore as expenditure on each day of the session is calculated at Rs 7.8 crore.
Social activist Anna Hazare and his supporters on Thursday burned copies of government's version of the Lokpal Bill in Ralegaon Siddhi in Maharashtra. The Lokpal Bill was tabled in the Parliament on Thursday. N Ganesh reports.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal brought the government into another stand-off with the Bhartiya Janata Party, accusing it of stalling Parliament in the winter session to prevent the cover up the National Democratic Alliance regime's lapses.
The central government had also sent a team of doctors to Kashmir Valley to treat youths injured due to firing by pellet guns.
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.
Stepping up the agitation for introduction of a bill for formation of Telangana state in the budget session of Parliament, activists of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, Bharatiya Janata Party, and several other organisations staged road blockades across the region on Monday.
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