As many as 95 MPs did not attend even a single meeting of the parliamentary standing committees that reviewed allocations for different ministries post-presentation of the Union Budget for the 2020-21 fiscal, Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu said on Monday. Giving an account of the meetings of these panels on the opening day of the Rajya Sabha after the recess, Naidu said, "Ninety-five members, accounting for 39 per cent of the total 244, did not attend any meeting on the demands for grants. Only 28 members had zero attendance last time."
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday nominated former home minister and Congress member P Chidambaram to the department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs.
A senior Pakistani official reveals the UAE is restricting visas for Pakistanis, while the UAE ambassador discusses visa facilitation reforms. Concerns about criminal activities and visit visa violations are cited.
The voting for the 13th parliamentary elections was held along with a referendum on a complex 84-point reform package.
Opposition parties in India are demanding a discussion on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and national security in the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament. They raised concerns about federalism, national security, and the purity of voter lists during an all-party meeting.
A 25-year-old Hindu man died after jumping into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in northwestern Bangladesh, in the latest incident of violence targeting the minority community. The incident highlights rising concerns about communal violence in the lead-up to general elections.
"Yoga has been gaining immense popularity due to short term as well as long-term benefits that it provides. Yoga helps one to achieve all round development," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD said in its report.
Due to paucity of time, the UPA government will drop the traditional scrutiny of the Budget by the Parliamentary standing committees. Instead, Pranab Mukherjee is in touch with BJP and the CPM, while Pawan Kumar Bansal and Anand Sharma have been asked to liaise with the smaller parties to ensure the Budget moves smoothly through Parliament.
Opposition parties have not been given the chairmanship of any of the four key parliamentary panels including the committee on home affairs and information technology, which were with the Congress, in the latest rejig announced on Tuesday.
The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, had called Patkar to hear her views on the implementation and effectiveness of the land acquisition law enacted by Parliament when the Congress-led UPA government was in power in 2013.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor addresses concerns about his recent statements, asserting his alignment with the party's principles and goals.
Till Tuesday evening, the law panel had received nearly 8.5 lakh responses on its public notice.
Officials said the government-to-government engagement between the two countries on all other issues remains normal, but conceded rough spots over trade that need ironing out.
The Congress will launch a nationwide campaign against the repeal of the United Progressive Alliance-era rural employment legislation Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on January 5, similar to the pushback against the three farm laws which eventually forced the Narendra Modi government to rollback its decision, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said.
The standing committees have not been holding their sittings due to the severe second wave of COVID-19.
Reserve Bank Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Saturday said that the market forces decide the value of rupee with respect to the US dollar and the central bank is not worried about day-to-day movement of the currency value.
Tharoor also said he is honoured by the invitation of the government to lead an all-party delegation to five key capitals to present the nation's point of view on recent events.
The government nominated Tharoor, who serves as chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, to lead one of the seven multi-party delegations abroad for putting across India's stand against Pakistan for supporting terrorism.
Creating a powerful new chief of defence forces has split the Pakistan military into four competing factions, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
In its draft policy released last month, the CBSE had proposed conducting Class 10 board exams twice in an academic year from 2026.
Former Union Minister A Raja, the main accused in 2G spectrum scam, and Suresh Kalmadi, accused in the Commonwealth Games scam, have been made members of two separate Parliamentary Standing Committees.
A parliamentary panel has sought details from two key government ministries on actions planned against social media platforms and influencers who "seem to be working against national interest" following a recent terror attack in Pahalgam. The panel, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has asked the ministries of Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology to provide details of any contemplated action to ban such platforms under the IT Act 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. However, a member of the panel, Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale, has denied receiving any communication related to the issue and claims that the chairperson cannot issue a statement without the approval of the committee.
Opposition charged the government with making Parliamentary Standing Committees irrelevant.
Seeking an apology from social media giant Meta for 'tarnishing' India's image, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the Parliament's Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, said on Tuesday that the panel will summon the firm following its chairman's comments that India's ruling dispensation lost the Lok Sabha election last year.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has called for more stringent laws to curb vulgar content on social media platforms. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Information and Broadcasting Minister suggested that the Parliamentary Standing Committee should address the issue and emphasized the need for consensus on stricter legislation. Vaishnaw highlighted the lack of editorial checks on social media, leading to uncontrolled dissemination of vulgar content. He argued that while social media platforms provide a platform for press freedom, they require stricter regulations to address the proliferation of inappropriate content.
A parliamentary committee on Friday batted for reducing the minimum age to contest Lok Sabha and assembly elections, saying it would give the youth equal opportunities to engage in democracy.
People taken into custody for economic offences should not be handcuffed and clubbed with those arrested for heinous crimes such as rape and murder, a parliamentary committee has recommended.
A parliamentary panel has criticized the Indian government for withholding funds from states that have not agreed to implement the PM SHRI schools scheme, calling the reasoning behind the decision "not factual or justified." The panel has recommended the immediate release of pending funds to states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, which have been significantly impacted by the delays.
Opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy appeals to MPs to vote with conscience in the upcoming vice presidential polls, urging them to prioritize the spirit of India and parliamentary traditions over party loyalty.
A large number of medical device-manufacturing units have been forced to move to Vietnam and Malaysia due to delays, inconsistent timelines, and a lack of transparency in licensing processes, according to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare.
Match-fixing has returned to haunt Pakistan cricket with the parliamentary committee on sports summoning PCB chief Ejaz Butt, captain Younus Khan and coach Intikhab Alam to seek explanation for the team's Champions Trophy loss to Australia after allegations of deliberate underperformance.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said she is likely to introduce the new income tax bill, which will replace the six-decade-old I-T Act, in the Lok Sabha in the coming week.
They said members of Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party urged committee chairman Jual Oram to allow a discussion on the Agnipath scheme, arguing it has huge implications and required parliamentary scrutiny, but were denied from doing so.
The increased numbers of the Opposition bloc would mean that their MPs are likely to head several more panels than the four that they did by the end of the term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is expected to release its preliminary report this week on the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which resulted in the deaths of at least 260 people. The investigation is ongoing, with the help of foreign experts, and the black box and voice recorder data are being analyzed.
The Lokpal Bill will come up for scrutiny by the Parliamentary Standing Committee for the first time on September 7.
Government representatives told a parliamentary panel that the US has not officially conveyed to India that it should cut tariffs by April 2.
'The Railways is today running train services with 30% less number of loco pilots.'
The draft e-commerce rules released last year held e-commerce marketplace responsible if a seller on its platform failed to deliver the goods or services ordered by a consumer "due to negligent conduct, omission or commission of any act by such seller", causing loss to the consumer.
The Lok Sabha witnessed chaotic scenes as opposition members protested the introduction of three draft laws, leading to torn bills, sloganeering, and adjournments.
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