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Foreign investment cap in insurance sector raised to 49 per cent.
A day after the Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail got the approval of the Lok Sabha as the opposition motion seeking immediate withdrawal of the decision was rejected convincingly as the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party walked out, the Rajya Sabha will debate and vote on the issue over the next two days starting Thursday.
The session of Rajya Sabha came to an end on Friday after passing 12 bills and wasting 19 hours due to disruptions over various issues like imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and AgustaWestland helicopter deal controversy.
The poll is witnessing a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The bill was passed with 165 voting in favour and 7 against it.
The BJP MP also said that MP said that he will seek breach of privilege proceedings against Ghulam Nabi Azad for "falsely" saying that the UPA had blacklisted Finmeccanica, the manufacturer of AgustaWestland choppers.
Home Minister Amit Shah defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Lok Sabha, accusing the opposition of spreading falsehoods and questioning the safety of democracy if leaders are chosen by infiltrators.
Newly-appointed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been allocated the portfolios of State Excise Duty, Sports and Youth Affairs and Minorities Development and Aukaf.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has accused Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi of having a 'deeper connection' with a Pakistani national and violating FCRA rules, prompting calls for a national probe.
In a bid to break the logjam in Parliament over demonetisation, the government on Wednesday reached out to the opposition with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar holding talks with Congress and TMC leaders.
Stepping up the heat on Justice Yashwant Varma, parliamentarians on Monday submitted notices to the presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the removal of the Allahabad high court judge from whose residence in New Delhi burnt wads of currency notes were found.
The opposition on Friday created ruckus in Rajya Sabha over the issue of regional language aspirants having disadvantage in Civil Services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission leading to two adjournments during Question Hour.
A Trinamool Congress delegation on Friday alleged before the Election Commission top brass that around 40 SIR-related deaths had occurred in West Bengal so far, a charge junked by the poll authority.
Radhakrishnan defeated INDIA bloc nominee Justice B Sudershan Reddy by 152 votes in the Vice Presidential elections held between 10 am and 5 pm on Tuesday.
The passing of bills without Parliament, including the treasury benches, having any real understanding of what they contained through any rigorous process has accelerated through the Modi era, points out Aakar Patel.
After West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated that the truth would not emerge through existing mechanisms and called for a probe, several opposition leaders including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge backed her demand.
This is the fourth such death reported in the state since the exercise began on November 4, sparking a political blame game.
Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday lauded the organisational power of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Bharatiya Janata Party as he shared Narendra Modi's old picture and said how a grassroots worker went on to become the chief minister and prime minister by sitting at the feet of their leaders.
A constitutional amendment bill to restore the powers of the states to make their own OBC lists was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, with the opposition and treasury benches joining hands in the Rajya Sabha to approve the legislation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi initiated a discussion on 150 years of Vande Mataram in the Lok Sabha, recalling the Emergency period when the national song completed 100 years.
The opposition has raised questions regarding Jagdeep Dhankhar's sudden resignation as the vice president, with concerns about the reasons behind his decision and its timing.
In apparent signs of thaw after years of bickering stemming out of internal feud in the AIADMK in the past, party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami welcomed Dhinakaran back in to the National Democratic Alliance. The AMMK founder reciprocated with a "heartfelt thanks," yet admitting there was "sibling rivalry" with AIADMK, the party he was once associated with.
The GST will replace more than a dozen levies central and state levies, including central excise duty, service tax and central sales tax as well as VAT on sale of goods and entry tax, to make movement of goods seamless across 1.3 billion market.
The talks about the reunification had already started when Ajit Pawar was alive. In fact, the two parties even contested the civic polls in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad together.
Amid the race for mayoral posts across civic bodies in Maharashtra, a new political equation emerged in the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation on Wednesday with five corporators of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena offering support to Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, which is in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Several opposition MPs have submitted a notice to the Lok Sabha Speaker to move a motion for the removal of Madras High Court Judge G R Swaminathan over his order regarding a temple lamp.
Parliament is expected to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor next week, with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha planning debates.
Congress forced four adjournments of the proceedings in the RS over what it called as 'biggest scam of this century'.
Congress leader P Chidambaram has refuted Home Minister Amit Shah's allegations regarding the delay in the execution of Afzal Guru, calling them a 'lie and distortion'.
While almost all the members belonging to the ruling National Democratic Alliance took oath by swearing in the name of god, Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar, who was re-elected to the Upper House from Maharashtra, took oath affirming his allegiance to the Constitution of India.
Select committees of the House have already submitted their reports
While the proposed law will remain "non-bailable'', the accused can approach a magistrate even before trial to seek bail.
The proceedings were washed out over various issues including the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and roster system for reservation in educational institutions.
The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) are expected to announce an alliance for the upcoming Mumbai civic elections. The announcement is expected to be made at a press conference on Wednesday.
The Rajya Sabha secretariat has verified the signatures of 44 of the 55 MPs who had signed a notice to bring a motion for the removal of Allahabad high court Judge Shekhar Yadav over his 'hate speech' even as Kapil Sibal and nine others were yet to verify their signatures.
The Opposition on Monday charged the government with trying to promote crony capitalism, creating fear by giving "unbridled power" to taxmen, trying to snoop into people's lives through increased use of Aadhaar through the provisions of the Finance Bill.
The stage is set for a direct contest between NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for the vice-presidential election. The BJP-led alliance has a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar.
Uncertainty looms over the Insurance Bill as the Congress looks unlikely to support it in the current session of Parliament which is what the Modi government is looking at as a 'gift' to United States President Barrack Obama who comes to India in January. Renu Mittal/Rediff.com reports
Former Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy -- the joint candidate of the Opposition parties -- filed his nomination papers for the for the vice-presidential election on Thursday, August 21, 2025.
Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader Murli Deora are among the seven candidates from Maharashtra that were on Friday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha in the biennial polls in Mumbai.
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