Team Anna on Tuesday met senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj to lobby for the party's support for inclusion of lower bureaucracy, judiciary and Central Bureau of Intelligence under the purview of proposed Lokpal.
The government wants to use the FDI victory impetus to clear the Companies Bill and those amending the banking and pension Acts.
Singhvi, who had last month resigned as party spokesperson and chairman of Parliament's Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice after a sleaze video allegedly involving the high-profile lawyer went viral on social media sites, had kept away from media interactions till Wednesday.
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.
In a meeting with the President on behalf of these 18 non-National Democratic Alliance parties, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said he has requested the President to return the bills, and only give his assent after they have been passed after following proper rules and procedures.
The revised draft of the Electricity Bill will be brought before Cabinet for approval soon, Power Secretary R V Shahi said in New Delhi on the sidelines of a seminar on power conservation.\n\n\n\n
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was hopeful that the bill will be passed in the Budget session.
Press Council Chief Justice Markandey Katju on Saturday urged Parliament to refer the Lokpal Bill to a Standing Committee for further consideration so that a workable corruption investigation machinery can be created. In its present state, the Bill can create a parallel bureaucracy that could turn into a "Frankenstein monster" and double or triple corruption, he said in a statement.
Dismissing suggestions that Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi's idea of giving constitutional status to Lokpal Bill was a delaying tactic by the Congress, the ruling party made it clear that it was for the collective wisdom of the Standing Committee and Parliament to accept the proposal.
Aruna Roy, prominent member of civil society, chairman of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, and an alternative voice in the ongoing debate on the Lokpal Bill, speaks to Rediff.com
The Budget session of Parliament started Monday with the President's address.
The Standing Committee on Finance, which met under the chairmanship of senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, has decided to finalise its report by March 2, enabling Parliament to consider the ambitious reforms in direct tax regime.
A senior Bangladesh lawmaker has pointed a finger at former premier Begum Khaleda Zia, claiming that she played a role in a failed coup to overthrow Sheikh Hasina's government with the help of retired and serving army officials.
According to a presentation by LIC to Parliament standing committee on finance, total investment at the end of March 31, 2012 was Rs 13.49 lakh crore or Rs 13.49 trillion.
Activist Aruna Roy on Thursday night questioned political parties for raising objections to the provision of setting up of Lokayuktas in the Lokpal Bill, saying they did not oppose such a move earlier.
Currently, there is no regulation or any ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in the country.
But, govt plans to bring some provisions that can't wait.
Crucial financial sector reforms are again stuck, despite Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's appealing to political parties to help pass the legislations in this regard.
Abhishek Manu Singvi, chairman of 30-member Standing Committee of Parliament, on Wednesday adopted the Lokpal draft for consideration and approval by the union cabinet before it is tabled in both houses in the form of an anti-corruption bill.
India's Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs has called for a complete ban on futures trading in essential commodities like wheat, rice and sugar.
Seeking to dispel the impression of policy inaction, the government is likely to give a push to pension sector reform by approving changes in the proposed PFRDA Bill so that it can be taken up by Parliament for the passage in the Monsoon session next month.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel is learnt to have told the parliamentary panel on demonetisation that discussions between the central bank and the government on the process began early last year.
The much-delayed Women's Reservation Bill may not come up in the Budget session of Parliament as it has to be scrutinised by a new Parliamentary panel. A Union minister, who declined to be identified, said work needed to be done on the Bill which was before the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.
The protests, which erupted after the Supreme Court refused to interfere with orders of the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee directing the state to release 5,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu, have intensified.
Sources close to Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi allege that the sex CD is part of a political conspiracy to tarnish him and ensure that he is not a candidate for ministership in the reshuffle. Renu Mittal reports
A parliamentary committee has pulled up the finance ministry for not adhering to Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act in cutting revenue deficit by 0.5 per cent of GDP for 2005-06 saying there should not be deviations every now and then.
Government on Friday ruled out replacing its Lokpal Bill with another, saying it will be better to have amendments to the one already introduced.
Admitting that the government was in a "bind" from which it has to come out, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday night said that "practical and pragmatic" solutions have to be found to the Lokpal issue.
The pension reforms Bill is likely be passed with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deciding to support it in the parliamentary standing committee. The Bill has been pending since 2005. Its revised version was tabled in the Budget session of Parliament this year.
The terrorist attack on a key Pakistani naval airbase last month during which 10 security personnel were killed and two maritime surveillance aircraft destroyed was carried out with "inside support", senior Pakistani military officials told a Parliamentary panel.
A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways observed that projects were started without much 'justification and background' work. The projects were not completed despite making huge investments on them, as new projects were taken up.
Following is the text of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks at the all party meeting on the Lokpal issue in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
A five-time Member of Parliament from Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency is now the Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Kejriwal spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt and was making his final position clear. Before the third round of agitation against corruption begins in the last week of December read the logic and passion behind it in this the first of a two-part series.
Nepal witnessed political turbulence in 2022 that dramatically turned rivals into allies and throned former guerrilla leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as the prime minister for a third time, as Kathmandu made efforts to balance ties with immediate neighbours India and China with high-profile talks and visits.
But BSNL operates in the dynamic telecom sector with high growth rates. BSNL's problems have more to do with management and interference from the DoT.
Rejecting the demand for referring Insurance Bill to a Select Committee, the government on Thursday said the Congress was 'stonewalling' the key reform measure to deny credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi before he goes to the United States.
"What the RTI Act did was to make available to citizens any information that could be provided, that the government was obliged to provide to a Member of Parliament (MP). In theory, that channel remains open to us," says prominent economist and RTI activist Reetika Khera about how Indian citizens could still have access to information that they want
Congress leaders have supported the Union government's stand of abstaining from voting in the anti-Russia resolution in the United Nations General Assembly, informed sources on Thursday.
India's per capita expenditure on defence is less than $10, while the average expenditure of the top ten spenders in Asia is $800 approximately.
