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While share of ‘Pending Assurances’ reduces, some long-pending assurances are a concern
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 4, 2021
The government makes several promises during the proceedings in the parliament. These promises are termed assurances. Data indicates that while the share of pending assurances has reduced over a period, some long-pending assurances are still a cause for concern.
Parliamentary proceedings are an important part of our democracy. Discussion on various legislations, debates on important issues, questions, seeking clarifications, etc. form a major part of these proceedings.
In response to the debates & questions, the government on various occasions makes assurances/promises, updates on action taken, or assurance for future action. In parliamentary terms, these are termed as “Assurances”.
The “Committee on Governance Assurances” is constituted by both the “Lok Sabha” & the “Rajya Sabha” to ensure that the assurances made by the government are implemented in a reasonable timeframe.
Factly has earlier written about the Assurances made in both the Lok Sabha & the Rajya Sabha. The information is based on the data provided by both the committees on the respective house websites. In this story, we look at the latest status of these assurances. The data used in the story is from the respective committee website of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha as available on 01 December 2021
Around 60 % of the assurances made so far in the Current Lok Sabha are pending
As of 01 December 2021, a total of 1617 assurances are made in the current i.e., 17 Lok Sabha. Out of these, 606 assurances are fully implemented, while one assurance is partially implemented. A further 40 assurances were dropped. Around 60% of these assurances made i.e., 970 assurances are still pending.
It must be noted that the assurances do not lapse after the expiry of a Lok Sabha term. The pending assurances are pursued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the Ministry of Parliamentary affairs. Therefore, the assurances from the previous Lok Sabha are also pursued.
Data indicates that around 10% of the assurances made in the 16 Lok Sabha are pending i.e., 528 out of the 5388 assurances made, as of 01 December 2021. Further, another 142 assurances from the 15 Lok Sabha are pending. This accounts for 2.4% of the total assurances made in the 15 Lok Sabha.
Pending Assurances from the 16th Lok Sabha decreased by around 14% in the last 18 months
In our previous story, we considered the assurances data as of 15 July 2020. As of that date, 1283 assurances were pending out of the total 5385 assurances made during the 16 Lok Sabha. A further 146 assurances were dropped, and 28 assurances were partially implemented. A total of 3928 assurances from the 16 Lok Sabha were fully implemented as of 15 July 2020.
After nearly one & a half years, i.e., as of 01 December 2021, the number of pending assurances from the 16 Lok Sabha fell to 528. A total of 3 assurances were added to the 16 Lok Sabha, taking the total number of assurances to 5388. In the earlier story, we highlighted that the Lok Sabha’s Committee on Government assurances can add assurances pertaining to previous Lok Sabha.  In other words, the share of pending assurances fell from 23.8% to 9.8% in these one & a half years.
During the same period, the number of fully implemented assurances increased from 3928 to 4507.  The number of assurances that were dropped also increased to 340 from 146. At the same time, the number of partially implemented assurances fell from 28 to 13. These could have either been fully implemented or dropped.
70% of the assurances pending from the 16th Lok Sabha were made prior to 2018.
It is not unusual for the greatest number of assurances to be pending from the more recent sessions of the Lok Sabha. Hence it is understandable that 60% of the assurances made during the 17 Lok Sabha are pending compared to the 10% from the 16 Lok Sabha.  We had already highlighted that in the last one & a half years, the proportion of pending assurances fell from 23.8% to 9.8%.
In the earlier story, we highlighted that the assurances made in the later sessions of the 16th Lok Sabha have a comparatively higher pending rate than the earlier sessions. After one & a half years, the trend remains the same, with the assurances made during the later sessions continuing to have a higher proportion of pendency albeit with much-reduced numbers than earlier.
About 28% of the assurances made in the 17 and final session of the 16 Lok Sabha are pending while around 23% of assurances are pending from the previous or the 16 session of the 16 Lok Sabha.
However, the concerning aspect is the fact that out of the total assurances pending from the 16 Lok Sabha, nearly 70% of them were made prior to 2018. For instance, the 14 Session of the 16 Lok Sabha was held between February & April 2018.  A total of 368 assurances are pending from the 13 Lok Sabha sessions held prior to 2018, pointing towards a trend of long-standing pending assurances.
More than 50% of the pending assurances of the 16th Lok Sabha are with 8 Ministries
The highest number of assurances made during the 16 Lok Sabha was from the Ministry of Railways with 317. Of these, 33 i.e., 10.4% are pending.  The performance of the Ministry of Home Affairs is better when compared to the other Ministries with a higher number of assurances. Only 2 of the 302 assurances relating to the Ministry are pending.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Law and justice accounted for the greatest number of assurances pending with 79. This constitutes 29% of the total 273 assurances given. Railways and Communications are next in the line of pending assurances with 33 and 32 respectively.
Out of the 58 ministries that made assurances during the 16 Lok Sabha, 11 do not have any pending assurances. Among the rest, 8 ministries account for more than 50% i.e., 269 out of 528 pending assurances as of 01 December 2021.
61% of the assurances made in Rajya Sabha during the current Lok Sabha are pending
Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and is not dissolved like the Lok Sabha after the specified term. During the current i.e., 17 Lok Sabha, there were 7 Rajya Sabha Sessions including the ongoing session (249-255).
During this period, a total of 641 assurances were made in the Rajya Sabha, of which 394 are pending.  Of these, a major portion is from the previous Rajya Sabha session, that is the 254th session of Rajya Sabha. All the 103 assurances made during the session are pending. As is the case with Lok Sabha, the proportion of pending assurances is higher in the case of more recent Rajya Sabha sessions.
Long-pending assurances are a cause for concern
Data indicates that there is a fall in the pendency of pending assurances over a period. In the last one & a half years, the pendency rate of assurances relating to the 16 Lok Sabha fell from 23.8% to 9.8%. Even in the case of Lok Sabha, the higher proportion of pending cases are from the more recent sessions. Based on the trends, there could be a fall in the pendency of these assurances in the future.
However, as pointed out earlier, nearly 70% of the pending assurances from the 16 Lok Sabha were made prior to its 14 Session i.e., prior to 2018. These pending assurances could continue to be pending based on the trend in recent years.  Further, 449 assurances are pending in the Rajya Sabha that was made during the sessions of the previous Lok Sabhas.
For instance, there is a pending assurance in Lok Sabha from 03 December 2015. This is related to the siphoning of Jute Bags meant for the distribution of food grains under PDS.  The government acknowledges the occurrence of such an incident and the case is pending with CBI. The latest review was on 09 March 2017, and the assurance regarding the update on the investigation is still pending.
In another instance, the Ministry of Finance made an assurance regarding an instance of over-invoicing of coal imported from Indonesia. The question was asked in the Lok Sabha on 24 April 2015.  The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence is investigating the case and there is no update yet on the assurance made. The most recent sitting was on 28 September 2021 and is still pending.
These are just a few of the assurances which are long pending without any update from the respective ministry.
Featured Image: Pending Assurances

created: December 4, 2021


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Congress and BJP equally guilty of disrupting Parliament when they were in Opposition
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 17, 2015
The recently concluded monsoon session of the Parliament was unique for one reason. Members of both the Ruling dispensation & the Opposition came onto the roads to protest against one another. While the BJP accused the Congress of being an obstructionist party, data compiled by the Lok Sabha Secretariat suggests that both the parties are equally guilty of disrupting the proceedings of the house when they were in the Opposition.
The recently concluded monsoon session of the Parliament was unique for one reason. Members of both the Ruling dispensation & the Opposition came onto the roads to protest against one another. Valuable time was lost in both the houses without any major business. The BJP has accused the Congress of being an obstructionist party. But data suggests that no matter who is in the Opposition, percentage of Time Lost due to due to Interruptions/ Adjournments has been on the rise since 1991.
Who was in Power & in the Opposition?
Since 1991, there have been seven different Lok Sabhas (including the current one), from the 10 Lok Sabha to the 16 Lok Sabha. The Congress led alliance was in power during three of these Lok Sabhas (10, 14 & 15) , while the BJP led alliance was in power during another three Lok Sabhas (12, 13 & 16). The United Front was in power during the 11 Lok Sabha (1996-98) with the outside support of Congress. The BJP was in the opposition during four of these Lok Sabhas and the Congress was in the opposition in the remaining three.
Time Lost due to Interruptions/ Adjournments
Data compiled by the Lok Sabha Secretariat suggests that more than 10% of the total time was lost on each of the Lok Sabhas except during the 11 Lok Sabha and 16 Lok Sabha (till date). The record for the most time lost is during the 15 Lok Sabha where 40% of the total time was lost due to Interruptions & Adjournments. This was when the BJP was in the Opposition & the Congress was the ruling party. Close to 10% of the time was lost during the 10 Lok Sabha and more than 5% of the time was lost during the 11 Lok Sabha. This went up to 10.7% during the 12 Lok Sabha. And since then, the percentage of time lost has been on the rise consistently.
No Moral High ground
From the data, it is clear that none of the two major national parties can claim a moral high ground when it comes to disrupting the Parliament. Both the parties are equally guilty of disrupting the Parliament when they were in the Opposition.

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Parliament Lessons - Understanding ''Question Hour' in Lok Sabha
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 28, 2017
The ‘Question Hour’ is an important parliamentary device available to MPs. But what is the question hour? Here is a short explainer video.

created: December 28, 2017


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Parliament Review: As Disruptions Continue, Government Passes Important Bills. No-Confidence Motion Listed for Discussion Next Week
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 4, 2023
Both houses of parliament continued to witness disruptions even during the second week of the monsoon session of 2023 on the Manipur issue. The opposition’s no-confidence motion is listed for discussion next week. Multiple important bills were passed this week.
Business in both houses of the Parliament continues to be affected amidst the walkouts by oppositions, adjournments, and other disruptions. While the discussion on the No-Confidence motion moved by the opposition was approved at the Lok Sabha’s business advisory committee meeting, the same was boycotted by the opposition as they demanded the house to immediately take up the discussion.  Amidst the continued protests and absence of opposition parties, the Government has passed various bills. Here is our second review of the current Monsoon Parliament sessions. The first review can be read here.
Bills introduced and passed in the Parliament
Despite objections from the opposition on the legislative business taking place when a no-confidence motion is moved & pending, the Government has proceeded with introducing and passing various bills. Here is a review of the bills introduced, taken up for discussion, and passed in the parliament between 27 July 2023 and 03 August 2023.
Standing Committee reports & Action Taken Reports
Here is a snapshot of the various Standing Committee Reports and Action Taken reports that were submitted to the parliament.
The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology (2022-23) presented the “Forty-seventh Report of the Committee on the subject ‘Review of the functioning of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). It also submitted “The Forty-Eighth Report of the Committee on “Citizens’ Data Security And Privacy”.
Action taken reports were also submitted to Lok Sabha
Important Questions
Lok Sabha to take up discussion on No-Confidence motion on 08 August 2023
The no-confidence motion moved against the government will be taken up for discussion on 08 August 2023. The decision was taken in the Lok Sabha’s Business Advisory Committee, even as the opposition parties walked out in protest for not taking up the debate on priority. The motion will begin on 08 August and continue till 10 August 2023. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to reply at the end of the debate.

created: August 4, 2023


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Discussion on Budget & ‘Motion of Thanks’ to the President’s address dominate the 2nd week of the Budget session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 14, 2022
During the second week of the budget session of parliament for the year 2022, there was extensive discussion on the ‘Motion of Thanks’ to the President’s address with the Prime Minister responding in both the houses where he criticized the principal opposition Congress in addition to listing the government’s achievements. Important issues about the union budget were also raised. Here is a review of the second week.
The second week of the budget session began with both houses mourning the demise of playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, a Bharat Ratna Awardee and former Rajya Sabha member. As per the schedule, both the houses continued with the ‘Motion of Thanks’ to the President’s address during which the opposition raised the issues of level of unemployment, lack of mention of national security, low budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors, and the disinvestment of PSUs.
Key developments
Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded to the discussion on ‘Motion of Thanks’ in the Lok Sabha on the first day and in the Rajya Sabha on the second day of the week. In his response, he hailed the President for focusing on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’. Highlighting some of the major development achievements of his government, Narendra Modi also spoke about how India developed its own vaccine and carried out the vaccination drive. He also attacked the principal opposition Congress, citing the double-digit inflation and criticized them for politicizing the pandemic. An increase in exports in farm products, software, and mobile phones, and defence products, distribution of free ration, and EPFO registration were some of the developments highlighted by the Prime Minister. He concluded his address urging opposition members to come together and work for the nation in this moment of Amrit Mahotsav.
Discussion on Union Budget
General discussion on the Union Budget took place in both the Houses of the Parliament, which was presented in the previous week. Some of the concerns raised by the opposition are regarding the 2022-23 budget are.
The opposition also criticized that the schemes were being repeated with new names. The opposition stated that the budget had no vision, no real long-term plan. The government’s announcement to start 400 Vande Bharat trains by 2024 was also questioned if the government had the infrastructure to do so since it meant that 3 trains had to be started every week.
In response, the finance minister stated that with respect to unemployment, 60 lakh jobs were created only under the PLI scheme. In addition, employment generation would take place when there is high growth and investment in infrastructure. Adding that there was no reduction in allocation for MGNREGA, she said that the health budget for 2022-23 is more than ₹ 86,000 crores, an increase from the last year. Likewise, the allocation for education had increased by 18% to ₹1.04 lakh crores since 2020-21. Furthermore, it was clarified that the States will be given an amount of ₹ 1 lakh crores above the States’ borrowing limits for a period of 50 years with zero interest to speed up various infrastructure projects and capital expenditure in the States.
The issue of privatization of Air India, LIC, and PSUs was raised multiple times. With the privatization of Air India, the airline market of India had become a duopoly, stated an opposition MP. The issue raised was that Tata Group owns Air India, has a stake in Vistara and the majority of Air Asia, combined to 42% of the market, and IndiGo owns another 37% of the market share, which effectively reverses the liberalization of the 1990s which moved the airline market into a competitive sector.
Apart from these discussions, the Hijab row in Karnataka was raised citing Article 14 of the Constitution. However, there were interruptions and the Congress MP who raised the issue could not complete his zero-hour submission.
Bills introduced
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to omit Bhogta community from the list of Scheduled Castes in Jharkhand and for inclusion of the same and a few other communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in the State was introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
Reports submitted
The Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj in its report, ‘Critical Evaluation Of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)’, suggested a complete revamp of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme keeping in view the changing times and emerging challenges particularly in wake of the pandemic. It has suggested increasing guaranteed days of work from 100 to 150 days. Further, it recommended that budgetary allocation of a scheme of such enormous magnitude should be done in a more pragmatic manner so that there is no dearth of funds during mid-year and flow of funds for payment of wages, material share, etc. is maintained seamlessly. Last financial year 2020-21 witnessed a surge in demand due to the reverse migration of workers from urban areas back to rural locations and their dependence on MGNREGA as a last resort of solace.
Parliamentary standing committee on Home Affairs in a report on ‘Police – Training, Modernization, and Reforms‘ expressed anguish over the underrepresentation of women in police and asked the Centre to advise states and Union Territories to create a road map for ensuring 33% representation of women in police. Noting the poor housing satisfaction levels among police personnel, it recommended an allocation of funds for housing. It noted that only 17 states either enacted or amended the Model Police Act, 2006 even after 15 years. It also advised the state police and central armed police forces to train and liaison with people living in the border areas for gathering intelligence on infiltration, use of drones and drug trafficking.
Important Questions raised
In response to a question on the number of foreigners granted Indian citizenship, the government stated that 4,844 foreigners were granted Indian citizenship in the last five years out of which 1,773 persons were granted Indian citizenship in 2021.
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare stated that it maintains data on COVID-19 deaths as reported by States in response to a question in Parliament. It added that states have also incorporated backlog COVID-19 deaths in their reports which are also updated at the national level, following the Supreme Court’s order to provide for ex-gratia assistance to the kin of the deceased by COVID-19. Furthermore, to facilitate the State Governments to have enough funds in their SDRF, the Central Government released the Central share of the SDRF amounting to ₹17,747.20 crores to States. After incorporating the State’s share amounting to ₹ 5,439.20 crores, State Governments have an amount of ₹ 23,186.40 crores in SDRF during the financial year 2021-22, in addition to the amount of opening balance available in their SDRF.
In response to a question on the caste-based census, the government responded that castes and tribes which are specifically notified as Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) are enumerated in the Census. Moreover, the Government of India stated that it has not enumerated caste-wise populations other than SCs and STs in Census since independence.
Featured Image: Discussion on Budget

created: February 14, 2022


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Parliament Review: Discussion on Motion of Thanks to President’s Address, and Interim Budget Dominate the last Session of 17th Lok Sabha
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 12, 2024
The last session of the 17th Lok Sabha had 9 sittings during which there was discussion on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, interim budget for 2024-25, the white paper on finance released by the government and various other issues.
The Fifteenth and the last session of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha commenced on 31 January 2024 with the President addressing both Houses of Parliament and ended on 10February 2024 (initially till 9February, extended by a day). Some key agenda items that were up for discussion in this session included deliberations and voting on the Interim Union Budget for 2024-25 and the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address to Parliament. Additionally, discussions and votes were taken up for the Interim Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for 2024-25.
Key Statistical Highlights of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha
Business schedule of this session
A total of 9 sittings (8 initially) were planned in the fifteenth session of this Lok Sabha. In the legislative business, a total of three bills are taken up for consideration and passing by the Lok Sabha. Below is the list.
Key Developments
The session started with the President’s address to both Houses of the Parliament on 31 January 2024. A total of two days (2 and 5 February) had been allocated for the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address in Lok Sabha.
It was followed by the introduction of a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for the year 2024-25, along with the Medium-term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement and Macro-economic Framework Statement as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act), 2003 in the Lok Sabha on 1 February 2024. The Finance Bill, 2024 was also introduced on the same day.
On 5 February 2024, a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure and Supplementary Demands for Grants of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2024-25 was laid in both houses. On the same day, The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 and The Jammu and Kashmir Local Bodies Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced in the Lower house. These two bills were passed in the Lower House on the following day and were passed in the Upper House on 9 February 2024.
In the Rajya Sabha, three bills were introduced on 5 February 2024: The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024. These three bills were passed in the Upper House on the following day (6February) and were introduced and passed in the Lower House on 8 February 2024.
Discussion on the interim budget 2024-25 took place in both houses on 7 February, and the day ended with the passage of the Appropriation Bill 2024, The Finance Bill 2024, and The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2024 in the Lower House.
Interestingly, on 09 February, the Finance Minister introduced a ‘White paper on the Indian Economy and its impact on lives of the people of India’ in the Lower House. On the last day of the session, a discussion on the construction of Shri Ram Temple and Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ram was initiated in both houses of the Parliament. Post discussion, both houses are adjourned sine die.
Important Standing Committee Reports:
This budget session saw some important Standing Committee Reports being tabled in the Parliament. Apart from the action taken reports by various ministries on the previous committee reports, this session saw reports on interesting topics. Some of them are below.
Some important matters raised under Rule 377
Important Questions

created: February 12, 2024


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Parliament Review: Discussion on Price Rice, economy dominated the 3rd week of the Monsoon Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 5, 2022
The third week of the 2022 Monsoon Session of the Parliament was marked by fewer disruptions compared to the previous two weeks. The week’s proceedings were dominated by the discussion on price rise, the economy, and a few important bills. Here is a review.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament began on 18 July 2022. It is scheduled to be held till 12 August 2022 with a total of 18 sittings spread over 26 days. Since the beginning of the session, the houses have barely been able to transact significant business so far, with constant sloganeering from the opposition, causing frequent adjournments. The business in the third week has seen a slight improvement over the first two weeks of the monsoon session. We look at the key business during the third week of the ongoing monsoon session. (From 28 July 2022 to 04 August 2022).
Key Developments
The eighth day of the session (27 July 2022) started with the demand from the opposition for the revocation of the suspension of Congress MPs in the Lok Sabha.  The day was also marked by constant adjournments till late afternoon in both the houses. Under Rule 377, a matter for reconsideration of the Agnipath scheme as well as the release of captured fishermen by Pakistani authorities was raised. In the Lok Sabha, the motion for consideration of ‘The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2022’ was moved and a discussion was held. After the discussion, the bill is passed by the house. It was first introduced on 17 December 2021 in Lok Sabha, following which it was referred to the Standing Committee, which submitted its report in March 2022.
The ninth day of the session also witnessed frequent adjournments due to protests.  This time, it was by the treasury benches against a remark by an opposition member on the President of India. The Lok Sabha didn’t see any business development for the day. In the Rajya Sabha, The National Anti-doping Bill, 2022 as passed by the Lok Sabha was laid on the table. Some important matters like the demand and need for the creation of the ‘National Drinking Water Authority of India (NDWAI)’  and to lift the ban by states on the supply of excess solar energy to electricity grids could not be taken up due to constant disruptions.  Also, three MPs were suspended for the rest of the week.
The tenth day of the session also witnessed constant protests leading to frequent adjournments. No significant business happened in either of the houses. Matters like beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme, financial assistance for farmers affected by heavy rains and the Agnipath scheme were raised under Rule 377. Matters like making mental health care more accessible, urgent steps for climate change mitigation and an increase in deposits of Indians in Swiss Bank could not be taken up because of protests.
The eleventh day of the session (01 August 2022) started with both the houses congratulating the medal winners in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, 2022. In Lok Sabha, a report of the committee on Public Undertakings, titled, ‘Avoidable loss due to extension of the loan in terminated projects relating to India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) based on C&AG Audit Para No. 5.2 of Report No. 18 of 2020’ was tabled. Matters like Legislations on Ecologically Sensitive Zones, grant of an additional attempt for UPSC examination aspirants affected by COVID-19, and service condition of Scientists working in DRDO were raised under Rule 377. ‘The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022’ was introduced in Lok Sabha, but its consideration and passing are postponed. The much-awaited discussion on price rise was taken up in Lok Sabha under Rule 193, to which Finance Minister replied. The discussion concluded in the Lok Sabha. In the upper house, the ‘The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022’, and ‘The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022’ were passed as passed in the Lok Sabha.
The twelfth day of the session witnessed fewer disruptions comparatively. In the lower house, reports of the standing committee on Energy, Committee on Subordinate Legislation, and the committee on Petitions were laid on the table. Also, the report of the Joint Committee on the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was laid. ‘The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021’ was considered, and the bill was passed in the Lok Sabha. In the Upper house, a short duration discussion was held on rising prices, with nearly 33 MPs participating in the debate. It was concluded with the remarks of the finance minister. ‘The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021’ as passed in Lok Sabha was laid on the table of the house.
The thirteenth day of the session (03 August) saw the passage of bills like the ‘The National Anti-doping Bill-2022’ in the Rajya Sabha, and ‘The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill 2022’ in the Lok Sabha. ‘The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was also tabled in the Lok Sabha. In a surprising move, the Government proposed to withdraw the ‘Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019’. Further, a discussion on the need to promote sports in India was held under Rule 193.
The fourteenth day of the session was marked by opposition protests against the alleged misuse of central government agencies. Lok Sabha did not see any significant business, while the Rajya Sabha passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 despite intense protests from the opposition.
Bills taken up
In this session, 32 Bills have been shortlisted for introduction, consideration, and passing in the Parliament, out of which 14 have been finalized. On the eighth day of the session, The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports Anurag Thakur. The bill seeks to provide for the establishment of a National Anti-Doping agency for regulating anti-doping activities in sports. It is also in line with India’s international commitment against doping by UNESCO.
Source: Lok Sabha
A total of 18 MPs participated in the debate, and the motion was adopted. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on the eighth day of the session, i.e., 27 July 2022. The bill was laid on the table of the Rajya Sabha on the following day. It was discussed in Rajya Sabha on 03 August, and after discussion, it was passed in the Upper House.
The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 and ‘The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022’ were passed in the Rajya Sabha as passed in the Lok Sabha.
The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to further amend the existing Central Universities Act, 2009, by introducing new section 3F, which seeks to establish Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya in Gujarat by converting the National Rail and Transportation University, Vadodara. It also amended sections 4 & 5 of the original act. The Bill is passed after discussion.
Source: Lok Sabha
Another important legislation titled, ‘The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2022’ was taken up for consideration and passed in Lok Sabha on 02 August. A total of 39 MPs participated in the debate, and the bill was passed.
Source: Lok Sabha
The bill was initially introduced in December 2021 and was then referred to a standing committee. The committee submitted its report in April 2022, following which the bill is discussed. The bill seeks to amend the original Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 by widening its scope by substituting ‘wildlife’ in the place of ‘Tiger and other Endangered Species’. Other important aspects of the original bill and the summary of the committee report can be read here, and here.
Another bill, ‘The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha to amend the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The bill seeks to establish a state energy conservation fund by enacting a new section 16, and section 14A which authorizes the Union Government, or any agency authorized by it, to issue carbon credit certificates to entities compliant with the requirement of the carbon credit trading scheme. Similar amendments were made to different sections of the parent act. An explainer on the amendments can be read here.
Source: Lok Sabha
Important Standing Committee Reports tabled
Action Taken report by the Government on the recommendations/ observations contained in the fifth Report of the Committee on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was tabled in the Rajya Sabha. The report, ‘Reservation for and Employment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in New Delhi Municipal Council’, consisted of recommendations for filling up the shortfall in both direct recruitments as well as the promotions of SCs and STs at all levels of employment. The committee had expressed displeasure at the functioning of NDMC in clearing the massive backlog of SC/STs posts.
Another action taken report titled, ‘Electric & Hybrid Mobility – Prospects And Challenges in Automobile Industry” pertaining to the Ministry of Heavy Industries”, was laid on the floor of Rajya Sabha. Major recommendations were regarding enhancing outlays for electric vehicle adoption policies and making efforts to transform India into a global manufacturing hub for electric vehicles.
On the energy sector front, multiple reports were tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Standing Committee on Energy. Action taken by the Government on the observations/recommendations contained in the Nineteenth Report (17th Lok Sabha) on the subject ‘Delay in Execution/Completion of Power Projects by Power Sector Companies’; action taken by the Government on the observations/recommendations contained in the Eighteenth Report (17th Lok Sabha) on the subject ‘Development of Coal Blocks allocated to Power Sector Companies’; Action-taken by the Government on observations/recommendations contained in Seventeenth Report (17th Lok Sabha) on the subject ‘Action Plan for Achievement of 175 GW Renewable Energy Target’; a report on power tariffs titled, ‘Review of Power Tariff Policy- need for uniformity in tariff structure across the country’ and ‘evaluation of wind energy in India‘ were tabled.
The Joint committee report on the ‘The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021’ was also tabled. The Committee on external affairs also tabled its fifteenth report title, ‘Welfare of Indian Diaspora- Policies/Schemes’.
Action Taken Report on recommendations contained in the Twentieth Report (17th Lok Sabha) on ‘Critical Evaluation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)’ by the Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj was laid on the table of the lower house.
Key questions
In response to a question on the enumeration of census this year, citing the outbreak of COVID-19 as the reason behind the postponement of the census 2021 activities, the ministry did not provide a clear answer regarding the enumeration of census this year. Also, it clarified that there is no proposal to bring census into the concurrent list under the Seventh Schedule.
To a question on the undertrial prisoners lodged in prisons, the Ministry’s data suggests that the overall undertrials in India increased from 2,93,058 in 2016 to 3,71,848 in 2020. The government has clarified that there is no proposal to release all prisoners who have completed their rigorous life imprisonment sentenced tenure thereof, if so, the number of prisoners who have completed life sentences more than 25 years and are still in jail.
Regarding the safety of electric vehicles, the Government informed that a panel is constituted with independent experts from DRDO, Indian Institute of Science (IISC) Bengaluru and Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL) Visakhapatnam to look into the recent safety-related issues in the Electric Vehicles. A total of 6656 vehicles were recalled by the manufacturers as of April 2022.
On fake currency notes, the Minister of Finance responded that the number of fake currency notes seized in the country as per NCRB data has increased from 2272 in 2016 to 2,44,834 notes in 2020.
On the question of the state of Indian economy, the Minister of Finance responded that the debt to GDP ratio of India as a percentage of GDP rose from 48.5% in 2017-18 to 61.6% in 2020-21. The yearly interest burden during the same period grew from Rs. 5.29 Lakh Crore to Rs. 6.80 Lakh Crore.
Regarding a question on accommodating medical students from Ukraine, the Government responded that no such provisions exist in the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 & the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 as well as the Regulations to accommodate or transfer medical students from any foreign medical institutes to Indian medical colleges. No permission has been given by the NMC to transfer or accommodate any foreign medical students in any Indian medical institute/university. However, as per the latest notification, the students who had completed their course and got their degree completion certificate shall be allowed to appear for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination.
Quick Snippets
Incidentally, the Union Minister for Road Transportation and Highways promised to eliminate toll plazas on National Highways. It shall be replaced by an alternate system to bring relief from long queues for road users.
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Parliament Review: Discussion on Price Rise & other pressing issues dominate the Parliament proceedings
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 4, 2022
During the third week of the budget session of parliament after the monthlong break, there was extensive discussion on various pressing issues like price rise, budget allocation to programs like MNREGA, etc. Multiple bills were passed, and multiple standing committees submitted reports. Here is a review of the third week of the second leg of the budget session.
The second week of the second leg of the ongoing Budget session witnessed extensive discussion on the Demand for Grants of various ministries for the financial year 2022-23. The Finance Bill, 2022 was passed in the Lok Sabha with a total of 39 amendments. The Appropriation Bill, 2022 which provides for the authorization and appropriation of certain funds from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the financial year 2022-23 was also introduced and passed in the Lower House. The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha. Here is the review of the third-week proceedings.
Key Developments of the last week
72 MPs are slated for retirement between March and July 2022
During the third week (28 March 2022 to 01 April 2022), Rajya Sabha bid farewell to 72 members of the House who were slated for retirement between March and July 2022. The members retiring include A.K. Antony, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma, Suresh Prabhu, Praful Patel, Dr. Subramanian Swamy, Jairam Ramesh, Prasanna Acharya, Sanjay Raut, Naresh Gujral, Sardar Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, and Satish Chandra Misra, who served at least three terms. P. Chidambaram had the longest legislative experience among those retiring, with one term in Rajya Sabha and seven terms in Lok Sabha. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and other MPs spoke about the contributions of the retiring members.
MNREGA, price hike of fuel and essential drugs, and increasing cost of living were discussed
The week also witnessed discussions on various pressing issues. A Hike in fuel prices and rising prices of essential items and essential medicines were raised in the Rajya Sabha. From April 2022, the prices of essential medicines have increased by 10-11%. This move was criticized by the opposition for being the steepest hike, that too during a medical emergency.
Another issue raised by the opposition was regarding the reduction in budget allocation to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). Sonia Gandhi stated that the allocation to MNREGA in 2022-23 was 35% lower than the allocation in the previous year, adding that the workers were deprived of timely payments.
Climate change was discussed for about two hours in the Lower House
For about two hours during the last week, the Lok Sabha discussed the issue of climate change on 31 March 2022. Gaurav Gogoi of the INC asked if the Government has any plans to come up with a new climate change-based law or a new ‘National Framework’ and a new nodal agency. Pointing at the targets set to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 and remove one billion tonnes by 2030, he asked about the pace at which India was moving towards the goal. He added that though solar energy is being produced, the pace of adaption to solar vehicles is low. He further added that people employed in the coal sector would be significantly affected because of the transition. He called for infrastructure and proper planning to deal with the issue.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the INC citing a study in The Lancet Planetary Health Journal, said that 7,40,000 deaths take place in India every year due to abnormally hot and cold climate conditions. He also referred to the Climate Action Tracker 2021, in which India’s action was marked as ‘insufficient’.
Under Rule 193, the opposition questioned the government if they took measures to ensure that the sports federations are professionally run. Another question about increased funding for sports was also raised. The issue of sexual harassment and actions are taken for the mental health of sportspersons were also raised.
About the Bills taken up
The Finance Bill, 2022 and the Appropriation Bill, 2022 were returned by the Rajya Sabha without changes implying approval of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 starting 01 April 2022. During the discussion on these Bills, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman maintained that there will be a predictable economic recovery in the coming years.
The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which seeks to amend the existing Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act 1980 was introduced. The Bill is aimed at providing a mechanism for dealing with cases of misconduct in the three concerned professional institutions. Replying to concerns raised in the Parliament with respect to the Bill, Nirmala Sitharaman asserted that there was no proposal or intention to infringe upon the autonomy of the three institutions, namely; ICAI, ICWA and ICSI. The Bill that was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the winter session of 2021 was passed by the Lok Sabha in the previous week.
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 which aims to authorize the police to take measurements of convicts and accused, for the purposes of their identification and investigation in criminal matters to preserve records, was moved for the introduction. However, there was opposition in the Lok Sabha for introduction citing that the Bill was a violation of the basic rights of an individual, following which the matter was put to vote. There were 120 votes in favour and 58 against the introduction and the Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to amend The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957  to merge the trifurcated North, South, and East Delhi Municipal Corporations was introduced by Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lower House on 25 March 2022. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to omit the Bhogta community from the list of Scheduled Castes in Jharkhand, and for inclusion of the same and a few other communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Jharkhand that was introduced in the Rajya Sabha during the first leg of the session was passed in Rajya Sabha.
The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 01 April 2022. The Bill seeks to regulate the visits and activities in Antarctica as well as potential disputes that may arise among those present on the continent.
Reports submitted
The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor submitted an Action Taken Report of the Government on “India’s Preparedness for 5G”. The report also expressed concern about the 5G rollout delay stating that the delay would deprive the country of taking advantage of various benefits of 5G when other countries of the world have made noticeable progress in the deployment of the technology.
Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, in its report on “Development of Tourism Infrastructure in the country” recommended that the Union government devise a mechanism to build infrastructure with the assistance of state governments and other agencies to bring world standard spots with all the amenities. Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture also tabled its reports on “Issues related to Security in Civil Aviation Sector”, “Issues related to Security in Civil Aviation Sector” and “Progress made in implementation of Sagarmala Projects”.
Standing Committee on Social Justice And Empowerment tabled a report “Review of the Functioning of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)” in which it noted that out of the total 740 schools, which are required to be sanctioned by 31 March 2022, only 620 schools were sanctioned by 13 July 2021, out of which 367 are functional.
Notable Questions
A total of 39,816 people lost their lives in road accidents between 2016 and 2020, because of using mobile phones, according to a response provided in the Lok Sabha, by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Responding to a question on the Jiyo Parsi Scheme in the Rajya, the Ministry of Minority Affairs stated that it implements a community-specific scheme, ‘Jiyo Parsi’- A scheme for containing the population decline of Parsis of India. The scheme is being implemented by a Project Implementing Agency “Parzor Foundation”.  A total of 359 babies have been born with the assistance under this Scheme.
When asked about the details of renewal applications refused under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that it had refused a total of 466 applications. 100 applications were refused in 2020, 341 in 2021, and 25 in 2022 as of 21 March 2022 for not fulfilling the eligibility criteria as per the provisions of FCRA, 2010.
A question raised in the Lok Sabha asked whether the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) framed guidelines to regulate the participation of children in TV serials, reality shows and advertisements to which the Ministry of Women and Child Development responded that guidelines were released in 2010-11. The guidelines have also been circulated among all TV channels and their associations.
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Parliament Review: Discussion on the impact of abrogation of Article 370, and GST Compensation witnessed in the first week after break
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 21, 2022
During the first week of the budget session of parliament after the monthlong break, there was extensive discussion on the impact of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, GST compensation to states, in addition to government’s statements on the situation in Ukraine. Here is a review of the first week of the second leg of the budget session.
The Budget session of the Parliament began on 31 January 2022 and is expected to go on till 8 April 2022. The first leg of the budget session went on till 11 February 2022 following which there was a break for about a month. During this period, the Standing Committees examined budgetary allocations for various Ministries and Departments. The second leg of the budget session began on 14 March 2022. Both the Houses sat only for three days in the first week after the month-long break following which the sessions were adjourned because of Holi and the weekend.
The first leg of the budget session began with the President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. This was followed by the presentation of the Economic Survey. On the following day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2022-23 on 01 February 2022. Discussions on the ‘Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address’ and the ‘Union Budget’ followed this.
Key Developments during the first week
On the first day after the resumption, the finance minister presented a Rs 1.42 lakh crore budget for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2022-23. She requested the House to suspend rule 205 of the ‘Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business’ in Lok Sabha, which states discussion on the budget should not be taken up on the same day as it was presented to the House, so as to discuss the Budget for 2022-23 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2021-22 of the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This was opposed by the opposition on grounds that the purpose of the rule was for ‘scrupulous scrutiny of each and every penny that is spent out from the Consolidated Fund of India.’
The lower House then went on to debate the impact of abrogation of Article 370. Nirmala Sitharaman replied that the abrogation was required since the country cannot have two symbols, two Prime Ministers and two Constitutions when we have a constitution. With respect to the situation of employment, she cited the statistics of CMIE asserting that unemployment had dropped to 13.2% over the years. Regarding the tourism industry in the Union Territory, she stated that the highest ever tourist footfall of over 50 lakh was reported in Jammu & Kashmir between October 2021 and January 2022. In December 2021 alone, a tourist footfall of 1.43 lakh was reported from the valley of Kashmir alone, the highest in seven years, as per the finance minister.
On the second day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed the House on India’s accidental firing of a missile that landed in Pakistan on 09 March 2022. He stated that the incident took place during the routine maintenance and inspection and that nobody was hurt. He also added that a formal high-level inquiry was ordered to identify the exact cause of the accident.
The Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, issued a statement regarding the situation in Ukraine. He stated that about 22,500 citizens returned home safely. He also mentioned about the advisories issued and measures taken for the evacuation of Indians from Ukraine during the conflict. Though advisories were issued in February 2022 to return, the universities were not willing to offer online courses and discouraged students from leaving, which was the reason why students didn’t leave the country. He also stated that India helped in the evacuation of about 150 citizens from 18 countries, including Bangladesh and Nepal, in addition to providing relief material to Ukraine and its neighbouring countries of Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Moldova.
Apart from these, discussions were also held on the working of the ‘Ministry of Development of North-eastern Region’, functioning of Railways, GST compensation to states, etc. among other relevant topics in both Houses.
Important Bills introduced
The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill 2022, The Jammu And Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2022, which provide for the allocation of funds for the Union Territory from the Consolidated Fund of India, and the Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2022, and the Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2022, that provide for excess spending in certain ministries in 2018-19 and for 2021-22 were also introduced and passed.
Reports tabled
The Standing Committee reports on the ‘Demands of Grants for 2022-23’ were tabled by various ministries including the Ministry of Defence, Rural Development, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Railways, Tribal Affairs, and Labour And Employment.
Apart from this, the standing committee on Rural Development & Panchayati Raj submitted the action taken on the recommendations contained in the Sixteenth Report on ‘Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana –Gramin (PMAY-G). The committee noted that there was a delay and called for faster consultation processes with concerned Ministries for mitigating this delay in the assistance component.  It also asked the Ministry to come up with some stringent mechanism for the resolution of issues afflicting the identification of beneficiaries and appropriate exercise of power by the Gram Panchayat.
Action taken report on the observations/recommendations of the committee on the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme relating to the Ministry of Jal Shakthi was also tabled in this past week. The committee noted that there was a huge irregularity in expenditure. It also noted that there was considerable delay in preparation of ‘Detailed Projects Reports’ which resulted in the loss of money.
The Public Accounts Committee, under the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises submitted its report on ‘Functioning of Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises’ in which the Committee noted that no professionalism was developed in the area. It further noted that the institution had not been strengthened even after more than two decades.
Important Questions
A question was raised in the Rajya Sabha on whether the Government had plans to make it mandatory for Indian airlines and airports to play Indian Classical or light vocal and instrumental music to which the Ministry of Civil Aviation replied that only advised the Airlines and the Airport Operators to consider playing Indian music, subject to the regulatory guidelines.
Another question was raised in the Lok Sabha if many freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev were given the status of a martyr and if there has been a long-standing demand for giving martyr status and conferring Bharat Ratna on them. The response was that the names of the aforesaid freedom fighters were recorded in the ‘Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 published by the Ministry of Culture and that their stature was far above any official award or title or status.
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha about Maoists, the Ministry of Home Affairs noted that the incidents of ‘Left-Wing Extremism’ (LWE) violence had dropped by 77% from an all-time high of 2258 in 2009 to 509 in 2021. Similarly, resultant deaths (Civilians + Security Forces) have also reduced by 85% from an all-time high of 1005 in 2010 to 147 in 2021.
In response to another question in the Rajya Sabha, the Finance Ministry noted that 8.13 crore persons had paid income tax in the country during Assessment Year 2020-21 relevant to Financial Year 2019-20. As per the government, the term persons include individuals, Hindu Undivided Family, Association of Persons, Body of Individuals, Firms, Local Authority, Artificial Juridical persons who pay income tax and who have either filed a return for the relevant year or in whose case tax has been deducted at source. On the other hand, the number of taxpayers for the Assessment Year 2020-21 was 8.22 crores (this includes companies in addition to persons).
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Parliament Review: Disruptions Continue even in the 2nd Week of Second Leg of The Budget Session of 2023
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 24, 2023
The 2nd week of the second leg of the 2023 budget session of parliament was no different from the first. The house was adjourned repeatedly because of the protests by the opposition demanding a discussion & enquiry into the issues of the Adani group, and protests by the treasury benches demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his comments abroad. The demand for grants may be passed without any discussion or debate.
The second leg of the ‘2023 Budget Session’ of parliament continued into the second week. Factly’s review of the first four days of this session can be read here. The house continued to be repeatedly adjourned during the next few days with the treasury benches continuing their protest demanding an apology from Rahul Gandhi for his remarks, and the opposition demanding an enquiry and Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the issues related to the Adani group. Here is a review of the important developments between 17 March 2023 and 23 March 2023.
Bills Introduced
Four bills were introduced so far in the second leg of the budget session. The first bill was “The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023” introduced on 15 March 2023. The details of this bill can be read in our earlier update. Three more bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha, all three being Appropriation Bills.
Two of these bills are Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bills. These bills allow the Centre to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the consolidated Fund of the union territory. Both these bills were introduced in the Lok Sabha on 21 March 2023 and were passed through a voice vote in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha was able to pass the Budget of the UT of Jammu & Kashmir 2023-24 along with the Supplementary demands for grants for Jammu and Kashmir for 2022-23, apart from both these Appropriation Bills.
Furthermore, The Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2023 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Bill was introduced in the House by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Choudhary. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on 21 March 2023 without any discussion and through a voice vote. The bill authorised payment and appropriation of more than 2.7 lakh crore rupees from and out of Consolidated Fund of India for the services related to the financial year 2022-23.
This was the only legislative work taken up in Lok Sabha during the second leg of the Monsoon session. Meanwhile, no legislative work was undertaken in Rajya Sabha so far with multiple adjournments including on 23 March 2023.
Various Standing Reports Submitted
While very little legislative business was carried out in both houses of the parliament, various Standing Committee reports were submitted. Here is an overview of the Standing Committee Reports submitted in Parliament:
The reports relating to Demands for Grants from various ministries and departments were submitted in both houses. A few of the Ministries/Departments include – Defence, Social Justice & Empowerment, Chemicals & Fertilisers, Coals, Mines & Steel, Communication & Information Technology, Housing & Urban Affairs, Water Resources etc.
Notable Questions
Any regular business in both houses was severely obstructed by the protests of both the treasury benches and the opposition. Apart from the impact on the legislative business, other regular business was also affected.
Questions raised in both the Houses of Parliament and the responses by the Government are a key part of the parliamentary proceedings. Each day of the business, the questions to be asked in the parliament are listed. These include questions which sought an oral response as well as those for which a written response was needed. While there was little scope of raising these questions in both the houses of the parliament and getting a response from the government, there were many questions for which the government has tabled a response in written form.
The Ministries relating to which the questions were raised in the Lok Sabha include Jal Shakti, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Power, Road Transport & Highways, Civil Aviation, Petroleum & Natural Gas, New & Renewable Energy, MSME, Minority Affairs, Housing & Urban Affairs, Power, Railways, Communications, Commerce & Industry, Home Affairs, Earth Sciences etc.
A few of the responses by the Government include:
In Rajya Sabha, the responses were provided by the government in respect to the questions relating to – Women & Child Development, Social Justice, Health & Family Welfare, New & Renewable energy, Housing & Urban Affairs, Jal Shakti etc.
Status of the business as on 23 March 2023
Both sides continued with their protests resulting in the adjournment of both Rajya Sabha & Lok Sabha. Two main business items which were meant to be carried out today include a discussion on Demands for Grants as well as a discussion on the Appropriation bill.
Since there is very little scope for discussions and normal proceedings even after resumptions, all the demands are expected to be passed through guillotining. Furthermore, there is also uncertainty on whether the current session of the parliament would continue in view of the logjam.


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Parliament Review: Family Courts amendment bill passed; important questions answered during the 2nd week of Monsoon session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 29, 2022
The second week of the 2022 Monsoon Session of the Parliament was also marked by repeated disruptions and suspension of a few members of the opposition from both houses. The family courts amendment bill was passed, few standing committee reports were laid among other things.  Here is a review.
The Monsoon Session of the Parliament began on 18 July 2022. It is scheduled to be held till 12 August 2022 with a total of 18 sittings spread over 26 days. A total of 32 Bills are likely to be taken up in this session. Since the beginning of the session, both the houses have barely been able to transact significant business so far, with constant sloganeering from the opposition, causing frequent adjournments. We look at the key business developments during the second week of the 2022 monsoon session.
Key Developments
The fourth day of the session started with the sloganeering by opposition members against rising prices. After the initial adjournment in the Lok Sabha, a Zero-hour discussion was taken up. The rise in floods in the Godavari catchment area and the need for immediate measures against soil erosion were discussed. The Minister of Jal Shakti assured the support of the Government of India if desired by the state Government. It is followed by the discussion on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U). The Minister for Housing and Urban Development stated that a total of 1.21 Crore homes were sanctioned, out of which 61 lakh homes have been handed over to the beneficiaries. A total of Rs. 28,000 Crores have been earmarked for PMAY-U for the fiscal year 2022-23. Under Rule 377, a plea for inclusion of natural fibres in the textile ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme’, and restoration of trains discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic were raised. In the Rajya Sabha, a discussion on ‘The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022’ was taken up.
The fifth day of the session also began with intense sloganeering from the opposition.  In the Lok Sabha, a need for the regulatory board for online games, implementational issues of reservations in jobs and promotions of SCs and STs, need for measures against documentaries hurting religious sentiments were raised under Rule 377. Regarding the judicial pendency and the regional benches of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister reiterated the Supreme Court Judgement to not consider the recommendation of setting up regional benches of the Supreme Court. The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 was considered and passed by the Lok Sabha. In the Rajya Sabha, questions regarding the railways, dairy, agriculture were raised. Private Member Bills such as The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Compulsory Voting Bill, 2022, The Bengal Freedom Fighters Memorial Bill, 2022, The Indian National Army Regiment Bill, 2022, The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2021, The Central Public Sector Enterprises (Protection of Interests of States) Bill, 2022, and the National Commission for the Welfare of Home-based Workers Bill 2022 were introduced. The Right to Health Bill, 2021 was discussed in the Rajya Sabha on the fifth day.
The sixth day of the session started lately, owing to the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected President of India in the Parliament House. Most of the sixth day in both houses remained adjourned except for a few discussions. Both the houses congratulated Neeraj Chopra for winning India’s first ever silver medal in the World Athletics Championship. The discussion on ‘The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022’ continued and its passing is postponed. Matters like universal blood donation cards, writing off bad loans, and classical language status to Marathi were raised under Rule 377.
The seventh day of the session started with both the houses paying homage to martyrs of the Kargil war on the 23rd anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The business in Lok Sabha was scheduled for the consideration and passing of ‘The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022’, and a discussion on the importance and need to promote sports in the country, along with the actions by the government in this regard. Matters like setting up district-level coaching centers for competitive exams across India, assistance to pomegranate farmers in Maharashtra, and discussion and dialogue with experts and affected stakeholders on policy reforms were raised under Rule 377. In the upper house, the discussion on ‘The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022’ continued, and 19 MPs were suspended for obstructing the business of the house.
The Eight days of the session ended up with no significant business transaction in the Upper House, while the Lower House took up the National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021 for consideration and passage.
Bills taken up
In this session, 32 Bills have been shortlisted for introduction, consideration, and passing in the Parliament, out of which 14 have been finalized. Some of the important bills which are likely to be taken up in this session include the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021, The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022, The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022. About 8 of these bills are already pending in Parliament while the remaining 24 are new.
On the first day of the session, The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju. The amendment bill seeks to amend the Family Courts Act of 1984 with the objective of overcoming the issue of lack of jurisdiction of Family Courts in the States of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland. The Family Courts Act, 1984 was enacted to establish family courts with a view to promote conciliation and secure speedy settlement of disputes relating to marriage and family affairs.
A total of 22 MPs participated in the debate, and the motion was adopted. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on the seventh day of the session, i.e., 26 July 2022.
The Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 01 April 2022. The Bill seeks to protect the environment of Antarctica, and give effect to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty. It was passed in Lok Sabha on the fourth day of the current session.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was introduced by the External Affairs Minister in the Lok Sabha in the previous Budget session. The Bill seeks to expand the 2005 law to include a ban on funding of weapons of mass destruction and freeze, seize or attach funds or other financial assets or economic resources owned or controlled wholly or jointly by such person. The Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha in the Budget session. Amidst the sloganeering, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar moved the Weapons of Mass Destruction Bill in Rajya Sabha. However, the House was adjourned soon after. The discussions on the Bill have been postponed after MoS for Parliamentary Affairs V Muralidharan, requested that the bill be discussed in the presence of opposition members. Though the discussions continued, the bill did not get passed in the Upper House as of today.
Important Standing Committee Reports tabled
Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations/ observations contained in the twelfth Report of the Standing Committee on Water Resources was presented in the Lok Sabha. The report, ‘Flood Management in the country including international water treaties in the field of water resource management with particular reference to treaty/agreement entered into with China, Pakistan and Bhutan’, consisted of important reforms for measures for flood plain zoning, funding for flood management programs, comprehensive policy for Integrated Flood Management, Integrated reservoir operation for flood management, need for an apex body for flood management and control, and the need to expand the scope of flood forecasting stations. The majority of the recommendations are accepted by the Government.
Another report titled, ‘Role of autonomous bodies/educational Institutions including Central Universities, Engineering Colleges, IIMs, IITs, Medical Institutes, Navodaya Vidyalaya’s and Kendriya Vidyalaya, etc. in the socio-economic development of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes” with special reference to the implementation of reservation policy in the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences’, under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was also laid on the floor. Major recommendations were about filling up the vacancies, reservations in super-specialty fields, reservations in contractual and outsourcing appointments, and complaints and grievances among other recommendations.
Action taken report on External Affairs on the subject ‘India and Bilateral Investment Treaties’ by the Committee on External Affairs (2021-22) was also laid on the table.
Notable questions
In response to a question on the position of India in the Global Hunger Index 2021, the Minister of women and Child Development said that India stood at 101 out of 116 countries. However, the Minister also claimed that this index doesn’t reflect the true picture of India, and the methodology used in its calculation is flawed.
To a question on the vacancies in the armed forces, the Defence Ministry responded that a total of 1,16,464 vacancies were present in the Indian Army, while the Indian Navy has 13,597 vacancies, and the Indian Air Force has 5,789 vacancies at all levels. When asked about the details of recruitment done in the past five years, the minister responded that the information is being collected and shall be laid on the table of the house.
Regarding domestic LPG consumers, the total number of domestic LPG consumers rose from 22.43 crore in 2018 to 30.95 crore, as of 01 July 2022. Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) delivered 116.9 crore refills (other than installation refill) from the inception of the scheme till 30 June 2022. The price of a domestic 14.2Kg LPG cylinder in Delhi on 01 April 2019 was Rs. 706.50, which grew to Rs. 1053 as on 06 July 2022.
On coal shortage and imports, the Minister for coal responded that there is no shortage of coal in the country. The total consumption/demand in 2017-18 stood at 898.25 million tons, while the supply was 690 million tons. In 2021-22 provisional figures, the consumption/demand grew to 1027.92 million tons, while the supply rose to 818.99 million tons. The consumption of coal grew at CAGR of 3.7% from 2012-13 to 2021-22.
On the question of URL blocking, the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology responded that around 2851 twitter URLs were blocked by the Ministry in 2021, while the number is 1122 until June 2022. This is a significant increase from 8 in 2014 and 15 in 2015.


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Here is what happened in the first week of the 2022 Budget Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 7, 2022
During the first week of the budget session of parliament for the year 2022, the President of India addressed the joint sitting of parliament, the finance minister laid the economic survey for 2021-22 and presented the annual budget for 2022-23. Here is a snapshot of all important developments of the first week.
The Budget Session of Parliament began on 31 January 2022 and is expected to go on till 8 April 2022. The First leg of the Session will go on till 11 February 2022 following which there will be a break for about a month. It is during this time the Standing Committees examine budgetary allocations for various Ministries and Departments.
A total of 29 sittings in both legs have been planned for the current budget session. Due to the ongoing pandemic, arrangements have been made to ensure the safety of the members such as seat allocation, time schedule, and others The focus of this session is on Financial Business relating to the Union Budget for 2022-23 and discussion on the ‘Motion of Thanks on President’s Address’. Tentatively, a total of 20 items including 14 Bills on the legislative side and 6 Financial Items, were identified for being taken up during this session.
Key developments
The ongoing session began with the President of India addressing both the Houses together on 31 January 2022, in which he highlighted the major policy achievements and objectives of the government. He lauded the government’s efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and listed the achievements of the government across various sectors including health, agriculture, food distribution, economy, finance, manufacturing, infrastructure, employment, defence, welfare schemes, education, and transport. He concluded his address by stating that efforts must be put to make India a grand, modern, and developed nation by 2047 when India will celebrate the centenary of Independence.
On the same day, the finance minister presented the Economic Survey of 2021-22. No Zero Hour or Question Hour was scheduled in both houses during the first two days of the Budget Session.
On the second day of the session (01 February 2022), the finance minister presented the Union Budget for 2022-23, the total expenditure of which is estimated at Rs. 39.45 lakh crores. This is the second budget presented after the outbreak of the pandemic which has had a severe impact on the economy. As per the government, the budget seeks to complement macro-economic level growth with a focus on micro-economic level, all-inclusive welfare. Some of the key announcements include the promotion of the digital economy & fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition, climate action, and financing of investments. In line with the President’s address, the Union Budget 2022-23 also laid down the blueprint for the next 25 years to establish India as a global force by the year 2047.
The government fixed four days- 2, 3, 4, and 7 February 2022 for discussion on the President’s speech as well as matters of national and international interest which have not been specifically mentioned in the speech, during the Motion of Thanks.
On 2 February 2022, the Rajya Sabha chairman began the proceedings pointing out that the House lost more than half of the valuable sitting time due to disruptions and forced adjournments in the previous winter session. He further highlighted that the duration of the meetings of the Standing Committees had increased and complimented the members for the same.
Members of opposition raised numerous issues such as unemployment,  job losses, issue of MSMEs, religious conflicts, rising fuel prices, and foreign policy during the Motion of Thanks in either Houses. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi stated that there was a 46% drop in manufacturing jobs in India. Regarding foreign policy, he stated that ‘We have made huge mistakes in Jammu & Kashmir and foreign policy’. DMK MP T.R.Baalu from Tamil Nadu said that the government was imposing Hindi on non-Hindi-speaking States.
Discussions around Bills
In the Lok Sabha, the members of DMK and Congress raised the issue of NEET in Tamil Nadu. They stated that the party had opposed it from day one and over 30 students had committed suicide in Tamil Nadu because of NEET. Further, the Tamil Nadu State Government had passed a resolution in the Assembly against NEET and sent the same to the Tamil Nadu Governor demanding exemption for the students of Tamil Nadu from NEET and asked the central government to intervene.
On Friday (04 February 2022), Private Member Bills were taken up in the Parliament. Population Regulation Bill, 2019 was moved for introduction by BJP MP Rakesh Sinha. It was stated in the Parliament that over 40 Private Member Bills were taken up in the Parliament on the same matter. MPs cited the possibility of sex selection, violation of human rights, and how women will be the victims of the bill if passed.
Reports submitted
The 21st report by the Standing Committee on Energy presented the report titled ‘Financial constraints in renewable energy sector’ in which it highlighted that there is a huge gap between the required and actual investment and that it will be a gargantuan task to fill this gap which requires an enabling framework by the Government.
The Rajya Sabha’s standing committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture submitted an action taken report on the development and conservation of museums and archaeological sites. In the report, the committee noted the growing incidents of demolition of several temples of immense cultural importance by anti-social elements in certain States. It called for the development of a foolproof mechanism to stop such incidents and protect cherished cultural heritage. It called for a flawless procedure to ensure close coordination amongst the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the State Governments.
The underutilization of Nirbhaya Funds has yet again been highlighted in the action taken report on the issues related to safety of women.
Important Questions raised
In response to a question about e-passports, the Government stated it is planning to issue e-passports to its citizens, starting in 2022-23. It will be a combination of paper and electronic passport, which will have a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID chip) and antenna embedded which will help secure biometric data. It is also expected to facilitate ease of travel and would be in line with global best practices.
A question on the number of female judges in the Supreme Court and High Court as against the total number of judges was also raised in the Parliament. It was stated that as of 28 January 2022, there were 4 women Judges working in the Supreme Court against the current total sanctioned strength of 34 Judges and 83 women judges working in various High Courts against the total sanctioned strength of 1098 Judges. The numbers highlight the poor representation of females in the higher judiciary.
In response to a question on the total funds allocated for National Education Policy since its adoption for implementation, the Education Ministry replied that out of Rs. 93,224 crores earmarked for education in the last budget, only Rs. 56,567 crore was utilized as of 2 February 2022 with only less than two months left in the fiscal year. It also stated that education being a subject of the concurrent list, needs careful planning, joint monitoring, and collaborative implementation between the Centre and States. The government further stated that various schemes/projects/programmes run by the Ministry of Education are being aligned with National Education Policy 2020.
Featured Image: 2022 Budget Session

created: February 7, 2022


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Parliament Review: Here is what happened in the last week of 2021 Winter Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 27, 2021
Every week when the parliament is in session, Factly reviews the important developments including on bills, debates, questions & answers, and reports submitted, of the past week in both the Houses of the Parliament- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Here is what happened during the last week of the 2021 winter session.
The Winter Session of the Parliament which began on 29 November 2021 was adjourned sine die on 22 December 2021, a day earlier than scheduled on completion of essential government business. There was a total of 18 sittings spread over a period of 24 days during the session. The fourth week of the session had only three working days. In this weekly review of parliamentary proceedings, we review the key developments not only in the past week but the entire 2021 Winter session of the Parliament.
Weekly review
The fourth and last week of the winter session of the Parliament witnessed protests by the opposition on the Lakhimpur Keri issue and the suspension of 12 MPs from the Rajya Sabha, because of which both the Houses were adjourned multiple times, just like in the earlier weeks. A total of three Bills were introduced. On the last day, both Houses were adjourned immediately after the closing remarks.  Rajya Sabha MP of TMC, Derek O Brien was suspended from the Rajya Sabha for the rest of the Winter session for throwing the Rajya Sabha Rule Book towards the Chair during the discussion on the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
Details of Bills taken up
Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that seeks to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Representation of the People Act, 1951 to implement certain electoral reforms was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20 December 2021 and passed on the same day. The Bill aims to remove duplication in the electoral roll by linking the electoral roll data with Aadhar. Moreover, 4 qualifying dates i.e., the first days of January, April, July, and October have been proposed to include new voters who turn 18 instead of one single qualifying date as 01 January. This is intended to include a large number of voters who turn 18 but miss out because of only one qualifying date.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 20 December 2021 by Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju amidst opposition. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, among other MPs, opposed the introduction, stating that the Bill violates the Right to Privacy and calls for referring it to the Standing Committee. He referred to the verdict of Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India, which limited the use of Aadhaar solely for welfare programs and linking with PAN Card. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor added that Aadhar is a proof of residence and not citizenship while opposing the introduction of the bill. However, Lok Sabha passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill amid strong opposition. The Bill was introduced and passed in the Rajya Sabha the next day, amidst opposition.
Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani introduced the Prohibition of the Child Marriage Amendment Bill, 2021 which seeks to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years, bringing it at par with that of men by amending personal laws including the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, and the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.
The introduction of the Bill was opposed by several MPs who demanded that the government had not held any consultations with stakeholders and that it had brought the Bill in a hurry. Since personal laws will be affected, some MPs called for referring the Bill to a standing committee. Smriti Irani added that research showed that between the years 2015 and 2020, as many as 20 lakh child marriages were stopped from being held. The bill was referred to the standing committee.
The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was passed in the Lower House in the third week to replace an ordinance on the same was passed in the Upper House.
The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill (2021) were introduced in the Lok Sabha during the second week to strengthen the existing mechanism and ensure speedy disposal of the disciplinary cases related to Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries was also referred to the Parliamentary standing committee.
The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 aimed at encouraging the cultivation of medicinal plants, the Indian system of medicine, facilitating fast-tracking of research, patent application process among other things has also been referred to the joint committee for further scrutiny.
The Appropriation (No.5) Bill relating to the Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2021- 22 which was passed by Lok Sabha, and sent to Rajya Sabha, will be deemed to have been passed by both Houses after the expiry of 14 days.
Important issues discussed
There was a brief discussion on the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus in the Rajya Sabha with members asking the government to ensure that the COVID-19 mismanagement that occurred during the 2021 assembly elections is not repeated during the upcoming elections.
During the discussion on Supplementary Demands for Grants, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that banks recovered ₹13,109.17 crores by selling the assets of fugitives like Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi. She added that the monies of the defaulters, who fled the country, has been received and put it in the public sector banks, and that the money of depositors is safe.
Important reports presented
The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing’s report on the Pesticides Management Bill, 2020 was laid in the Parliament. The report laid out suggestions to further strengthen the Bill that was introduced last year. Arguments were made regarding the penal provisions and punishment stipulated in the Bill which has been supported by the committee. The report supported having stringent penal provisions to ensure deterrence- to prevent the sale and use of banned and spurious pesticides.
Questions raised
The Environment Ministry in response to a question of deaths of persons in tiger attacks and poaching stated that in 2020, a total of 44 persons lost their lives to tiger attacks. A total of 106 tiger deaths were reported in the same year including 14 deaths due to poaching.
The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D)’s data showed that female police comprise only 10.3% of the total strength of police as of 01 January 2020, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs as per response to a question on the subject in the Lok Sabha. Further, the Ministry added that it had issued multiple advisories to all the State Governments to increase the representation of women police to 33% of the total strength. The goal is to ensure that each police station should have at least 3 women Sub-Inspectors and 10 women police Constables so that a women’s help desk is manned round the clock.
When asked about the data on hate crimes, the Home Ministry replied that ‘in the year 2017, NCRB collected data on cases of mob-lynching, hate crimes, etc. It was observed that the data was unreliable as these crimes etc. have not been defined. Hence, collection of data in this regard was discontinued.’
In response to a question in the Lok Sabha on drug abuse, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment referred to ‘Comprehensive National Survey on Extent and Pattern of Substance Use in India’ conducted in 2018 which identified that 1.8% of the children less than 18 years of age were using Opioids while 0.6% of women in the 10 to 75 years age bracket used Cannabis. The response also listed the measures taken by the government to curb drug abuse.
A question on the deaths in educational institutional institutions such as IITs, IIMs, IISc, and other central universities was raised in the Lok Sabha. The Education Ministry responded by saying that between 2014 and 2021, a total of 122 students committed suicide which included 71 students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Minorities.
Summary of the entire session
In the Rajya Sabha, there were 18 sittings during which the House sat for 45 Hours 35 Minutes. A further 44 hours and 01 minutes were lost on issues like demand for revocation of suspension of Members, killing of civilians in the incident of firing in Mon District of Nagaland, and demand for resignation by MoS in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the light of the report of SIT on the Lakhimpur Keri incident. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha was more productive as it sat for 83 hours 20 minutes in 18 sittings and only 18 hours 48 minutes were lost in interruptions. The productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 82% and that of Rajya Sabha was approximately 48%.
13 Bills (12 Bills in Lok Sabha and 1 Bill in Rajya Sabha) were introduced during the session. A total of 11 Bills were passed by both Houses. One Bill namely the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was referred to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament and five Bills were referred to respective Standing Committees.
Two short duration discussions on the COVID-19 pandemic and various aspects related to it, and on Climate Change were held in the Lok Sabha while Rajya Sabha had a discussion on the situation arising out of cases of Omicron variant of COVID-19 virus in the country.
Featured Image: Parliament Review

created: December 27, 2021


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Parliament Review: what happened in Second week of Winter Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 13, 2021
Every week when the parliament is in session, Factly reviews the important developments including on bills, debates, questions & answers, and reports submitted, of the past week in both the Houses of the Parliament- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Here is what happened last week.
The winter session began with the passing of the  Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021, suspension of 12 MPs from the Rajya Sabha for their misconduct and unruly behaviour during the last Monsoon session, the introduction of important bills such as the Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (CVC), and the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The protests of the opposition against the suspension of the MPs continued into the second week and the Rajya Sabha was adjourned multiple times because of the protests.
Key Developments
The second week of the ongoing winter session of the Parliament (06 December to 11 December 2021) began with discussions on the Nagaland firing incident that took place on the evening of 04 December 2021. Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement on the issue in the Lok Sabha. He expressed regret over the ‘unfortunate incident’ wherein 14 civilians were killed by security forces in Nagaland. He stated that firing was ‘a case of mistaken identity’ and informed the Parliament that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to complete the investigation of the incident within a month.
Further, the members of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) walked out of both the Houses of the Parliament and stated that they will boycott the entire winter session of Parliament as they did not receive a proper response from the government on paddy procurement in Telangana.
The defence minister Rajnath Singh expressed his profound grief on the death of the first-ever Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, and 12 others in an Air Force chopper incident in Tamil Nadu. He also stated that a tri-Service enquiry regarding the incident headed by Air Marshal Manvendra Singh had been ordered by Indian Air Force.
About the Bills taken up
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was tabled by Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in the Lok Sabha. The Bill which seeks to grant institute of national importance status to six more institutions of pharmaceutical education and research, start new courses, and set up an advisory council for the institutes, was initially introduced in the Lok Sabha during the budget session this year and has been tabled yet again incorporating suggestions made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee. Members of different states appealed to the government to set up more pharmaceutical colleges in the country. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha passed the Bill in the past week.
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 30 November 2021. The bill seeks to provide the benefit of an additional quantum of pension to a retired Judge from the first day of the month in which he completes the age specified. High court & Supreme court retired judges are eligible for an additional quantum of pension based on the age of pensioner which increases every five years, starting from the age of 80 years.
During the discussion on this bill, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor raised the issue of shortfall of High Court Judges, the pendency of cases in Courts, and the retirement age of judges of the top courts and asked the government to bring about a larger Bill to address these issues. YSRCP MP Geetha Vishwanath highlighted that the representation of women is meagre in the higher judiciary. She stated that the representation of women in the Supreme Court and High Court is just 9% and 11% respectively and that the total number of SCs and STs in the Supreme Court never crossed 10% and urged the government to take necessary steps to promote higher representation of women and minority groups in the judiciary through reservation policy. The Bill was later passed on 8 December 2021 in the lower house.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (CVC) that seeks to amend the 2003 CVC Act, the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that was introduced in the Lok Sabha earlier were also passed this week despite opposition from opposition parties that the investigating agencies will lose their independence if the Bill is passed.
The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 were passed in the Rajya Sabha. The Union Health Minister in response to debates stated that the Select Committee had given 64 recommendations which were considered by the government and many have been incorporated in the Surrogacy Bill.
Further, the Minister of State for Finance moved to introduce The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha and opposition RSP MP N.K. Premachandran) opposed the motion for introduction of the Bill stating that his objection was purely technical and that it was an example of bad drafting of law. The Bill was introduced to replace an ordinance that was promulgated on 30 September 2021. It has not been passed yet.
Other important issues discussed
The week also witnessed a lengthy discussion on climate change under rule 193. DMK MP Kanimozhi raised the issue of climate change and spoke of the excessive flooding in recent weeks and how Chennai was badly affected. She called on the government to act on climate change mitigation and adaptation. Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury suggested that the government should think globally but act locally. AITMC MP Dr. Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar said that the unplanned development led to climate change and that unplanned development is not keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Reports submitted
The Committee on the Empowerment of Women submitted a report on “Empowerment of Women through Education with Special Reference to ‘Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao’ Scheme” in the Lok Sabha. The committee made multiple recommendations.
Notable Questions
As a response to a question on the number of cases of infiltration that has come to light in bordering areas during the last three years, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that there were 128 cases of infiltration in India-Pakistan border, 1787 in India- Bangladesh border, 25 in India-Nepal border, and 133 in India-Myanmar border. ‘Nil’ cases of infiltration were reported from India- Bhutan border and India- China border.
The Ministry of Agriculture in response to a question on compensation to farmers who died in protests stated that no farmer died because of police action during the farmers’ agitation.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT stated that under the provision of section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, the government directed for blocking of 471, 500, 633, 1385, 2799, 3635 and 9849 number of Accounts/URLs in each of the years- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively. A total of 19,272 accounts/URLs were blocked in seven years.
Instances of fake COVID-19 Vaccination Camps and fake vaccine were reported from Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh according to another response. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issued formal directions to the State Governments to investigate these incidents and take stringent legal and administrative actions.
Between 2017 to 2021, a total of 321 persons had lost their lives while cleaning sewers and septic tanks, according to a response by the Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Featured Image: Parliament Winter Session Review

created: December 13, 2021