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Parliament Review: Here is what happened in the third week of the Winter Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 20, 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.
In the second week of the Winter session of the Parliament, the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lower House. The Minister of State for Finance moved to introduce The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha which was opposed by the opposition stating that it was an example of bad drafting of the law. The week also witnessed important discussions on climate change. Here is a review of the third week.
Key developments
On the first day of the third week of the ongoing winter session of the Parliament (13 December to 17 December 2021), Congress MP Sonia Gandhi raised the issue of gender insensitivity in questions prepared by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for Class 10 exams held on 11 December 2021. She stated in the Lok Sabha, “I raise a strong objection to such blatantly misogynist material finding its way into an important examination conducted by the CBSE. It reflects extremely poorly on the standards of education and testing, and it goes against all norms and principles of a progressive and empowered society.” She further demanded an apology from CBSE and asked the union education ministry to review the gender sensitivity standard in its curriculum. On the same day, CBSE dropped the passage from the paper and has decided to award full marks to the students while issuing an apology.
As the passage in one set of question paper  in class X English Exam is not  in accordance with  guidelines of the board  with regard to setting of question papers, it has been decided to drop the question  and award full marks to the students for this passage . pic.twitter.com/IHfoUJSy2O
The protests against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs from the ongoing session for their unruly behaviour in the Budget Session continued even in the third week of the ongoing winter session. Protests, slogans, and boycotts by the opposition continued. Matters relating to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident and SIT report were raised but not discussed in the Parliament because of which both Houses were adjourned multiple times. The Lok Sabha hardly functioned for 40 minutes on 15 December 2021, and 20 minutes on 16 December 2021. On 17 December 2021, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the week within 17 minutes into the session.
Details of Bills taken up
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was discussed in the Rajya Sabha. During the discussion, members raised concerns on the functioning of the judiciary such as the representation of women and SC/ST/OBC, transparency in appointment of judges, undertrial prisoners, functioning of Gram Nyayalayas, among others. The Bill was eventually passed.
The Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in the Lower House. The Bill replaces an ordinance that was promulgated on 30 September 2021 to correct a drafting error. During the discussion, members stated that penal provisions should not be applied retrospectively and that the Bill would violate Fundamental Rights.
The Central Vigilance Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (CVC) seeks to amend the 2003 CVC Act, the Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to extend the tenure of the chiefs of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate to a maximum of five years were passed in the Rajya Sabha. The Bills were passed in the Lok Sabha during the first week of the session.
The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 aimed at encouraging the cultivation of medicinal plants, the Indian system of medicine, facilitate fast-tracking of research, patent application process among other things was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021 was also introduced in the Lok Sabha to rationalize and amend the relevant provisions since protections and penalties for contravention differ for different classes of animals.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021 to strengthen the existing mechanism and ensure speedy disposal of the disciplinary cases related to Chartered Accountants and Company Secretaries.
The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021 seeking to regulate anti-doping activities in sports was also introduced in Lok Sabha by Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur. However, none of these were passed.
Other important issues discussed
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue of the ‘Omicron’ variant of COVID-19 in the Lower House and said “tentacle of Omicron has been spreading in other States also” and urged the government to be alert about the same. He added that the government must increase the speed of work on vaccines for children. Third dose and booster dose administration were also demanded by the opposition. There was a short duration discussion on the situation arising out of cases of Omicron variant in the country in the Rajya Sabha. The Union Government listed out the measures taken to deal with this, such as issuance of guidelines, increase in RTPCR tests and uploading negative reports in the Air Suvidha portal for those entering India from abroad. The government added that the symptoms of the virus were mild compared to other variants.
Reports submitted
The report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was tabled in the Parliament. The 500+ pages long report reviewed India’s first proposed data protection law after two years of introduction of the bill in the Lower House. The committee recommended that the word ‘personal’ be dropped from the name of the Personal Data Protection Bill to cover both personal and non-personal data. Further, it recommended an amendment that “sensitive personal data shall not be shared with any foreign government or agency unless such sharing is approved by the central government”. Another recommendation is that where applicable, companies which process personal data must show their “fairness of algorithm or method used for processing of personal data”.
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions tabled the report “Study of atrocity cases against Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes with respect to implementation of the Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989 with special reference to cases related to withholding of pensions and retirement benefits of SC/ST employees”. The committee asked the Centre to verify caste certificates of employees of the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes Community within six months of joining.
Important Questions asked
In response to a question raised in the Lok Sabha on the number of individuals including students arrested/granted bail/convicted/released under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the country during the last 3 years, the Ministry of Home Affairs responded that a total of 4,690 people were arrested under UAPA across the country, according to the data maintained by NCRB. Out of these, 2,501 individuals accounting for about 53% were below 30 years. Further, when asked if the Government has plans to amend the existing Act, the Ministry stated that no amendments in the UAPA were under consideration for now.
The Ministry of Home Affairs stated that a total of seven plots of land located in the Jammu division have been purchased by persons from outside the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, according to the information provided by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir in reply to the question raised on the status of purchase and sale of land in Jammu & Kashmir. Another question on whether civilian killings in Jammu & Kashmir have increased, the Home Ministry responded that the numbers of civilian killings have remained in the range of 37-40 every year between 2017 to 2021, as on 30 November 2021.
In response to a question whether the Government has fixed any target for launching a manned space mission in the near future and details of new projects with respect to space research and satellite technology, the government stated that crewed space mission Gaganyaan was targeted for launch before India’s 75 Independence anniversary in 2022. However, the launch has been delayed because of the first and second waves of the pandemic. During the last five years from April 2016 to March 2021, a total number of 27 satellite missions and 25 launch vehicle missions were successfully accomplished by ISRO, as per this response.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on the ban of Chinese products, the government stated that there were representations from the public and industry to boycott the import of Chinese goods citing strained relations with China. He added that the Government takes appropriate measures to regulate the import of goods including those related to the national interest. Further, India and China are both members of the WTO and so, any trade restriction imposed must be WTO compliant. The Minister added that the Government has from time to time reviewed and taken WTO compliant measures to address the concerns raised by various stakeholders to have a holistic global trade strategy.

created: December 20, 2021


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Parliament Review: Large Scale Suspensions, Passage of the New Criminal Law Bills Dominate the Third Week of Winter Session - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 22, 2023
The third & last week of the winter session of parliament was dominated by large scale suspensions of opposition MPs who persisted with the demand for a discussion on security breach in the Lok Sabha. The three revised criminal law bills were also passed.
The third week of the 2023 winter session is marked with the suspension of a large number of members for the remainder of the session as they persisted with the demand for a discussion on security breach. The security breach occurred on 13 December 2023, with the Lok Sabha Secretariat and Delhi Police investigating the matter. Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs set up an inquiry committee headed by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director-General Anish Dayal Singh to probe the security breach.
Persistent with the demand for discussion on the security breach, the opposition continued to protest. A total of 143 members were suspended from both houses of the Parliament, with Lok Sabha at 97 and the rest from the Upper House. Amidst all these suspensions, the Parliament witnessed the passage of some crucial bills.
The Lok Sabha is adjourned Sine die, with 14 sittings for approximately 62 hours. 12 bills were introduced, while 18 bills were passed during the session in Lok Sabha.
Key developments
On 14 & 15 December 2023, the business in the Lower House was restricted to suspension of the members from the house. On 18 December 2023, the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lower House. Interestingly, this bill was introduced as a Financial Bill. The bill aims to consolidate and amend the laws pertaining to the growth, enhancement, and functioning of telecommunications services and networks, allocation of spectrum, and related or associated matters. On the same day, the Post Office Bill, 2023, which was passed earlier by Rajya Sabha, was also passed by Lok Sabha.
On 19 December 2023, the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2023 aimed to benefit 40 lakh people through authorization of colony, thereby according them with proprietary or ownership rights; the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 that was concerned with the eligibility criteria for members of the tribunals, and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 that aimed to streamline the provisions of CGST act with the Tribunals Reforms Act, were passed in Lok Sabha. The CGST Bill 2023, and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023 were passed by the Upper House the next day.
On the same day, i.e. 19 December 2023, three revised criminal law bills- The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill, 2023 were taken up for discussion in the Lower House.  They were earlier referred to the Standing Committee, whose reports can be read here, here, and here in the same order as above. These recommendations were incorporated in the latest version of the bills, and these were introduced on 12 December 2023 in Lower House. Despite the absence of a huge number of opposition members, the three revised criminal law bills and the Telecommunications Bill, 2023 were passed in the Lower House on 20 December 2023.
On 21 December 2023, the Lok Sabha saw the passage of the highly contentious bill Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. This bill was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2023. Further, the Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill 2023, which was earlier passed by the Rajya Sabha on 03 August 2023, was also passed by the Lower House. The Lok Sabha is adjourned sine die.
Important Standing Committee reports
The third week of the session also saw the presentation of few action-taken reports of various ministries/departments. Along with them, some new reports were also presented. Some of them are as below.
Some important and interesting Parliamentary questions
Matters raised under Rule 377
Some of the important matters raised by members under Rule 377 are as below.

source: news-factly

created: December 22, 2023

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

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Parliament Review: Multiple Bills Passed in The First Week of 2022 Winter Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 16, 2022
The 2022 winter session of the parliament began on 07 December and is expected to go on till 29 December 2022, with 17 sitting over 23 days. A total of 16 bills are likely to be taken up during the session. Here is the review of the first week.
The Winter Session of the Parliament began on 07 December 2022. This session would be the 10 for the current 17 Lok Sabha and 258 for Rajya Sabha. It is scheduled to be held up to 29 December 2022, with 17 sittings spread over 23 days. A total of 16 new bills are likely to be taken up in this session. This is the first full session for the newly elected Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar, officiating as Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Key Developments
On the first day of the Winter Session of the Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that the Parliament is meeting not only after the completion of 75 years of our Independence but also at a time when India got the opportunity to preside over the G-20. He stated that it is an opportunity to display India’s capability, its diversity and potential to the world. In his address, he urged for smoother proceedings in the houses, as the concern of frequent adjournments is highlighted by many of the MPs.  The Prime Minister also addressed Rajya Sabha, at the beginning of the winter session and welcomed the new Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
On the first day,  Lok Sabha took up the discussion on the Anti Maritime Piracy Bill, which was in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of Seas. Meanwhile, Wild Life (Protection) Bill was tabled in Rajya Sabha, to include a dedicated framework to regulate or ban international trade of endangered species. On the second day of the session, a few of the key issues raised by the MPs include – religious conversions, compensation for migrant workers, aid for farmers who lost crops due to excessive rains.
On the third day, Rajya Sabha passed the Wild Life (Protection) Bill and took up the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha witnessed a walkout by members of the Opposition, to protest the speaker as they claimed they were not allowed to raise issues in the house. The Uniform Civil Code Bill was also introduced in Rajya Sabha as a private bill, after an intense debate. There was a pushback on the bill by members of the opposition.
The question of depreciating Indian Rupee was raised in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour on the 4 day i.e., 12 December 2022. On the day same day, Rajya Sabha passed Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, amidst demand from opposition members for the bill to be sent to a Parliamentary Committee.
On 13 December 2022, the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang Sector rocked the proceedings in the parliament with Opposition MPs demanding a statement from the Prime Minister on the situation at the border and staged a walkout. Tributes were paid to victims of the 2001 Parliament attack. The standing committee on Finance recommended changes to Competition Law (Amendment) Bill.
Bills Taken Up
A total of 16 New Bills would be introduced during the current Winter Session of the parliament. Since the beginning of the current session, 7 Bills were introduced in the parliament. Out of them, The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2022 & Appropriation (No.5), 2022, were passed in the Lok Sabha. These bills were introduced and passed to seek additional funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.
On the first day, Multi-State Cooperative Societies Bill, 2022 was introduced. On 09 December 2022, four bills were introduced in Lok Sabha. These bills are related to the 2,3, 4 & 5Amendments to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order Bill, 2022.
Apart from the newly introduced bills, there were other bills which were taken up discussion. The Wild Life Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was passed in Lok Sabha during the earlier session on 02 August 2022. This bill is passed in Rajya Sabha during the current session, on 08 December 2022. The bill seeks to increase the number of species protected under law and to implement ‘The Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora’ (CITES).
The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 , was earlier passed by Lok Sabha during the 9 session. The bill is now passed in the current session of the Rajya Sabha on 14 December 2022.
Rajya Sabha has also passed The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022  on 14 December 2022. This bill was earlier passed in Lok Sabha on 01 April 2022.  The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was passed in Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2022. This was passed in Lok Sabha in the previous session.
Important Standing Committees reports tabled
Various standing committee reports were tabled in the Parliament in the ongoing winter session of the parliament.
The Thirty Sixth Standing Committee Report on ‘Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ was tabled in Lok Sabha on 08 December 2022. Ministry of External Affairs presented its 16th report on ‘India’s Soft power and cultural diplomacy: Prospects & Limitations.’.
A report on action taken by the government on the observations/ recommendations contained in the Thirty-Fourth report of the Standing Committee on Social Justice was presented in Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2022. There were 11 observations/recommendations of the Standing committee, out of which 3 were accepted by the government.
Various ‘Action Taken Reports’ were also presented by the government relating to ‘COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Response, India’s contribution, and the way forward’, ‘Preparedness for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’, ‘Implementation of PMEGP’, ‘Implementation of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006’, etc.
Notable Questions
On the first day of the Winter Session of Lok Sabha, a question was asked on the various public grievances received by the government. The government responded that the issues on which the public grievances are received by Government on the ‘Central Public Grievances Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS)’ include – implementation of government schemes/programmes, quality of services, civic amenities, harassment & atrocities, corruption, etc. Around 11.15 lakh grievances were received so far in the 2022 calendar year.
Another question on the same day was regarding the pending cases in Consumer courts. There was also a question in the Lok Sabha on the status of the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).  The Government responded with the required data on a question relating to PM Fasal Bima Yojana.
Details of the expenditure incurred on advertisements by various ministries and departments were also provided by the government in response to a question.  In Rajya Sabha, an enquiry was made on schemes for the development of Panchayats. Another question relating to Panchayats was on Mission Mode Programme on e-panchayats. Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Home Affairs provided information related to cases of Human trafficking.

created: December 16, 2022


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Parliament Review: Multiple Issues Including Deepfakes, Inequality, Cyclone Damage Raised in the First Week of Winter Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 8, 2023
The Winter Session of Parliament commenced on Monday, 04 December 2023 and is planned to conclude on Friday, 22 December 2023. The Session is expected to have 15 sittings spread over a period of 19 days. During the first week, multiple issues were discussed including deepfakes, inequality, damage due to cyclones and extreme weather events.
The Winter Session of Parliament commenced on Monday, 04 December 2023 and is planned to conclude on Friday, 22 December 2023. The Session is expected to have 15 sittings spread over a period of 19 days. 19 items of Legislative Business and 2 items of Financial Business have been identified to be taken up during this session.
These include the Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill and the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill 2023. Among Financial Business, there will be a Presentation, Discussion and Voting on the First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2023-24 and the introduction, consideration and passing of the related Appropriation Bill.
This is the fourth session of 2023 following the regular Budget and Monsoon sessions and a special session held in September. This session will also be the last full-fledged session of the 17th Lok Sabha.
Key Developments
The Session began a day after the results of the Legislative Assembly elections were announced where BJP won in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan while the Congress won in Telangana. BJP MPs raised “Teesri Baar Modi Sarkar” and “Baar Baar Modi Sarkar” slogans in Lok Sabha in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the session began.
India’s economic situation was the most widely discussed topic in the first week of the session. Derek O Brien stated that India’s richest 1% controlled 40% of the total wealth. The number of billionaires increased from 142 to 169 in three years. Meanwhile, between 2014 and 2023, he added that the price of rice increased by 56%, that of wheat by 59%, milk by 61%, tomatoes by 115% and Tur dal by 120%. He asked if the wealth created was passed on equitably.
Logistic and financial support was requested by Tamil Nadu following the damage caused by Cyclone Michaung in the state. Other states like Andhra Pradesh and Assam also raised their concerns with respect to the increasing drought and extreme weather events in the respective states.
Concerns over the use of deepfakes and the misuse of artificial intelligence were also raised in both houses. The Silkyara Tunnel Accident was discussed in the Upper House with the opposition highlighting the security violations in the tunnel such as lack of safety exit, trench cages, or safe tubes.
The low exchange rate of the Indian rupee against the US Dollar, increasing migration, unemployment rates, employment under MGNREGA, and air pollution standards were some other topics raised for discussion.
Important Standing Committee Reports
Some of the important parliamentary standing committee reports tabled in both the Houses are listed below. Three of them are reports analysing the Bills that have been listed for business in this parliament session and three reports were Action Taken Reports on Demands for Grants tabled earlier.
Bills introduced and passed
Post Office Bill, 2023 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon Session was passed by the Rajya Sabha in the first week of the Winter Session. The Bill seeks to amend the 125-year-old Indian Post Office Act. According to the Bill, the new enactment has been brought about to provide a simple legislative framework to regulate the functioning of post offices in the country and to facilitate the development of post offices into a network for the delivery of citizen-centric services. The Bill will empower the Director General of Postal Services to make rules regarding essential activities and fix fees for services.
The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was taken up for consideration and passed in the Lok Sabha. The bill was earlier passed in the Rajya Sabha during the monsoon session. The Bill repeals certain sections related to touts under the Legal Practitioners Act of 1879.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment Bill) and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment Bill) were jointly taken up for discussion and passed in the Lok Sabha, in the ongoing session after hours of discussion.
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004. The Act provides reservation in jobs and admission in professional institutions to members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other socially and educationally backward classes.
On the other hand, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 amends the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019. The 2019 Act amended the Second Schedule of the 1950 Act to specify the total number of seats in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly to be 83. The proposed Bill increases the total number of seats to 90. It also reserves seven seats for Scheduled Castes and nine seats for Scheduled Tribes. The Bill adds that the Lieutenant Governor may nominate up to two members from the Kashmiri migrant community to the Legislative Assembly. One of the nominated members must be a woman. Migrants are defined as persons who migrated from the Kashmir Valley or any other part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir after 01 November 1989 and are registered with the Relief Commissioner.
The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023  was moved in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to establish a Central Tribal University in Telangana.
Some interesting questions and responses

created: December 8, 2023


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Parliament Review: No-Confidence Motion Taken Up for Discussion, Important Bills Passed
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 11, 2023
The Lok Sabha took up the No-Confidence motion for discussion. In the meanwhile, many important bills were passed in both houses including the ‘Digital Personal Data Protection, Bill 2023’ without much discussion.
When the parliament is in session, we review the important developments including bills, debates, questions & answers, and reports submitted, of the past week in both the Houses of the Parliament- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This year’s monsoon session of the 17 Lok Sabha began on 20 July 2023. The session was scheduled for over three weeks, until 11 August 2023. As the Parliament Session concludes this week, we look at the important developments in the last week of the monsoon session. The reviews of the first and second weeks of the session can be read here and here.
Important developments
The week began with the reinstatement of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to the Lok Sabha after he was disqualified on 24 March 2023 due to a conviction in a criminal defamation case filed by a BJP leader. The Supreme Court had stayed his conviction in the case. His return to Lok Sabha was at a crucial time as the House started discussing the no-confidence motion moved against the government, the next day. The no-confidence motion was moved to initiate discussion on the ethnic clashes in Manipur. In the first two weeks of the session, both Houses were disrupted multiple times over the same issue. MPs also took a jab at the absence of the Prime Minister from the Parliament during the entire session except on the last day of no-confidence motion.
The first no-confidence motion against the NDA government during the current 17th Lok Sabha term was moved by the Deputy leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi amidst the opposition’s ongoing protests demanding a statement on the situation in Manipur from the Prime Minister. The Home Minister, Amit Shah delivered a two-hour long speech on 09 August 2023 in which he spoke about the reduction in Left Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the country since NDA formed the government 9 years back. He appealed to both Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur to shun violence and hold talks with the Government. He added that he was holding separate talks with members of both communities.
On 10 August 2023, the last day allotted for the discussion, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the House and spoke for more than 2 hours. In his speech, he stated that the entire country was with the people of Manipur and that efforts were underway by central and state governments to punish the accused in Manipur. “The crimes against women in Manipur are unforgivable”, he said.
Most of his speech was directed against the opposition, mainly the Congress.  Asserting that NDA and BJP will again win the 2024 elections, the Prime Minister added that Congress was responsible for most of the problems in the northeast region. He also mentioned that the opposition was never interested in discussing the Manipur issue and that they should have participated with more seriousness in the session and taken part in discussions when key legislations were passed during the session.
pic.twitter.com/GdR8B55Kus
The no-confidence motion against the government was defeated by a voice note.
Further, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was suspended from Lok Sabha over alleged deliberate and repeated misconduct and the matter has been referred to the Privileges Committee. The resolution for suspension of the Congress leader in Lok Sabha was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi. The House adopted the resolution by voice vote.
Bills introduced and passed
Since the session began, over 20 Bills were cleared by Parliament in the first two weeks of sitting. Many of these were passed in the second week despite strong opposition to initiating the discussions after moving the no-confidence motion instead of continuing with the legislative business. Amidst the opposition, several Bills were introduced and passed in both Houses in the last week as well.
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, 2023 which was introduced in the second week was passed by both the Houses this week. The Bill seeks to repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board Act, 2008 and dissolve the Science and Engineering Research Board set up under it. Instead, it provides for establishing the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (NRF) to provide strategic direction for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in fields like natural sciences including mathematics, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, etc.
The Pharmacy (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was passed in the Lok Sabha. It states that any person whose name has been entered in the register of pharmacists maintained under the Jammu and Kashmir Pharmacy Act or possesses qualifications prescribed under the act shall be deemed to have entered the register of pharmacists.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 which was also introduced in Lok Sabha in the last week was passed by both the Houses this week. The bill seeks to establish a robust framework for the protection of personal data in the digital realm. The bill was passed through a voice vote in both houses without much participation by the opposition in the debate.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which empowers the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi to exercise sole discretion on several matters including those recommended by the National Capital Civil Services Authority, and the summoning, prorogation, and dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly was passed in the Rajya Sabha this week.
The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023 expands the scope of coastal aquaculture to include allied activities such as hatcheries and nucleus breeding centres. It also focuses on decriminalizing offences associated with coastal aquaculture activities and promotes sustainable forms of aquaculture. It was passed by both Houses this week.
The Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023, The National Dental Commission Bill, 2023, The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 are some other Bills passed in the Rajya Sabha this week.
Standing Committee reports & Action Taken Reports
The 182 report on ‘Ecosystem of Startups to benefit India’ was tabled by Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce. In the report, the committee appreciated the government’s efforts for the ‘remarkable growth’ of the startup ecosystem in the country. India has become the 3rd largest startup ecosystem globally and is home to 108 unicorns, collectively valued at $340.80 billion as on 31 May 2023. The committee emphasized that the government should sustain the efforts. Further, it suggested employing advanced technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing to improve productivity, optimise resource utilisation, and enhance decision-making in agriculture.
The same committee also presented the 183 report on ‘Development of Trade and Industries in Northeastern Region’ in which subjects like transport and connectivity, availability of land, Special Economic Zone, International Infrastructure, and others were discussed to improve trade and industries in the region. Industry-wise measures such as bamboo, handicraft, and food processing have also been suggested to boost them.
Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, presented the 353rd Report on ‘Issue of Fixing of Airfares’. Among other recommendations, the committee noted that the fixing of airfares depended on various conditions which are subject to variations of the demand-supply dynamics of the market which are taken into consideration by the airlines. It opined that there should be a balance between the commercial interests of the airlines as well as the interests of the passengers. Further, it called for defining ‘reasonable profit’ drawing from the best international practices.
Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice presented its 138 report on ‘Judicial Processes and their Reform‘ in which it observed that there was a ‘diversity deficit’ and opined that while making recommendations for appointments to the Higher Judiciary, both the Supreme Court and the High Court Collegiums should recommend an adequate number of women candidates and candidates from the marginalized sections of the society including minorities.
Some other department-related parliamentary standing committee reports presented this week are ‘Review of Rashtriya Yuva Sashaktikaran Karyakram (RYSK)’ and ‘Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations/ Observations contained in the Three Hundred Thirty Fifth Report on Reforms in the Education of Performing and Fine Arts’ by the Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, ‘Construction of Road-Over Bridges (ROBs), Road-Under-Bridges (RUBs), Service Roads and Review of Road Survey Guidelines etc.’ by the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, etc.
Responses to Questions
A question regarding the details of the water losses in the reservoirs was asked in the Lok Sabha and measures were taken to reduce it. As per the response, the average annual reservoir evaporation (30 years average) is 27,510 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) based on the Central Water Commission (CWC) report on “Reassessment of Water Availability in India using Space Inputs -2019”.
In response to another question on the performance of BSNL, the Ministry of Communications responded that the loss of BSNL (before exceptional items of Rs.1499 Crores) for the financial year 2022-23 was Rs. 6,662 crores, a 4.5% improvement over 2021-22. Further, it added that with the measures taken by the government, BSNL’s expected to turn around with a net profit in 2026-27.
The e-waste generated in the country increased from 1.014 million tonnes in 2019-20 to 1.6 million tonnes in 2021-22, according to the Ministry of Environment’s response in the Rajya Sabha. While e-waste generation has increased, the share of e-waste collected, dismantled, and recycled has increased from 22.07% to 32.92% during the same period.
In response to a question seeking data on the number of stolen Indian antiquities that have been brought back to India during the last two decades, the Ministry of Culture responded that a total of 324 antiquities were brought back during 2003-2023. The majority of these were from the USA. Since 2020 alone, a total of 291 antiquities were retrieved.


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Parliament Review: No Major business in the first few days of 2022 Monsoon Session
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 22, 2022
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. However, no major business took place in the first few days with repeated disruptions. 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. The Presidential and Vice-Presidential elections will be taking place during the session. A total of 32 Bills are likely to be taken up in this session.
Key Developments
At the beginning of the session, PM Narendra Modi made a statement in which he spoke about ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ and the role of the Parliament to achieve the goals in the next 25 years as India will celebrate its centenary of Independence. In his address to the Rajya Sabha, the outgoing Vice President Venkaiah Nadu reminded everyone that it was the last session in the 75 year of India’s Independence and added that during the last 13 sessions in his tenure, 141 of the 248 scheduled full sittings, accounting for 57% of the total sittings, were disrupted partly or fully. He stated that “Better late than never. It is time now to be different and better.” He also asked the members to give their best to make the session a memorable one. This would also be the last session of the Rajya Sabha to be chaired by Venkaiah Naidu.
The first day of the session also witnessed the Presidential Polling. There was a total of 4,796 electors on the list of the Electoral College for the Presidential Election. According to the official press release of the Election Commission, out of a total of 771 MPs and 4,025 MLAs entitled to vote, over 99% cast their votes. Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Puducherry, Sikkim, and Tamil Nadu recorded 100% voting by MLAs. The Vice-Presidential Polling is scheduled to take place on 06 August 2022.
In the Rajya Sabha, the silence was observed as a mark of respect for the memory of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, ex-UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, former Kenya President Mwai Kibaki, legendary Hindustani classical musician Pandit Sivakumar Sharma, and other prominent personalities. Newly elected/nominated members including cricketer Harbhajan Singh, and athlete P T Usha took the oath. Along with P T Usha, music director Ilaiyaraaja, screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad and Philanthropist D. Veerendra Heggade have also been nominated as Rajya Sabha members.
In terms of discussions and debates, this session of the Parliament has not seen any significant business yet since both the Houses were adjourned multiple times due to sloganeering by opposition members over issues like inflation, price hike, and the newly introduced GST on dairy and food items. In the Lok Sabha, some issues were discussed briefly under Rule 377 such as the introduction of air-conditioned rail ambulance, the plight of traditional Indian fishermen, RINL tender relating to coke oven batteries, export of agricultural products, development of sports infrastructure and facilities under ‘Khelo India Yojana’ in Gopalganj district, Bihar, about the need to curb fraudulent mobile app loan, further education of Ukraine-returnee medical students in Indian medical colleges, provision of salary, allowances and other facilities to wardens of civil defence service, among others.
Bills taken up
In this 2022 monsoon 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.
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 to Monday after MoS for Parliamentary Affairs V Muralidharan, requested that the bill be discussed in the presence of opposition members.
Important Standing Committee Reports tabled
Action Taken report detailing the actions taken by the Government on the recommendations/observations contained in the Thirteenth Report of the Committee on ‘Procurement, Storage and Distribution of Food grains by Food Corporation of India’ pertaining to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Department of Food and Public Distribution)’ was presented in the Lok Sabha. The report consisted of measures suggested for effective procurement, improving storage capacity, reduction of loss in storage and transit, among others. Only 75% of the recommendations have been accepted by the government.
In the Rajya Sabha, NCP MP Vandana Chavan laid the department-related standing committee’s report on ‘Recommendations of the Committee’ on “The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill, 2021”. This report was originally presented in the Rajya Sabha in April 2022, when the House was not in Session. The committee recommended that CITES Agreement be implemented, State Wildlife Boards be set up, measures be taken to protect the native Indian gene pool and transportation of elephants. It also calls for a distinction between a criminal act and a possible erroneous breach of law, especially regarding permissions granted for education, science, and research.
Public Accounts committee’s reports on the need for Construction and utilization of Limited Height Subway (LHS), and Assessment of Assessees in Entertainment Sector (DT) were also laid.
Notable questions
In response to a question about the number of persons who had renounced Indian citizenship since 2019, the Ministry of External Affairs replied that 1.44 lakh, 85,256, and 1.63 lakh persons had renounced Indian citizenship in 2019, 2020, and 2021 respectively. The majority had taken up US citizenship instead, followed by Canada, Australia, and the UK.
When asked about the inflation rates, the Finance Ministry responded that the Retail inflation rate based on Consumer Price Index-Combined (CPI-C) was 7.79% in April 2022 which was the highest in the last 8 years. It added that soaring commodity prices and pandemic-induced supply-demand imbalances caused a rise in the inflation rate worldwide including in India. The Russia-Ukraine conflict also contributed to the inflationary pressures in crude oil, gas, and metals. In another response with respect to the same matter, the Ministry stated that the CPI-C was 5.51% in 2021-22 as compared to 6.16% in 2020-21. It was 7.01% in June 2022 as compared to 6.26% in June 2021. It added that the Reserve Bank of India increased the repo rate by 90 basis points from 4% to 4.9% since May 2022.
In response to a question on how India assisted Sri Lanka which is undergoing an economic crisis, it was stated by the Ministry of External Affairs that in January 2022, India extended a US$ 400 million currency swap to Sri Lanka under the SAARC Framework and deferred successive Asian Clearing Union (A.C.U.) settlements till 06 July 2022. A Line of Credit of US$ 500 million was extended to Sri Lanka for importing fuel from India. In addition, India has extended a credit facility of US$ 1 billion for the procurement of food, medicines, and other essential items from India. Humanitarian assistance has also been provided to Sri Lanka by gifting essential medicines worth about INR 6 crores, 15,000 litres of kerosene oil and the US $ 55 million LoC for procurement of Urea fertilizer. The government of Tamil Nadu is also providing Sri Lanka with rice, milk powder and medicines worth US$ 16 million, which is facilitated by the Indian High Commission. The credit support provided by India to Sri Lanka would be repaid as per the relevant agreements.


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Parliament Review: No Significant Business in the First Week of Monsoon Session for 2023
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 28, 2023
Both houses of parliament witnessed disruptions due to repeated adjournments during the first week of the monsoon session of 2023 on the Manipur issue. The opposition also moved a no-confidence motion. Some important questions were answered, and a few standing committee reports were tabled.
The 12 session of the 17 Lok Sabha was scheduled to be held from 20 July 2023 to 11 August 2023. A total of 17 sittings are planned across these 23 days during this monsoon session. This session is expected to be crucial for both the opposition and the government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls next year.
Tentative business Schedule
On the Legislative business front, a total of eight bills are listed for consideration and passing during this session. Below is the list.
Further, a total of 21 bills are listed for introduction, listing, and passing during this session. Some important bills such as the ‘Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023’, ‘The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023’, and ‘The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023’ are scheduled for this session. In addition, two bills, namely, ‘The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019’ and ‘The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ are listed for withdrawal during this session.
A brief about the important bills that are listed to be taken up during this session is as below.
Key Developments
The monsoon session started on a heated note with the opposition members demanding a response from the Prime Minister on the ongoing crisis in Manipur. Both houses were repeatedly adjourned over the differences between the government and opposition parties on the nature of the Manipur crisis. No significant business has taken place till date in both houses amid the logjam.
While the opposition is demanding the suspension of business under Rule 267, the Government clarifies that it is ready for a short-duration discussion under Rule 176.  With no positive response, the opposition had moved a no-confidence motion against the Government, potentially forcing the Prime Minister to speak on the Manipur situation. The date of discussion and voting on the no-confidence motion is not yet decided.
Amid the logjam, the Lok Sabha has passed ‘The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023’. The bill aims to expand the permissible activities that can be taken up on forest land by adding and modifying certain types of land from the purview of the act. The bill was earlier criticized for not being referred to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, Environment and Forests, but instead was referred to a selected joint committee.
Important Standing Committee Reports
Some important Standing Committee reports that were tabled during the first week of the monsoon session are as follows:
Important matters raised under Rule 377
Gautham Sigamani Pon raised the issue of a sharp rise in prices of essential commodities, while Dharambir Singh raised the need to construct more dams and interlink rivers in the country. Similarly, Jaskaur Meena raised the need for provisions of stringent law to punish culprits involved in crimes against women, and Sudhakar Tukaram Shrangare regarding the need to regulate social media.
Other important matters include the recent incident of violence in Manipur raised by Supriya Sadanand Sule, P.P. Chaudhary regarding the need to regulate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in educational institutions in the country, and Subhash Chandra Baheria regarding the need to check harassment of people by money lenders.
Significant Questions


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Parliament Review: No Significant Business in The Second Leg of Budget Session For 2023
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 7, 2023
Both houses of parliament witnessed disruptions due to repeated adjournments during the entire second part of the budget session for 2023. The disruptions were to such an extent that there was not a single day where the house functioned for more than an hour in a day. No significant discussions took place in both houses of the parliament.
On 31 January 2023, the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, gave his maiden speech to the joint sitting of Parliament, kicking off the budget session for the year 2023. The first leg of the budget session lasted until 10 February 2023, followed by a month-long break to evaluate the budget documents. The second part of the budget session resumed on 13 March and continued till 06 April 2023.The summary of part-1 of the budget session 2023 can be read here. In this story, we look at part-2 of the budget session.
Key Developments
After the month-long recess, both houses resumed their business on 13 March 2023. However, both houses witnessed disruptions due to repeated adjournments during the entire second part of the session. The disruptions were to such an extent that there was not a single day where the house functioned for more than an hour in a day. No significant discussions took place in both houses of the parliament.
Several bills were introduced in the Lower House during the second part, as mentioned below.
The appropriation bills allow the Centre to authorize payment and appropriation of certain amounts from and out of the consolidated Fund of the UT and India.
The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023
The Inter-Services Organizations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill 2023 aims to empower the Commander-in-Chief or the Officer-in-Command of Inter-services Organizations in respect of service personnel who are subject to the Air Force Act, 1950, the Army Act, 1950 and the Navy Act, 1957, who are serving under or attached to his command, for the maintenance of discipline and proper discharge of their duties, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 bill seeks to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 to exempt some categories of lands from its reach to expedite key projects. It also enables the central government to give instructions for carrying out the terms of the law. It also specifies terms and conditions, such as the requirement to plant trees as compensation for tree cutting that has been done on the land while taking the proposed act relaxations into consideration.
Interestingly, the bill was not referred to the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, but to a Joint Committee consisting of 21 members from Lok Sabha and 10 members from Rajya Sabha. The opposition termed this move as a tactic to enable the ‘subversion’ of the basic function of the Standing Committees.
The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023
The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill 2023 aims to decriminalize several of the acts mentioned under the earlier 2005 Act for ease of business. Additionally, it contains a clause that prohibits the use of drugs with pharmacological effects on humans and antibiotics in coastal aquaculture. Further, it aims to improve the Coastal Aquaculture Authority’s operational procedures and promote newer, more environmentally friendly forms of coastal aquacultures, such as cage culture, seaweed culture, bi-valve culture, marine ornamental fish culture, and pearl oyster culture, all of which have the potential to add to employment opportunities.
Among these bills, both the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bills and the Finance Bill, 2023 and the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 are passed in Lok Sabha without much discussion. The amendment bill aims to alter the Competition Act 2002 to govern mergers and acquisitions based on the value of deals. The Standing Committee on Finance analyzed the bill and proposed several amendments which were accepted by the government.
The rest of the bills are still pending in the house.
Standing Committee Reports
Multiple Standing Committees and ministries have submitted their ‘Demand for Grants’ pertaining to various ministries in the current session. Apart from these,
Important matters raised under Rule 377
Multiple matters of importance were mentioned by the members of the house during the session. Below are a few of them.
Significant Questions
On a question on increasing prices of essential commodities, the government shared the All-India retail average prices of 22 essential food items. The price of sunflower oil rose from Rs.114.20 in 2020 to 178.20 in 2022, increasing by 64 rupees. Similarly, Mustard oil rose from Rs. 123.30 to Rs.182, Groundnut oil rose from Rs.147 to Rs.189.20 during the same period. Among the 22 commodities, the prices of only potatoes and onions decreased during the above period.
Regarding the criminal cases against civil service officers, the Ministry responded that a total of 110 cases against 166 officers have been registered by CBI during the last five years. 35 of them are from Maharashtra alone, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 18 and Karnataka with 14.
On Money Laundering by corporates, the government replied that the number of persons arrested by ED in the last five years (01 April 2018 to 28 February 2023) is 374, which includes the number of directors of corporates involved in money laundering. No separate data related to corporate fraud is being maintained because PMLA cases generally involve several other offences also. The number of listed companies that have not submitted financials to SEBI rose from 505 in 2018-19 to 624 in 2021-22. The percentage of the number of listed companies against whom action has not been taken by SEBI declined from 68.3 to 54.9 during the same period.
On unclaimed deposits in PSBs, the Ministry responded that the total amount of unclaimed deposits transferred to RBI by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in respect of deposits that have not been operated for 10 years or more, was Rs. 35,012 crores, from 10.24 crore accounts.
Regarding the vacancies in pollution control boards (PCBs), the government replied that out of the 577 sanctioned in CPCB, 193 posts (33%) are vacant. Out of the total sanctioned strength of 11,103 posts in all SPCBs, 5454 (49%) posts are vacant.
A total of 30,310 URLs were given blocking directions by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology from 2018 till 15 March 2023. These include social media URLs, accounts, channels, pages, apps, web pages, websites, etc. However, no separate categorization is specified.


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Parliament Review: Repeated Disruptions Mark First Week of Second Leg of The Budget Session of 2023
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 17, 2023
The first week of the second leg of the 2023 budget session of parliament began 13 March 2023. The house was adjourned repeatedly during the first four days of the session 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 budget session for the year 2023 started with the maiden speech of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, to the joint sitting of the Parliament on 31 January 2023. The first leg of the budget session went till 10 February 2023, following which a month-long recess was scheduled to review the budget documents. The second leg of the budget session commenced on 13 March and is expected to go on till 06 April 2023. A total of 27 sittings were originally scheduled for this entire budget session. The summary of part-1 of the budget session 2023 can be read here.
Key Developments
The house was adjourned repeatedly during the first four days of the session 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. No significant business took place during these days. Pankaj Chaudhary, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a statement (Hindi and English versions) showing Supplementary Demands for Grants – Second Batch for 2022-23 on 13 March 2023 in the Lower House. On 15 March 2023, The Inter-Services Organizations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
In the Upper House, no significant business took place as similar conditions that of the Lower House prevailed. On 14 March 2023, The Budget of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, 2023–2024, was laid on the table of the Upper House, which was earlier presented in the Lower House on 13 March 2023.
Standing Committee Reports
Multiple Standing Committees have submitted their ‘Demand for Grants’ pertaining to various ministries in the current session. The reports of the following committees and ministries associated with them are tabled in the Lower House.
Further, the report of the Joint Committee on the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was also presented in the Lok Sabha. In the Upper House, the following Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees have tabled their reports.
Important matters raised under Rule 377
N. K. Premachandran raised a matter regarding enhancing the monthly income ceiling limit in ESIC. Hanuman Beniwal raised a matter about the appointment of widows of Pulwama martyrs on compassionate grounds. Vivek Narayan Shejwalkar raised the issue regarding the inclusion of traditional crafts in the educational syllabus. Kaushalendra Kumar pointed out the need to increase wages and workdays under the MGNREGS. Aparupa Poddar raised the issue regarding the need to establish ‘SC/ST/OBC Welfare and Grievance Redressal Committees’ in higher educational institutions.
Significant Questions
On a question on Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a total of 1118 Lakh Metric Tons of foodgrains were allocated in seven phases and a total of Rs.  3,11,386.64 crore funds were released over the period of three years from 2020-21 to 2022-23.
Regarding the cash in circulation and demonetization, the Ministry stated that the ratio of cash in circulation to GDP as of March 2022 stood at 13.7%, which is higher than that of March 2013. After a brief decline in circulation due to demonetization, the value of cash in circulation has been rising since March 2017.
On a question on the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), at an all-India level, the number of training providers/training centres in which training was imparted fell drastically from 6141 during 2019-20 to 539 in 2020-21, thereafter it improved to 2589 in 2021-22. Similarly, the number of candidates reported placed fell from 6,08,389 in 2019-20 to 2,16,102 in 2020-21 and to 1,64,162 in 2021-22.
Regarding the number of Out-of-School students, the Ministry replied that a total of 9,30,531 students are currently out of school, of which boys comprise of 54% while girls account for the rest. In absolute terms, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Gujarat are the top-3 states.
Regarding the status of funds collected for welfare of building and other construction workers, the Ministry of Labour and Employment responded that around 5.6 Crore workers are registered, and a total of Rs. 87,478 Crores have been collected as cess, out of which only Rs.49,269 Crore have been spent.
On student suicides, a total of 61 students died by suicide from 2018 to 2023 in IITs, NITs, and IIMs. 2019 and 2022 registered the highest number of suicides.
Regarding the rise of cases of gold smuggling in India, the Ministry responded that the year 2022 registered 3982 cases of gold smuggling, which is higher than 2445 cases in 2021 and 2567 cases in 2020. In terms of quantity, 3502 kgs of gold was smuggled in 2022, compared to 2383 kgs in 2021 and 2154 kgs in 2020.


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Parliament Review: Repeated Disruptions Mark The First Week of The Budget Session of Parliament
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
February 10, 2023
The first week of the 2023 budget session of parliament began on 31 January with the first-ever address of the President Droupadi Murmu to a joint sitting of Parliament. The economic survey and the budget were also presented. The first week was also marked by repeated disruptions & adjournments as the opposition demanded a discussion & enquiry on the issues relating to the Adani group.
The 2023 budget session began on 31 January 2023, with the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, delivering her maiden address to the joint sitting of the Parliament. Following the speech, the Economic Survey of India was tabled in both houses of the parliament by the finance minister. The session is scheduled to go on a break on 13 February 2023 and will resume on 13 March 2023 and conclude on 06 April 2023, with a total of 27 sittings. The session will have recess from 14 February to 12 March 2023.
Tentative business schedule
A total of 27 sittings are planned in the Eleventh session of the seventeenth Lok Sabha. In the legislative business, a total of seven bills are expected to be taken up for consideration and passing by the Lok Sabha. Below is the list.
Further, a total of 19 new bills are expected to be taken up for the ‘Introduction, consideration and passing’ during this eleventh session. The list of all the new bills to be introduced can be accessed here. Some of the important bills among them are mentioned below.
Key Developments
The Economic Survey 2022-23 was tabled on the floor of the House on 31 January 2023. The 2023-24 union budget was introduced by the finance minister on 01 February 2023. Under the Fiscal Responsibility and Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, the Medium-term fiscal policy cum fiscal policy strategy statement and macro-economic framework statement were also tabled on the floor of the house. The session was adjourned to the next day after the introduction of the Finance Bill, 2023.
The house was adjourned repeatedly during the third day (02Feb), fourth day (03 Feb) and the fifth day (06 Feb) of the session because of the protests by the opposition demanding a discussion & enquiry into the issues of the Adani group. No significant business took place during these five days of the session. On the sixth day of the session (07Feb), the ‘Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address’ was moved, and twenty-six members spoke for about 8.5 hours on the motion. The discussion also continued on the seventh day (08 Feb), and the ‘Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address’ was adopted after the Prime Minister replied to the debate. The general discussion on Union Budget 2023-24 has commenced on 08 February 2023.
Important Standing Committee Reports
337 and 338 reports of the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture on the action taken by the Government on the recommendations/observations of the Committee contained in its Three Hundred Seventeenth Report on Demands for Grants (2022-23) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways was tabled on the floor of the house. Further,
Additionally, reports of the Standing Committee on Water Resources, and the Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change were also tabled.
Important matters raised under Rule 377
Prof. Sougata Ray raised a matter to not ban films/movies based on ideological differences, and P.R. Natarajan raised the issue of the need to grant an attempt to Civil Service aspirants who could not avail of their last attempt in the Civil services Examination due to COVID-19 Pandemic, and Tiruchi Siva raised a matter in Rajya Sabha regarding time-consuming and prolonged organ donation procedures in the country.
Significant Questions
On a question on tap connections under Jal Jeevan Mission, the Government replied that the total rural households with tap water connections as of 15 August 2019 were 323.63 lakhs which increased to 1104.04 lakh households with tap water supply as on 30 January 2023. Around 57% of rural households have a tap water supply.
On Pradhan Mantri National Dialysis Program (PMNDP), the government informed the parliament that a total of 17.27 lakh beneficiaries have availed of dialysis services till 31 December 2022. A total of 1350 dialysis centres have been established for that purpose.
On the question of challenges faced during work from home, the government answered that the Ministry has not conducted any study on challenges faced during work from home. But according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Central Government published the draft Model Standing Orders (MSO) on the “service sector” in the official Gazette dated 31 December 2020, inviting suggestions or objections from all stakeholders, including the general public. This was done in accordance with Section 29 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, which among other things contains the provision regarding “Work from Home.” The draft MSO, among other things, authorises “Work from Home” under certain appointment or agreement terms between the employer and employees, for whatever length or periods the employer may select. The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 has not, however, taken force yet.
On the question of the number of MSMEs that are incorporated as well as closed during the last five years, the government informed that more than 18.23 lakh MSMEs have been incorporated during 2022-23, which is less than the 21.72 lakh MSMEs in 2021-22. Additionally, the number of MSMEs that have applied for cancellation due to shutdown in the Udyam Registration Portal stood at 175, 6222, and 10,729 during 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively.
On increasing trade deficit with China, the Government replied that the trade deficit with China in 2021-22 was 73.81 billion, while from April-November 2022, the trade deficit remained at 58 billion and that it did not cross the 100 billion USD.
On a question on the maternity benefits under the ESI Act 1948, the number of women who received maternity benefits under this act stood at 49200, 46327, and 45610 during 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 respectively. Additionally, the data regarding the availability of crèches, under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as amended in the year 2017, are not maintained centrally by the Ministry. However, as per the scheme run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, a total of 3578 creches are available across India.

created: February 10, 2023


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Parliament Review: Second Week Witnesses Multiple Disruptions Demanding For a Discussion on India-China Border Situation
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 23, 2022
The second week of the 2022 winter session of the parliament witnessed multiple disruptions with the opposition demanding a discussion on the India-China border situation. A detailed discussion on the issue of drug abuse in the country was also taken up during the second week. Multiple standing committees submitted reports during the week.
The 2022 winter session of the parliament began on 07 December and is expected to go on till 29 December 2022, with 17 sitting over 23 days. A total of 16 bills are likely to be taken up during the session. However, as per reports, the session is likely to end a week ahead of the original schedule, by 23 December 2022 because of Christmas and New Year festivities.
Key matters discussed
The second week of the session witnessed disruptions multiple times with the opposition raising demands to discuss the India- China border situation following the clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Tawang Sector earlier this month. The matter was raised almost every day in both the Houses for discussion and the houses had to be adjourned early on certain days because of the disruptions that followed. Amidst this, the concerns opposition raised with respect to India and China’s relations include India’s high trade deficit with China- about $ 73 billion, illegal Chinese mobile applications, Chinese aggression on the critical sea lanes in the South China Sea, among others.
The week also witnessed lengthy discussions on the problem of drug abuse in the country and steps taken by the government, in the Lower House. According to an MP from Kerala, over the past few years, the prevalence of drugs and illicit liquor has increased in the country. Alcohol is the most used psychoactive substance in India, followed by cannabis and opioids, with 16 crore, 3.1 crore, and 2.26 crore individual users, respectively. He stated that there were reportedly 1.58 crore children in the country that are addicted to drugs between the ages of 10 and 17 years. The huge inflow of marijuana and heroin is increasing the availability of drugs to even school students in Kerala. The Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry mentioned that the problem in Punjab has assumed horrific proportions as compared to the rest of the States. Another MP cited figures from various reports. He cited a UN report which says that the number of drug users in India is likely to increase by 40% in 2022 as against 2009, a 2019 report by AIIMS which states that 160 million Indians consume alcohol in India, NCRB report stating that 21 deaths in India are attributed to the consumption of drugs every day. He mentioned that of these, 7860 people had committed suicide due to drugs.
The Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded that the Union Government, all the State Governments and Union Territories will have to fight the battle together. The entry of drugs will have to be checked from the borders, airports, and ports. He added that the Department of Revenue, Narcotics Control Bureau and all the states’ anti-narcotics agencies, and the Department of Social Welfare and Department of Health should be involved to tackle the problem. He also mentioned the initiatives taken by the government such as the NCORD Portal, National Integrated Data Base on Narco offenders, etc. to achieve the PM’s vision of a drug-free vision as part of Azadi Ka Mahotsav.
Apart from this, a Tripura MP’s resolution for holistic development of the agarwood sector, unethical practices in digital lending apps, and child welfare were a few other topics discussed in the Rajya Sabha.
Considering the increasing COVID-19 cases from across the world, the Union Health Minister stated in the Parliament that the Ministry was aware of the situation at the global level and advised states to increase genome sequencing for timely identification of the new variants of the coronavirus.
Bills taken up
The Repealing and Amending Bill 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju. The Bill seeks to repeal redundant and obsolete laws like The Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2018, The Personal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 2019, The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Act, 2020, etc. which are no longer relevant.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 which seeks to amend certain enactments for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further enhance trust-based governance for ease of living and doing business was introduced in the Lower House.
The Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill, 2022 enables Indian authorities to take action against piracy on the high seas. While the Bill was discussed in the parliament during the first week, both the Houses passed the Bill in the past week. The Bill was initially introduced during the Winter Session in 2019.
The Appropriation (No.4) Bill, 2022 & Appropriation (No.5), 2022, which were passed in the Lok Sabha in the first week were discussed and passed in the Rajya Sabha in the past week. These bills were introduced and passed to seek additional funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.
The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fourth Amendment) Bill, 2022 and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Fifth Amendment) Bill, 2022 were passed in the Lok Sabha.
Committee reports tabled
The Standing Committee on Petroleum & Natural Gas tabled the Seventeenth Report on ‘Review of Implementation of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) (SATAT)’. As part of an initiative under the National Biofuel Policy, 2018, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas launched the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative in October 2018, for promoting the use of Compressed biogas (bio-CNG) in the CNG (transport) and PNG (Domestic) sector of City Gas Distribution (CGD) supplies of natural gas. The report points towards the slow pace of the scheme and the lack of clarity.
Action Taken by the Government on the recommendations contained in the Thirteenth Report of the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs (2021-2022) on, ‘Implementation of Metro Rail Projects – An Appraisal’ was presented by the Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs (2022-2023). 16 out of 21 recommendations put forth by the committee were accepted by the Government.
A Parliamentary panel on finance laid in the Lok Sabha a report on ‘Anti-Competitive practices by Big Tech Companies’. The report highlights the anti-competitive practices of big tech companies and calls for an ex-ante framework legislation. It also calls for enhancing the competitive law in the country to deal with the anti-competitive behaviour in the digital markets and strengthening the Competition Commission of India.
A report on the ‘Review of the functioning of National Institutes established for different types of disabilities’ was presented in the Lok Sabha. In the report, the committee expressed disappointment over fewer faculty members in most of the Institutes in comparison to their sanctioned strength.
The committee on Welfare of Other Backward Classes released reports on measures taken to secure the representation of the community in employment and welfare in Canara Bank, GAIL, AAI, and BSNL & MTNL.
The Committee On The Welfare Of Scheduled Castes And Scheduled Tribes tabled reports on ‘Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Public Sector Oil Companies and Status of allotment of Petrol and Gas agencies (CNG, PNG, LPG etc) and other related Agencies/Units to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’, Action was taken reports on ‘Reservation of Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes in Public Sector Banks/Financial Institutions/Reserve Bank of India and credit facilities and other benefits being provided by such Institutions/Banks to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes with special reference to State Bank of India’ and ‘Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Central Public Sector Undertaking with special reference to Power Grid Corporation of India Limited’.
Few Questions & Responses

created: December 23, 2022


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Parliament Review: Security Scare & Intruders in Lok Sabha Dominate Proceedings in Second Week of Winter Session - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
December 15, 2023
The second week of the winter session of parliament was dominated by the major security scare where intruders jumped from the Visitor’s Gallery of the Lok Sabha and alleged to have sprayed something like a tear gas. The Delhi Police and Lok Sabha Secretariat are said to be investigating the security lapse. Multiple other bills were discussed and passed.
The last full-fledged session of the 17 Lok Sabha began last week on 04 December 2023 and is expected to conclude on 22 December 2023. This Winter Session is packed with a hefty lineup of legislative plans across 15 sittings spread over a period of 19 days. They aim at revamp of archaic colonial laws and also establish a structured system for appointing election commissioners. Among the anticipated bills up for debate are the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023.
The second week of the session saw a huge security scare, with intruders entering the chambers. The intruders threw something that emitted fluorescent gas and were apprehended by the parliamentarians. The Delhi Police and Lok Sabha Secretariat are said to be investigating the security lapse.
In addition to this, some important discussions and debates happened during this week, with some key bills getting passed in Parliament.
Key developments
During the last week, the Post Office bill 2023, and the Advocates (Amendment) Bill 2023 were passed by Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha respectively. In continuation of the debate from last week, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill 2023 were passed by both houses. Interestingly, these bills were passed on the same day on which the constitutional validity of the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article was upheld by the Supreme Court.
The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which allowed for the setting up of a tribal university in Telangana, by the name ‘Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University’ was passed by both houses of the Parliament. A short-notice discussion was held in Rajya Sabha on the economic situation of India, focussing on poverty, unemployment, and hunger.
The fifth day of the house saw a huge uproar over the report of the Ethics Committee on a ‘cash for query’ against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. The Lower House of the Parliament expelled her through voice vote.
Further, Home Minister Amit Shah withdrew three bills that aimed to amend criminal laws. He presented revised versions of these bills: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya (BS), and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).
Lok Sabha saw a passage of few other bills: it approved the Supplementary Demands for Grants – First Batch for 2023-2024 and also passed payments from the consolidated fund, Demands for Excess Grants for 2020-2021; it passed the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2023. The Finance Minister introduced the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, and the Central Goods and Services Act (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha.
In a significant development, the Rajya Sabha passed the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. This bill aims to standardize how the chief election commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners are appointed, their service conditions, and their duration in office. It also suggests establishing a selection panel with the Prime Minister as chair, the Leader of the Opposition as a member, and a Union Cabinet Minister appointed by the Prime Minister as another member for appointing the CEC and other ECs. Earlier, the apex court ruled that the selection panel should consist of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. But such an arrangement was valid only till the parliament enacted a law. Despite the government’s assertion that the bill aligns with the apex court’s ruling, the opposition views it as a blow to the autonomy of the election commission. The opposition’s attempt to refer the bill to a select committee was declined.
Important Standing Committee reports
The second week of the session also saw the presentation of action-taken reports of various ministries/departments. Some of the important reports are as below.
Some interesting Parliamentary questions
Matters raised under Rule 377
Some of the important matters raised by members under Rule 377 are as below.

created: December 15, 2023


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Parliament Review: The 2022 Budget session ends after passage of important Bills - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
April 11, 2022
During the last week of the budget session of parliament for the year 2022, there was extensive discussion on some of the important bills such as the criminal identification bill, the merger of the three municipal corporations in Delhi. The issues of Russia-Ukraine conflict, price rise were also discussed. Here is a review of the last week of the second leg of the budget session.
The Budget Session of the Parliament concluded on 07 April 2022, a day earlier than scheduled on completion of essential government business. Both houses were adjourned sine die due to demand from leaders of various political parties. The session had commenced on 31 January 2022 with the President’s address. Both Houses were adjourned for recess between 11 February 2022 and 14 March 2022 for Departmentally related Standing Committees to examine and report on the Demands for Grants relating to various Ministries/Departments. The first part of the Budget Session yielded a total of 10 sittings each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.  In the second part of the Session, there were 17 sittings each in both the Houses.
Key developments
The last week of the session had only four sittings.  Eight new members took oath in the Rajya Sabha. The issue of rising fuel prices was raised multiple times by the opposition and led to protests resulting in adjournment. In the Rajya Sabha, Sukhendu Sekhar Ray expressed the need for displaying signboards in Central Government Establishments including Metro Railway Stations in West Bengal in the Bengali Language along with English and Hindi. The Chair also agreed to it stating that government signboards in every state should have the mother tongue, state language, Hindi, and English so that people can understand.
During a discussion on The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 in the Lok Sabha, the issue of overcrowding of prisons was raised. It was stated that there was 120% occupancy in the prisons because of overcrowding, and 70% of the inmates were undertrials.
Russia-Ukraine war was discussed in both the Houses. Opposition MP N K Premachandran stated that India’s evacuation programme would have been better if early cautious steps were taken as other countries did. He added that the advisories of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy in Ukraine regarding the crisis lacked clarity and direction. Another MP, Dr. T Sumathy stated that India should take the moral responsibility as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. Other MPs also raised concerns about the completion of education by the medical students returning from Russia and the need to improve the medical education in the country so that students need not go abroad. Responding to the discussion, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said that India is strongly against the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and if India has chosen a side, it is the side of peace. He also added that India’s approach will be to promote dialogue, end the conflict, and mitigate economic distress for itself and for the world.
Details of Bills taken up
The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 which aims to authorize the police to take measurements of convicts and accused, to preserve their records, for the purposes of their identification and investigation in criminal matters, was taken up for consideration and passed in the Lok Sabha. There was a heated debate on the Bill with the opposition calling it ‘unconstitutional’. They added that the law had scope for misuse, especially in the absence of a data protection law. Home Minister Amit Shah clarified that narcoanalysis, polygraph test, or brain mapping is not included in the Bill and that the Bill was aimed at reducing the crimes in the country by sending a strong message to the society. The Bill was passed by both, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which seeks to amend The Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957  to merge the trifurcated North, South, and East Delhi Municipal Corporations was passed in the Lok Sabha in the previous week. The Rajya Sabha also passed the Bill. Home Minister assured that the Bill does not harm the federal structure.
The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants, and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that seeks to amend the existing Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959, and the Company Secretaries Act 1980 that was passed by the Lok Sabha and introduced in the Rajya Sabha in the previous week was passed in the Rajya Sabha.
The Lok Sabha also passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. The Bill was passed in Rajya Sabha in the previous week.
The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022, introduced by the External Affairs Minister in the Lok Sabha, 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 House.
Reports tabled
The 13th report of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas on the safety and security of oil installations of public sector oil companies has recommended that Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry should find out why ONGC chose Skymet for weather forecasting services. It also added that ONGC should take weather bulletins, advisories, and also location-specific forecasts for its installations from the India Meteorological Department.
Standing Committee on Labour, Textiles and Skill Development submitted a report on “Implementation Of National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS)/National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS)” in which it recommended that the stipend given to apprentices be increased by a sizeable extent so that it is on par with the stipend given for technical courses offered by the Ministry of Education. The committee added that the reimbursement of the stipend amount at the prescribed rate for both NAPS and NATS be facilitated in a timely manner so that the MSMEs are encouraged to engage more and more apprentices.
Notable Questions
Responding to a question on whether the government is planning to resume the population census, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that the Census 2021 and related field activities have been postponed until further orders due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and added that the forthcoming Census is to be the first digital Census with a provision for self-enumeration.
A question on whether the government has thought of finding the forgotten freedom fighters was raised to which the Home Affairs Ministry responded that the ‘Dictionary of Martyrs of India’s freedom struggle from 1857 to 1947 published by the Ministry of Culture has recorded the names of freedom fighters. Further, during the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebration to commemorate 75 years of independence, special focus has been given to commemorating heroes of freedom struggle, stated the Ministry.
The Minister of Information & Broadcasting stated that it tracked a total of 175, 114, 61, 77, 186, and 28 Twitter/e-mail/ Government websites pertaining to Government accounts and Government offices that were hacked during the years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (up to February) respectively in response to a question on details pertaining to hacked government websites.
The Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) also stated that 5 cases of abetment to suicide through online games were registered in Tamil Nadu in 2017 and 2 cases in 2018- 1 each in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were registered. No cases were registered in 2019 and 2020, in response to a query in the Lok Sabha.
Session Summary
The session began with the President’s address. The Union Budget for 2022- 23 was presented and a general discussion on it was held in both Houses in the first part of the Session. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were engaged for a total of 15 Hours 35 minutes against the allotted 12 Hours and 11 Hours 01 minute against the allotted 11 Hours, respectively in this discussion. A total of 13 Bills (12 in Lok Sabha and 01 in Rajya Sabha) were introduced during this session. 13 Bills were passed by Lok Sabha and 11 Bills were passed by Rajya Sabha. 11 Bills were passed by both Houses.