The first half of the Budget session began on January 31 and concluded on February 11.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to put an end to the alleged "systematic interference" of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.
Making a Zero Hour submission in the Lok Sabha, Mrs Gandhi referred to a report published in Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.
Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge accused Kapil Sibal of deliberately trying to weaken Congress and said that he may be a good lawyer but he is not a mass leader as he is not aware of the ground realities about politics.
He also urged the party's Interim president Sonia Gandhi to take action against the leaders who are not working for the betterment of the party, adding that Sibal is deliberately weakening the party.
The second half of the Budget session of Parliament resumed from March 14 and will conclude on April 8. The first half of the Budget session began on January 31 and concluded on February 11.
The two Houses of Parliament are following the social distancing norms in the seating arrangements of the members by utilizing both the chambers and visitors' galleries.
Here are the Highlights on the Budget Session of Parliament
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Taking initiatives in tribal areas in coordination with various ministries to address problems: Union Minister
The government is taking a number of initiatives for the welfare and protection of tribal people and regions in coordination with various ministries, Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The health and welfare of the tribal people are a priority for this government and through schemes such as Ayushman Bharat, 61.13 lakh people have benefited so far, said Munda and rejected the Opposition's charge that the allocation for projects related to tribals had been decreased.
"The ministry is working on a plan to set up telemedicine facilities in the areas and is also creating a database to full fill the needs of the community," said Mr Munda adding that it has launched 'Swasthya" a Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal for them.
Moreover, the government is also working on research and finding a solution to Sickle Cell Anemia, which has a high incidence in tribal areas.
4,302 children orphaned during pandemic approved as eligible for benefits under PM-CARES: Government
Of the 8,973 applications received for support under the 'PM-CARES for Children' scheme, as many as 4,302 children who were orphaned during the pandemic have been approved as eligible for benefits, the government said on Wednesday.
Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani gave state/UT, gender and age-group wise details of such children.
According to the data, 212 children aged 0-6 years, 1670 children aged 6-14 years, 2001 children aged 14-18 years and 418 young adults aged 18-23 years have received the approval.
Ms Irani said that till March 14, 2022, 8973 applications have been uploaded on the portal out of which, 4302 applications have been approved by district magistrates after due process.
2,98,428 vacant posts in railways: Union minister The total number of vacant posts in the Indian Railways is 2,98,428, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
"The railways is having online recruitment and the process of recruitment is being expedited," he said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
A total of 1,40,713 vacancies, including 20,944 vacancies for the Scheduled Castes and 10,930 vacancies for the Scheduled Tribes, are presently under recruitment for level-1 to level-7, the railways minister stated.
In December last year, the national transporter had to suspend its NTPC and Level 1 tests after violent protests by job aspirants over the selection process of its recruitment exams.
No plans at present for achieving 200 km per hour speed on Rajdhani trains: Government
The Indian Railways has currently no plans for achieving 200 km per hour speed on Rajdhani trains, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.
Rajdhani trains run at speed not more than 140 km per hour. Currently, there are 50 Rajdhani trains operating in the country.
In reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the Railway minister said, "As of now the Indian Railways have no plans for achieving 200 km per hour on Rajdhani routes."
Sale of electric vehicles increased since 2020, scenario would change in next 2-3 years: Nitin Gadkari in Rajya Sabha
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday informed Rajya Sabha that the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) have increased since 2020 in the country, and assured that the scenario would change in the next two to three years.
The Minister, while replying to a query during Question Hour, said alternative power sources like "green hydrogen" are being focussed by the government across the country to get relief from pollution and emphasize on the sale of EVs are among those steps.
Mr Gadkari also says that several startups in the country are also working on alternate battery technologies.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's idea of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharath' (self-reliant India), Mr Gadkari said, the government will reduce import and within two years and the use of clean fuel, alternative fuel and biofuel will increase in the country.
Insurgency violence in Northeast down by 74%; civilian killing 89%: Government tells Rajya SabhaSecurity situation in the Northeastern states has improved substantially since 2014 and insurgency violence in the region is down by 74 per cent and civilian deaths decreased by 89 per cent, Union minister Nityanand Rai said on Wednesday.
Mr Rai said the government has zero tolerance policy against terrorism and it has initiated peace talks with insurgent groups of the Northeastern states which abjure violence, lay down arms and seek solutions for their problems peacefully within the framework of the Constitution.
The minister said those who are not in talks are being dealt with by the central armed police forces, armed forces and the state police through counter insurgency operations.
"Due to the above strategy, the security situation in the Northeastern states has improved substantially since 2014," he said in a written reply.
No need for special recruitment drives in Railways: Centre
The Centre on Wednesday ruled out special recruitment drives for filling vacancies of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Railways.
Replying to supplementaries in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Railways has been recruiting personnel at regular intervals and there was no need to launch special drives.
He said the last special recruitment drive by the Railways was held in 2008 to clear the backlog of vacancies of SCs, STs and OBCs.
"In pursuance of Special Recruitment Drive launched in the year 2008 as per the directives of DOP&T, as many as 14868 backlog vacancies [SCs (4003), STs (4143) & OBCs (6722)] were identified for clearance in a time-bound manner and the same had been fully cleared as on 31.03.2017," Mr Vaishnaw said.
Centre restores valid e-visa to 156 countriesIndia has restored all currently valid five year e-tourist visa given to citizens of 156 countries and regular paper visa to nationals of all countries with immediate effect, two years after their suspension follow the COVID-19 outbreak.
Officials also said all currently valid old long duration (10 years) regular tourist visa given to nationals of the US and Japan have been restored.
Rajya Sabha members express concern over rising cases of cancer Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday expressed concern over the rising cases of cancer in the country and suggested various measures, including regular check-up camps in rural areas and mandatory warning on processed meat packets, to tackle the disease.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, BJP's Mahesh Poddar demanded that cancer warning should be made mandatory on packets of processed meat in line with tobacco products.
16 Chinese nationals granted Indian citizenship since 2007: Home MinistryUnion Minister for state Home Affairs Nityanand Rai on Wednesday in a written reply to Rajya Sabha informed that 16 Chinese nationals granted Indian citizenship since 2007 and other 10 applications of Chinese nationals are pending for the of grant citizenship.
Mallikarjun Kharge accuses Kapil Sibal of deliberately trying to weaken CongressRajya Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused Kapil Sibal of deliberately trying to weaken Congress and said that he may be a good lawyer but he is not a mass leader as he is not aware of the ground realities about politics.
Congress G-23 includes Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad among others, who have been raising demand for organization rehaul in the party leadership for the past two years since the defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha election.
45,314 cases registered for drug trafficking in the country during last one year
45,314 cases registered for drug trafficking in the country during last one year & 61,882 persons arrested along with 99.36% of Indians arres45,314 cases registered for drug trafficking in the country during last one year & 61,882 persons arrested along with 99.36% of Indians arrested & 0.64% foreign nationals arrested for drug trafficking in the country during the last one year: MoS Home Nityanand Rai to Rajya Sabha
Sonia Gandhi urges government to end influence of social media giants on electoral politics
It has repeatedly come to public notice that global social media companies aren't providing a level playing field to all parties...Blatant manner in which social harmony is being disturbed by FB with the connivance of ruling establishment is dangerous for our democracy, Sonia Gandhi said
Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gives zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha on 'wholesale inflation'Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Wednesday gave zero hour notice in Rajya Sabha on 'wholesale inflation'.
In the notice, the Member of Parliament stated that it is a matter of serious concern that India's inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose to 13.11 per cent year on year in February from 12.96 per cent in January, according to data released by the commerce ministry.
Manipur Caretaker Chief Minister N Biren Singh arrives at the Parliament to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Budget Session Updates: TMC MP Abir Ranjan Biswas has given Zero hour Notice in Rajya Sabha on concerns over linking of Aadhaar with voter IDs.
Budget Session Updates: BJP MP Vikas Mahatme gives Zero hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over "the need of a National Policy to reduce alcohol consumption in the country.
Pakistan rejects India's response to accidental missile launchPakistan has rejected as "incomplete and insufficient" the response by India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in parliament about the "accidental firing" of a missile and demanded a joint probe into the incident which the Pakistani military said could have resulted in a "major disaster."
Addressing a press conference, Shah Mahmood Qureshi talked in detail about India's accidental missile launch of March 9 that landed in Pakistan's Punjab province as well as the 48th Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers being hosted by Pakistan on March 22-23.
147 foreign nationals from 18 countries evacuated from Ukraine: S JaishankarExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday informed parliament that 147 foreign nationals hailing from 18 countries were evacuated from the conflict situation in Ukraine as part of Operation Ganga and brought to India.
Dynastic politics dangerous to democracy: PM ModiPrime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday said a conscious decision was taken to not give tickets to children of BJP MPs for assembly polls as dynastic politics is dangerous for democracy and the party is against it, sources said.
Addressing the BJP parliamentary party meeting in the backdrop of the party's stupendous performance in the recent elections, Modi also gave a task to MPs from the five states where polls were held to identify at least 100 booths in their respective constituencies, where the BJP got relatively fewer votes and identify the reasons, the sources said.
Lok Sabha proceedings to resume at 11 AM todayThe Lok Sabha will resume its proceedings from 11 am on Wednesday after it was adjourned by Speaker Om Birla late on Tuesday.