Government to extend budget session

NEW DELHI:  BJP chief and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah on Tuesday indicated to party MPs at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting that the government may extend the ongoing Budget session of Parliament by another 10 days as it was keen to push pending legislative businesses in both Houses.

The Budget session is concluding on July 26. “The government may recommend extending the Budget session till August 10,” said a source. The Opposition, including the Congress and the Trinamool, has expressed displeasure at the speculation of the government mulling extension of the Budget session, with leaders arguing that their MPs need to go back to their respective constituencies.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave a presentation at the meeting on the extent of water crisis across the country and the roadmap to mitigate the distress of the people. In his presentation, he sought cooperation of MPs, including adopting traditional sources of waters in villages for their rejuvenation and conservation. He shared success stories of a few states, which have been able to increase the water table, besides reviving the sources of water. 

Key officials retained in PMO 
Several key officials in the PMO have been retained in the second term of PM Narendra Modi. These include Hiren Joshi, SK Singhla, Rajeev Topno and Prateek Doshi, who were reappointed as per orders issued by the Cabinet Committee on Appointment. Joshi has been appointed OSD (Communi-cation & IT) with the rank of a joint secretary and Doshi as OSD (Research & Strategy). Topno, a Gujarat cadre 
IAS officer, was appointed as Perso-nal Secretary to PM. Singla, a 1997 batch IFS officer, is the other PS.