Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, delivered her fourth Budget in the Parliament on February 1. This is the second consecutive year that a paperless budget was presented.
Fiscal deficit is 6.9% of GDP. Tax relief announced to persons with disabilities. No change in personal income tax rates.
Here are the latest updates:
On MSMEs
Answering to Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's question, Commerce and Industries Minister Piyush Goyal says the Congress government didn't invest in the industries manufacturing unit in their time. Adding to it, he said COVID-19 pandemic has affected all the sectors but through Make in India, the government is aiming to uplift the manufacturing sector.
Rajya Sabha adjourned
The Chair adjourns the House till till tomorrow 10 a.m. Discussions on Motion of Thanks to continue tomorrow.
Tiruchi Siva on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha
Tiruchi Siva, DMK MP, says that the govt. is ignoring the farmers of the country. "The country was an agrarian economy, but now it is becoming a corporate economy," he says.
Mr. Siva calls the BJP govt. anti-regional languages. He says the govt. is imposing Hindi on non-Hindi speaking States.
"The BJP govt. came to power with the mantra of mimimum govt, maximum governance, but now there is only maximum govt and no governance," he says.
Ram Gopal Yadav on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha
Ram Gopal Yadav says that there was no necessity to provide booster doses in the country. He says, "Only vaccination companies are being benefited because of this drive, and it was not needed."
Mr. Kharge on religious conflicts
You are harassing minorities, Mother Teresa ‘s organisation was troubled. They (BJP) raised voices against the church, Churches are disciplined, many people here teach their children in Christian schools. Breaking Jesus’ statue on December 25, Cristians are being oppressed, PM should intervene. You send your minions instead. I observe Hindu rituals but not to show to people.
Take back the labour law codes, trade union are not allowed to strike, he says.
Nehru built all the institutions, you are reaping benefits of it. You won’t take his name as you hate him but that is the truth.
PM left the house at 1.39 pm.
Mr. Kharge on LIC and U.P. elections
Why are you divesting LIC when it is a profitable venture. When you finish government jobs then reservation also ends. Private companies will give jobs on contract, you are snatching assured jobs. You never paid any compensation to farmers who lost lives during agitation. You called them mawaali, aatankawadi, a minister’s son killed four farmers. Doubling of farmers income did not find mention in President’s address. You should sack the home minister (MoS Home Ajay Kumar Mishra Teni), he could influence probe. You are known to take quick actions but you didn’t sack him, may be due to U.P elections. Insurance companies profited from crop insurance schemes.
Mallikarjun Kharge on Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha
He says the President’s speech is a policy document, but if neither had policy nor vision. You say nothing happened in the past 70 years, if nothing had happened in the past 70 years, you wouldn’t be alive today, we have democracy to you so that you could govern today. Anyone who speaks against the government is an anti-national.
Whenever Opposition raises their voices, you say religion is under danger. You said in 2014 that you will give 2 crore jobs every year, so by now you should have given 15 crore jobs. Yesterday’s budget speech said 60 lakh jobs in next five years. More than 2 crore people are unemployed today. In Bihar and U.P, youth came on the road for jobs. Government of India has 9 lakh vacancies, 15% in Railways, Home-12%, Defence-40%, no place for Scheduled Castes, you will not find any SC secretary or deputy secretary. Athawale Saab please don’t get excited, he won’t make you a Cabinet minister.
60% MSME units are shut. When we brought MGNREGA, Modi Saab used to say this is a love example of your unsuccessful policies. During COVID, this MGNREGA served as a lifeline for workers who lost jobs. 1.80 lakh crore should have been allotted to MGNREGA, but you have kept only Rs 73,000 crore for the scheme. You only gave 20 days jobs to 7 crore unemployed people, against the 150 days promised during COVID. Price rise at 12-year-high.
When China is snatching our land, building houses, why aren’t your eyes red now? You asked us to show red eyes to China. You don’t talk about China at all. You are silent now, he said pointing towards PM Modi who is present in the House.
Motion moved
Two BJP MPs, Geeta alias Chandraprabha and Shwait Malik speak on the Modi govt. and its developmental schemes from 2014.
Ms. Chandraprabha says that because of schemes like Swachh Bharat, PM Awas Yojana, Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao, many women, children have been benefited across the country.
After a motion of thanks to the president's address, the members of the RS are deeply grateful for the President's address, reads the deputy chairman, regarding the motion.
Question Hour is over
The Deputy Chairman of the House signals the end of the Question Hour. A motion of thanks is moved for the President's address.
Marital rape
CPI MP Binoy Viswam asks question about sexual violence within marriages.
To condemn every marriage in the country as violent and every man as a rapist is not advisable. The matter of marital rape is sub-judice. There are over thirty help lines in the country which have assisted women. Protection of women and children is a priority of the govt., says Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development.
Mr. Viswam says he never meant every man is a rapist.
BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi asks if the government is in favour of criminalising marital rape, he says he is in favour of giving immunity as criminalising it will end the institution of marriage. Mr. Modi said it will be difficult to prove when a wife consented or not. Ms. Irani says the matter is sub-judice so she can’t elaborate on the matter.
Capital of A.P., Counterfeit notes
On a question on the state of the capital of Andhra Pradesh, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, says that the the capital of Andhra Pradesh is Amravati, and the issue of three capitals of the State will be resolved soon.
The government informed the Rajya Sabha that nearly 8.35 lakh pieces of counterfeit notes, including 2.44 lakh pieces of Rs 2000 denomination, were seized last year. Replying to a question in the House, Mr. Rai provided a data of counterfeit notes seized in five years since 2016.
Panchayati Raj
Many Panchayats have been linked in the e-gram swaraj, and the ones which are not linked are in the process of being linked, says Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Minister of State, Panchayati Raj on a question on the Panchayat's inclusion in the digital campaign.
Question Hour begins
Question Hour begins in Rajya Sabha.
FCRA, Railway recruitment
V. Vijaisai Reddy raises issue of non-renewal of FCRA licence of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, says it needs the foreign funds.
Fauzia Khan (NCP) raises recent issue of Railway recruitment, says it has exposed unemployment and failure of education system.
BJP MP Sushil Kumar Modi says there should be one exam for Group D, no need for two exams.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh says the students should not be treated as enemies, they were beaten up in Prayagraj and Patna.
Parliament Standing Committee
There has been substantial increase in duration of Standing Committee meetings: Chairman
Rajya Sabha proceedings begin
Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday asked MPs to ensure smooth functioning of the House during the ongoing Budget session and said they should conduct themselves in a manner befitting the trust citizens still have in India's parliamentary democracy.
The country's 5,000 MPs, MLAs and MLCs should resolve in this historic year to return to the people the favour they have doing by relentlessly nurturing democracy over the last 70 years, Mr. Naidu said.
“The only way of doing so is to conduct themselves (the 5,000) in a manner befitting the trust the citizens still have in our parliamentary democracy," Mr. Naidu said soon after the listed papers were listed.
He described the disruptions in the House during the last two sessions as highly disturbing.
"I refer to the same with fervent hope that we all reflect on the same and conduct in a manner befitting the historic time that we are passing through." The chairman pointed out that Rajya Sabha had lost 52.10% of the valuable sitting time due to disruptions and forced adjournments in the last winter session. During the preceding monsoon session last year, the loss of functional time of the House was as high as 70.40%.
The Budget Session started on January 31. On the first two days, the House functioned briefly and proceedings were adjourned after laying of Economic Survey and Union Budget.
The House is now scheduled to take up Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, and discussion on the Budget.
Earlier in the day, the House observed silence as mark of respect on the deaths of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu of South Africa in December, and David Sassoli, serving president of the European Parliament, earlier this month.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Tutu passed away on December 26 at the age of 90. He was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005 in recognition of his invaluable contribution towards social and political transformation in South Africa and thereby contributing to the World Peace.
Sassoli died on January 11.
"The House joins the bereaved families, the Government and people of South Africa and the European Parliament in mourning the passing away of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu and His Excellency Mr. David Sassoli and conveys its heartlfelt condolences to them," the Chairman said.
The House also observed silence as a mark of respect to the memory of those who lost their lives in the December floods in Malaysia, and the underwater volcanic eruption near the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa in January.
Mr. Naidu also urged the members to follow social distancing norms related to the Covid pandemic.
List of Business in Rajya Sabha (10 am)
1. Obit references
2. Papers to be laid on the table
3. Question Hour
4. Motion of Thanks on the President's address
List of Business in Lok Sabha (4 pm)
1. Question Hour
2. Motion of Thanks on the President's address
Recap of Day 2
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting her fourth Budget and the second one in a pandemic-hit economy on Tuesday, largely stuck to the broad script from last year, scaling up the wager on public capital spending to revive private investments and job creation through a virtuous growth cycle, while keeping an eye on the country’s macro fiscal health.
This Budget, presented in the 75 year of Independence, sets the stage for an Amrit Kaal (time of nectar) over the next 25 years, culminating in a vision for India in 2047 as enunciated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his I-Day address last year, she said.