Parliamentarians in the Lok Sabha, during the second part of Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi. (PTI/File)Parliament Budget Session 2022 Highlights: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Budget for the next fiscal will attract private investment, and ensure a predictable economic recovery in the years to come. Replying to a debate on appropriation and finance bills in the Rajya Sabha, she also defended the handling of inflation but acknowledged the ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine has posed fresh challenges, including higher oil prices, and disruptions in supply chains. The Upper House later returned the two bills without any changes, other than those proposed by the government, completing the nearly two months long parliamentary process for approval of the Union Budget for the fiscal beginning April 1.
Highlighting that the war between Russia and Ukraine has affected all countries like the pandemic had, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said, “Supply and value chains are all broken, newer markets are emerging, at the same time old markets are caught up in a situation where nothing is normal.” Replying to the discussion on the Finance Bill, 2022, and Appropriation Bill, 2022, the minister said India continues to remain among the top five foreign direct investment recipient countries in the world, as per a UNCTAD report.
Opposition members on Tuesday declared support to the two-day nationwide strike call given by a group of trade union against the privatisation policies pursued by the government and sought a discussion on the issue in the Lok Sabha. Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Trinamool member Saugata Roy claimed that the strike had received massive response and reflected the unhappiness of the people with the policies of the government. “Government should understand that people are unhappy over its policies to sell out everything,” Roy said and sought a discussion on the issue in the House.
Parliamentarians in the Rajya Sabha during the second part of Budget Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, Friday, March 25, 2022. (PTI)
BJP leader Vasundhara Raje with her son and Lok Sabha MP Dushyant Singh during the second part of Budget Session at Parliament in New Delhi, Tuesday (PTI /Shahbaz Khan)
Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the second part of Budget Session of Parliament in New Delhi (SANSAD TV/PTI photo)
The government has received a total of 239 applications under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for bulk drugs and 49 of them have been approved till now, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a query seeking details of applications received and selected under the PLI scheme for bulk drugs, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba said that in total 239 applications have been received for 36 products spread across the four target segments. "Out of these, 49 applications have been approved by the government till date," he added.
The minister further said that the 49 selected applications are from 33 companies. Out of these 33 companies, 13 are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) besides some newly incorporated entities. (PTI)
Gross NPAs have reduced to Rs 7.73 lakh crore as of December 31, 2021, against Rs 10.36 lakh crore as of March 31, 2018, due to transparent recognition of stressed assets, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said as per inputs received from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the country-wise ratio of non-performing loans to total gross loans is available on the website of the International Monetary Fund under its Finance Sound Indicator database.
"It is observed that the said ratio for India compared adversely with those of US, UK and China, and information in respect of Japan is not available," the minister said. (PTI)
Expressing concern over the high number of child abuse cases in the country, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva on Tuesday stressed that regular workshop should be organised in schools to create awareness among students as well as teachers.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Siva said that according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report, between 2018 and 2020, around 40,000 cases have been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
"These are registered cases, and there are many unregistered cases as well. The number declined in 2020 during the Covid period, but now, it has started rising again," he said. (PTI)
Rajya Sabha on Tuesday began discussion on a bill which seeks to remove Bhogta caste from the list of Scheduled Castes (SC) and include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes (ST) for Jharkhand. The bill was introduced in the Upper House on February 7.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda moved the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022, that also aims to help beneficiaries tap better into the provisions of reservation in education and government jobs, for discussion.
Initiating the debate, Congress member Naranbhai J Rathwa supported the bill and said that the BJP government has ignored the demand of adding Bhogta community in the list of Scheduled Tribes. (PTI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the Budget for the next fiscal will attract private investment, and ensure a predictable economic recovery in the years to come.
Replying to a debate on appropriation and finance bills in the Rajya Sabha, she also defended the handling of inflation but acknowledged the ongoing war in Russia and Ukraine has posed fresh challenges, including higher oil prices, and disruptions in supply chains.
The Upper House later returned the two bills without any changes, other than those proposed by the government, completing the nearly two months long parliamentary process for approval of the Union Budget for the fiscal beginning April 1. (PTI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday defended the 137-day hiatus in fuel price revision, saying the disruption in supply chains and the resultant increase in global oil prices due to the war in Ukraine was a "couple of weeks" phenomenon resulting in the record hike in petrol and diesel prices in last 8 days.
International oil prices had started moving up days before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. The basket of crude oil that India buys averaged USD 100.71 per barrel that day as compared to USD 82 in early November 2021 when state-owned fuel retailers hit the pause button on daily price revision ahead of assembly elections in five states.
On March 9, international prices touched USD 140 a barrel (USD 128.24 for the Indian basket of crude oil) while the fuel retailers re-started daily price revision on March 22. (PTI)
Seeking to puncture the Aam Aadmi Party's 'ideal budget' for Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said budget making is simple when the state does not have to pay for police, defence and farm sector, and asserted that instead of lecturing, the expenditure on full-page advertisements to promote Kejriwal government should also be counted.
Replying to the debate on Budget in the Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said, "There is no expenditure of police, army (defence) and on farmers because central government takes care of it. Therefore, budget (of Delhi Government) is good." She also stated that the central government does not give full page advertisement in newspapers.
"If that budget (funds) are saved then it could be used for the pollution issue of Delhi. Do I need to learn that? They are lecturing us that we should learn from our budget or some else document," she stated. (PTI)
The second part of Budget session was held in the Rajya Sabha, New Delhi, Tuesday.
(SANSAD TV/PTI photos)
Member of Rajya Sabha Ranjan Gogoi during the second part of Budget Session at Parliament, in New Delhi, Tuesday (PTI /Shahbaz Khan)
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday asked the government to allocate Rs 20,000 crore for the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits.
During the discussion on the Finance Bill-2022 in Rajya Sabha, Singh raised the issue of "abuse" of a chief minister by a BJP state president and questioned the culture in the party and the RSS, which led to heated arguments between him and BJP MP GVL Narasimha Rao.
Rao objected to the remark of Singh that the government will lose its face and asked the chair to expunge it from the record. Trinamool Congress MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, who was in the chair of the speaker, assured that records will be scrutinised but Singh and Rao continued the verbal spate. (PTI)
Claims of empanelled healthcare organisations amounting to Rs 1,330 crore were settled during the current financial year 2021-22, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya informed the parliament on Tuesday.
Settlement of Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) bills is a continuous and dynamic process, he said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
"During the current financial year 2021-22, claims of empanelled Health Care Organisations (HCOs) amounting to Rs 1,330 crore are settled. Bills amounting to Rs 1,343 crore were received from empanelled HCOs for payment," Mandaviya stated. (PTI)
The Centre has requested the Kerala government to provide required physical infrastructure and manpower to carry out immigration functions at the Kollam port, but no response has been received to its eight communications so far, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Asked whether the government proposes to promote immigration facility at ports to ensure their use for contractual operation, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said in Lok Sabha that the Centre considers immigration facilities at those ports which fulfil the requirement of becoming immigration check posts.
"So far as declaration of Kollam port as authorised Immigration Check Post (ICP) is concerned, the central government, vide letter dated July 4, 2019 and subsequent reminders dated September 6, 2019, October 23, 2020, February 16, 2021, April 8, 2021, August 13, 2021, December 8, 2021 and February 15, 2022, has requested Kerala government to provide required physical infrastructure and manpower to carry out immigration functions,” the Minister said. (PTI)
The government is in the process of setting up a panel on Minimum Support Price (MSP), Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
While announcing the repeal of three farm laws in November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to set up a committee to make MSP system more effective and transparent as well as suggest ways to promote zero budgeting based-agriculture.
"As per the changing requirements of the country to change the cropping pattern, to make MSP more effective and transparent, and to encourage natural farming method of agriculture, setting up a committee is under process," Tomar said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha. (PTI)
Asking the government not to “insult” those killed in the 1921 Malabar Rebellion, Congress leader T N Prathapan on Tuesday urged the Centre to “revisit the ICHR's decision” to exclude them from the list of martyrs of the freedom movement.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, he said the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) should be reminded of its responsibility to celebrate the country's history and heritage “without any political agenda”.
“I request the Culture Ministry to revisit the decision of ICHR to exclude our freedom fighters, who were once respected and honoured, as martyrs,” Prathapan, who represents Kerala's Thrissur in the Lok Sabha, said. (PTI)
The Congress on Tuesday accused the government of interfering in an autonomous institution by bringing in amendments to a law on cost and chartered accountants and said that the move will infringe on the independence of the apex body.
Initiating the discussion on The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu MK Vishnu Prasad said that while the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory and autonomous body, it is still under the control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. He also said that the ministry does not provide funding to the institute.
"The government keeps talking about the independence of ICAI, where is the independence? The number of ICAI council members should exceed the number of government nominees so that a balance is met," he said. (PTI)
The Department of Sports has urged the Ministry of Finance to impose a uniform GST of 5 per cent on all sports goods to encourage manufacturing of sports goods in India, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Sports Nisith Pramanik said the GST rates are fixed based on the recommendations of the GST Council and most of the sports equipment are taxed at a GST rate of 12 per cent.
He said only a few sports equipment such as for general physical exercise and padding pools attract Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 18 per cent. (PTI)
Police have registered FIRs in Delhi and Mumbai and arrested six persons in connection with the cases against 'Sulli Deals' and 'Bulli Bai' apps, the government said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
Also, a charge sheet has been filed in court on March 4, 2022 in the Sulli Deals case. The two apps had targeted Muslim women and posted their pictures without consent, triggering outrage and prompting authorities to ban them.
Replying to a query on the issue, Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Kumar Mishra said the Delhi Police and Mumbai Police have registered FIRs in the matter of 'Sulli Deals' and 'Bulli Bai' apps cases under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. (PTI)
Farm sector in West Bengal has shown appreciable growth despite adversities created by COVID-19 pandemic, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
The productivity of rice, maize, foodgrains and pulses registered an increase of 1.2 per cent, 8.1 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 19.34 per cent, respectively between the period 2018-19 and 2020-21, he said in a written reply to the Lower House.
During the last three years (2019-2021), a total of 84 field crops varieties were developed and released for West Bengal. These include 31 varieties of cereals; 23 of oilseeds; 14 of pulses; 9 of fiber; 4 of forages and 3 of sugarcane, he added. (PTI)
Parliament on Tuesday approved the Budget 2022-23, with the Rajya Sabha returning the Appropriation Bill 2022 and Finance Bill 2022.
The two bills were approved by the Lok Sabha on Friday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the Union Budget on February 1. (PTI)
(SANSAD TV/PTI Photo)
Stating that the World Inequality Report, which termed India 'poor and very unequal country', was flawed, the Finance Minister Tuesday mentioned that the report was based on questionable methodology.
Referring to utilisation of funds, Sitharaman said: “Excluding Rs 51,917 crore for paying Air India debt, Rs 5.51 lakh cr capex done in 2021-22, as against the budgeted Rs 5.54 lakh crore.”
Regarding the inclusion of Rs 51,917 cr provided to Air India to clear debt in capital expenditure, Sitharaman mentioned that support provided to PSUs was considered capex.