Review of proceedings in Lok Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today tabled in the Lok Sabha a 'White Paper on the Indian Economy', outlining the economic mismanagement in the 10 years of UPA rule till 2014. ” ”She said the NDA government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in last 10 years has successfully overcome the challenges left behind by the UPA government, and took "tough decisions" to place India on the path of sustainable high growth. ” ”According to the the White Paper, which was promised by Sitharaman in her Interim Budget speech, the NDA government has overcome the crisis of those years, and the economy has been put firmly on a high sustainable growth path with all-round development. ” ”The 59-page white paper said when the Modi government assumed office in 2014, the economy was in a "fragile state"; public finances were in "bad shape"; there was economic mismanagement and financial indiscipline, and widespread corruption. ” ”"It was a crisis situation. The responsibility to mend the economy step by step and to put the governance systems in order was enormous," said the paper which was tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament. ” ”The UPA government failed miserably to facilitate economic activities. Instead the UPA government created hurdles that held back economy, the paper said, adding that in 2014 NDA government inherited a "deeply damaged" economy. ” ”"Our government, unlike its predecessor, invested in the foundations of the economy along with building a sturdy superstructure, the white paper said. ” ”The Paper further added that there are "miles to go and mountains to scale before we sleep" as the destination is to make India a developed nation by 2047. ” "It is our Kartavya Kaal," it added. ” ”Parliament gave its nod to two bills which seek to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha with the Lok Sabha passing it today with voice vote. ” ”The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were both passed by the Rajya Sabha on February 6. ” ”The first bill seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh, while the second one seeks to modify the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Odisha. ” ”Replying to the debate on the Bills, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Bharti P Pawar said the Modi government has done a lot for the upliftment of Tribal people including its effort to make Aspirational district to Inspirational one. ” ”Moreover, the government has also launched schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan to improve the socio-economic conditions of the Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs), she said. ” ”In Andhra Pradesh, three more ethnic groups – Bondo Porja, Khond Porja, Parangiperja – are being added to the list of STs. While in Odisha, it will add four groups in the list. ” ”All these are Primitive Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and they have been added to the scheduled list after 75 years of Independence, she said. ” ”During the debate Opposition members urged the government to form a joint parliamentary committee to evaluate demands of various communities to be included in the list of Scheduled Tribes, saying piecemeal measures would not help. ” ”Initiating the debate, Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka of Congress welcomed the bill but pointed out that around 150 to 200 tribes have been added to the list of Scheduled Tribes in the past five years. ” ”"There are around 12 crore Scheduled Tribes across the country. When we were in government, there used to be a procedure, where a JPC was constituted, MPs were part of it. They used to visit places, check the criteria and recommend who is ST and who is not," Ulaka said. ” ”Supriya Sule of NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) and Abdul Khaleque of Congress also demanded that the Centre forms a JPC for meeting various communities that demand ST status and a comprehensive bill can be brought before Parliament. ” ”Saugata Roy of TMC meanwhile called for simplifying the process for communities to get ST status. ” ”Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan meanwhile intervened in the debate and welcomed the bill. ” ”"This is as important that this bill is coming at a time when a tribal woman is the president of India. The government is committed to protecting tribals," he said. ” ”Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today said the Chennai-Bengaluru greenfield expressway was likely to be completed by December this year. ” ”Gadkari urged the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to help the National Highway Authority of India in making available construction material such as aggregates and fly ash for the projects in the respective states. ” ”Gadkari said "We need cooperation from the state governments, particularly the responsibilities related to the state governments regarding giving aggregate and other permissions for mining is very essential. ” ”Premachandran also sought to know whether the Centre was ready to bear the entire cost to the project if the state government refused to contribute its share. The government has saved 24,000 crore rupees due to blending of ethanol with petrol and majority of the benefit has been passed on to sugarcane farmers, Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said in the Lok Sabha today. ” ”He said at present the blending of ethanol stands at 12 per cent and the government plans to take it to 20 per cent as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ” ”Admitting that India's oil import has increased in the last few years, Shekhawat said the country has benefited by ethanol blending. ” ”"Oil import dependency has been increased over the past years. However, the growth of the country and energy demand go almost parallel," he said. ” ”Shekhawat said good thing is that 24,000 crore rupees has been saved in past few years due to ethanol blending. ” ”Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia today said the international airport at Jewar, Noida, will be ready for operations by the end of this year. ” ”Scindia also said in Lok Sabha that India is now the fifth-largest aviation market in the world with regard to both domestic and international passengers and by 2030, it will become the third-largest market in the world. ” ”’Uttar Pradesh had six airports. After the Modi government came to power, we have built four more airports in the state and soon, five more airports will be ready. Jewar airport will also be ready for operations by the end of this year. So by the end of this year, UP will have 16 airports," he said ” ”The Noida airport, coming up in the Jewar area of Gautam Buddh Nagar district adjoining Delhi is expected to serve 65 lakh passengers (per year) initially, according to an estimate. ” ”Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, suspended from the Bahujan Samaj Party, on Thursday demanded in Lok Sabha a stricter law against hate speeches. ” ”Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, the Amroha (Uttar Pradesh) MP said, "There are a lot of hate speeches in the country and the atmosphere in the country is being disturbed… I request that there should be a strict law against this." ” ”Meanwhile, Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh expressed concern over the death of two youths who were killed in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday. ” ”Amar Singh of the Congress demanded increase in the number of work days under MGNREGA and also the remuneration paid to the workers. He also demanded waiver of farm loans by the central government. ” ”Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur intervened to say that the Modi government has already undertaken several pro-farmer measures, including hiking MSP on agri products, doubling procurement and launching PM KISAN yojana. ” ”T R Baalu of DMK said Tamil Nadu did not get any funds from the Centre despite a meeting between Chief Minister M K Stalin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. ” ”BJP MP Nishikant Dubey demanded the implementation of NRC (National Register of Citizens) in Jharkhand to stop migration of Bangladeshi Muslims. ” ” Lok Sabha MP Karti Chidambaram today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to constitute a national task force to deal with the menace of stray dogs.

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Review of proceedings in Lok Sabha