<span style="color: #222222;">The passage of the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill,2022 by Parliament and the approval of the  Demand of the Supplementary Demands for Grants – First Batch for 2022-23 and Demand for Excess Grants for 2019-20 by the Lok Sabha and making statement on clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are the highlights of the proceedings in the second week of the Winter Session of Parliament.<br />''<br />''</span>Parliament passed the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2022 with Rajya Sabha approving it by voice vote on Monday. The Lok Sabha has already passed the bill.  The Bill seeks to mandate the use of non-fossil sources including Green Hydrogen, Green Ammonia, Biomass and Ethanol for energy and feedstock, establish Carbon Markets and bring large residential buildings within the fold of the Energy Conservation regime. He said, the Energy Ministers of various countries who have visited India are impressed with the progress in renewable energy sector. He said, no developed country has made as much progress as India in energy transition and climate action.  Mr Singh informed the House that during 2015 at COP-21, as part of its nationally determined contributions, NDCs, India had committed to achieving 40 per cent of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030. He said, the country has achieved this target in November 2021 itself, nine years ahead of the set target.  <br />''<br />''Replying to the debate on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of New Renewable Energy R K Singh said India has taken several initiatives towards clean energy and conserving the environment and has emerged as a global leader in clean energy and transforming the energy sector. He maintained that India has already achieved its target of reducing emissions by 33 to 35 per cent in 2021 against the target of accomplishing it in 2030.<br />''<br />''Among various members who participated in the debate are P Wilson of DMK, Sandeep Kumar Pathak of Aam Aadmi Party, Shaktisinh Gohil of Congress, Binoy Viswam of CPI, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena.<br />''<br />''          The Lok Sabha took up discussion on the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2022-23 and the Demand for Excess Grants for 2019-20. The government sought Parliament's approval of gross additional expenditure of around 4.36 lakh crore rupees for the current fiscal.<br />''<br />''On Tuesday,  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made a statement about the clashes between Indian and Chinese soldiers at Tawang in Arunachal Sector in both Houses of Parliament.<br />'' <br />''Defence Minister informed the Lok Sabha that the Indian Army has bravely thwarted an attempt aimed at unilaterally changing the Status Quo in the Yangtse area of Tawang Sector in Arunachal Pradesh on the 9th December. The Minister said there were no fatalities or serious injuries to Indian troops in the scuffle. In a suo motu statement, Rajnath Singh said the Indian troops confronted the attempt in a firm and resolute manner and the Chinese personnel went back to their locations due to the timely intervention of the Indian Commanders. The Minister said the scuffle led to injuries to few personnel on both the sides. He said as a follow up of the incident, the local Commanders of the Indian Army held a flag meeting with their counterpart on 11th of December to discuss the issue. The Chinese side was asked to refrain from such actions and maintain peace and tranquility along the border. Mr Singh said, the matter was taken up with the Chinese side through the diplomatic channels. He also made similar statement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.<br />''         <br />''On Tuesday, as proceedings began, members paid glowing tributes to those who laid down their lives while foiling a terror attack on Parliament 21 years ago on 13th of December. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said it was a sad day for the country as terrorists carried out a cowardly attack on Parliament. He said the whole nation stands behind the families of those killed in the terrorist attack and the country stands solidly against any form of terrorism. Members also observed silence in memory of the victims.  <br />''<br />''On Wednesday, two bills were passed by Parliament. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 were passed in the Rajya Sabha  <br />''The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 is intended to amend the SC order to exclude Gond Community as a Scheduled Caste in some of the districts in Uttar Pradesh.<br />''<br />''Replying to the discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha , Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the issue was pending since 1980s. The Lok Sabha had passed it in April this year.<br />''<br />''The Rajya Sabha also adopted the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as the India International Arbitration Centre. The Lok Sabha has already passed the Bill in August 2022.<br />''<br />''The Bill expands this to include the conduct of other forms of alternative dispute resolution besides arbitration. Replying to the debate Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the Bill will help India emerge as an attractive destination for arbitration at the global level. <br />''<br />''The Minister said India is still not a hub for arbitration while small countries and cities have emerged as major centres for arbitration.<br />''<br />''Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said the success rate of the start-ups in India is higher than the rest of the world and there were 84,012 recognized start-ups in the country at the end of November. He said to boost the start-up ecosystem, the government launched the Start-up India initiative on January 16, 2016 along with an action plan was also put in place. The Minister said the number of recognized start-ups has increased from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 as on November 30, 2022.<br />''Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw took a swipe at the opposition parties saying that BSNL suffered badly due to certain political parties as it was used as a cash cow by some people who are still members of Parliament. Mr Vaishnaw said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a huge project worth 1.64 lakh crore rupees for the revival of BSNL and this will transform the telecom PSU completely. He said the BSNL will soon launch 4G and 5G networks designed and developed and made in the country as per Modi's Make-in-India initiative. He said at present the mobile data in India is one of the cheapest in the world as one gigabyte data is available for less than 20 rupees. This was around 200 rupees during the UPA rule, the Minister said. He said the revival measures focus on infusing fresh capital for upgrading BSNL services, allocating spectrum, de-stressing its balance sheet and augmenting its fibre network by merging the Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited with the BSNL.<br />''<br />''Earlier, soon after the Question Hour on Wednesday, Congress members led by Sonia Gandhi and Trinamool Congress members walked out of the House accusing the government of not allowing a discussion on the sensitive India-China border issue.<br />''<br />''On Thursday, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 to include some tribes in Tamil Nadu in the list of Scheduled Tribes.<br />''<br />''Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda asserted that the Central Government is working with spirit of Antyoday as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka of the Congress expressed concern about the displacement of a large number of tribals due to development projects and claimed that they are not getting employment and other promised benefits. Indra Hang Subba of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha urged the government to protect the oral history and dialect of the tribal community.<br />''<br />''Independent Member Navneet Rana, P Ravindhranath of AIADMK, Hanuman Benival of RLP, Virendra Singh of BJP and several other members also participated in the discussion.<br />''<br />''The Rajya Sabha took up a discussion on serious effects of global warming and the need for remedial steps with the Opposition members saying that it is the responsibility of everyone to jointly tackle it. Members who participated in the discussion called for a holistic approach by coordinating across various ministries and bringing agencies together to tackle the effects of global warming. Tiruchi Siva of DMK, Pramod Tiwari and Amee Yajnik both of Congress, Sandosh Kumar.P of the CPI, Jawahar Sircar of Trinamool Congress, Kavita Patidar of BJP, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party, S. Niranjan Reddy of YSRCP among others who participated in the discussion.<br />''<br />''On Friday, the Lok Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 with respect to its application to Himachal Pradesh.<br />''<br />''Reply to the debate, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda told the House that his Ministry has been working all the time to ensure that communities which deserve to get benefits under the Scheduled Tribes but remained neglected for some reasons should get their rights. He noted that a Bill on the similar lines was passed by the House on Thursday to bring a community of around 27 thousand people living in Tamil Nadu forests in the list of Scheduled Tribes. Mr Munda assured the members that his ministry is working in tandem with other ministries like to address the basic concerns of tribal communities around the country. He said the government wants a permanent solution to their issues.<br />''<br />''Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha on Friday that more than 1500 private hospitals have been empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the last one year. The scheme is reviewed every month and the out of pocket expenditure of patients under the scheme has come down, he said while replying to a question. He said under the scheme launched in 2018, the government provides health security cover to 10 crore families or 50 crore people of the country. He said, at present 4.5 crore needy people have been empaneled under the scheme. The Minister said seven to eight lakh beneficiary cards are printed daily and the ministry was working to ensure that 50 crore cards are made available in the next four to six months. He said the poor and needy people are covered under the Ayushman Bharat scheme and they can avail five lakh rupees health security cover. The Minister said 22 thousand hospitals, both public and private have been empaneled under the scheme so far.<br />''<br />''During the Zero Hour, K. Suresh of Congress termed the scrapping of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship scheme as an anti-minority move by the Narendra Modi government and said the decision will make higher education inaccessible to under-privileged students belonging to the minority communities. He said the discontinuation of the fellowship scheme will have a pan-India adverse impact on the higher education of students belonging to Muslim, Buddhist, Jain, Christian, Parsi and Sikh. The move is an insult to Maulana Azad. It also disregards all the freedom fighters and their memories of sacrifice, he alleged. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minority Affairs Minister Smriti Irani said the government provided fellowships for higher education through various schemes including the MANF implemented by different ministries and departments. She said while the money spent for Anganwadi systems was 10 thousand crore rupees during the earlier government, it was 18,208 crore rupees in 2020-21. The Minister said those who are giving suggestions now did nothing when they were in power. She noted, the Modi government also extended healthcare benefits to them during the Covid pandemic outbreak.<br />''<br />''On Friday, proceedings in the Rajya Sabha were disrupted during the first hour after the Congress members sought to raise the issue of Chinese transgressions and build-up along the border in the Eastern Sector. Congress members pressed for acceptance of their notices seeking to set aside the business of the day to take up a debate on the issue but the Chair disallowed.<br />''<br />''During Zero Hour, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government departments and the Reserve Bank of India are taking coordinated steps to check Chinese mobile apps offering easy loans and cheating people. Responding to a Zero Hour issue raised by a Trinamool Congress member, she said action has been taken against apps that are cheating people by offering loans. The Minister said she in the last six to seven months held several meetings with the representatives of the Central Bank, her ministry, her ministry officials and Ministry of Corporate Affairs on the issue of Chinese loan apps harassing and cheating people. She said a lot of apps that have been badly misused have also been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. She said there is a coordinated effort to contain such apps. Earlier, raising the issue of illegal Chinese apps, Nadimul Haque of Trinamool Congress said 600 apps offer small loans without much paper work and thereafter harass the borrowers for recovery.<br />''<br />''Later during the post-lunch session, members cutting across party lines supported a Private Member's Bill which calls for setting up Agarwood Board of India under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Resolution for holistic development of the Agarwood sector with its headquarters at Agartala in Tripura was moved in the Rajya Sabha by Biplab Kumar Deb of the BJP. He demanded the government to smoothen the procedure for export of products made from Agarwood such as oil, dry roots, chips which he thought can do business of around five thousand crore rupees. He also drew the attention of the House towards illegal trade of Agarwood products and suggested that the government should formalize the trade of Agarwood as it would also help it to garner tax revenue. Sandosh Kumar P of CPI, Rakesh Sinha of BJP among several other members took part in the discussion.<br />''<br />''Leader of House Piyush Goyal criticized the opposition for disrupting the debates. He alleged that the opposition members are not allowing discussion on important issues.<br />''<span style="color: #222222;"><br />''Members in both the Houses raised the matters of public importance in both the Houses.   </span><br />

<span style="color: #222222;">Both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Thursday.  With this, the second phase of the Budget Session came to an end a day ahead of its schedule.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' The current session began with the President's speech in the joint sitting of Parliament on 31st January. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented general budget for 2022-23 on 1st February. The first leg of the session was held upto 11th February while the 2nd leg of the session started on 14th March.  A total of 27 sittings of both the Houses were held. 129 percent work was done in the Lok Sabha while 99.80 percent in Rajya Sabha.<br />'' <br />''The highlights of the session include the passage of several bills like the Criminal Procedure (identification) Bill, the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022.    <br />'' <br />''On Monday, Lok Sabha passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill 2022. The bill seeks to provide legal sanction to the police and prison authorities to collect, store and analyse physical and biological samples of convicts as well as persons accused of crimes.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' Replying to debate on the Bill, Home Minister Amit Shah allayed apprehensions raised by the opposition. He said the new legislation seeks to allow investigators to collect certain identifiable information of convicts and other persons for the purposes of identification and investigation in criminal matters. The bill replaces the Identification of Prisoners Act of 1920. Mr. Shah said the prison model has various provisions like rehabilitation and mainstreaming of prisoners limiting the rights of jail officials, maintaining discipline, security of jails, separate jails for women and open jails. He said that until the power to prove crime in a court of law is not increased, it will be difficult to strengthen the law and order situation and internal security. He told the members that after the NDA government came to power, the Centre had also sought the views of the states. Taking part in the debate several opposition members demanded that the bill be sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' Initiating the debate, Manish Tewari of Congress said, the bill not only violates human rights but goes against the basic principle of jurisprudence that 'one is innocent until proven guilty'. He said, the original law that the current bill seeks to replace was brought by the British Colonialists to scare the freedom fighters of those days by taking fingerprints, footprints and photographs.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> <br />'' Dayanidhi Maran of DMK and Vinayak Raut of Shiv Sena also made the demand of the bill being referred to the Standing Committee. While, the Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day after the second adjournment at 2 PM following opposition uproar over the issue of fuel price hike. They demanded a discussion on the issue which was not allowed by the Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. Six newly-elected Rajya Sabha members, including two from BJP and one from the Congress, took oath in the House on Tuesday. They are- Pabitra Margherita and S Phangnon Konyak of BJP, Rwngwra Narzary of United People's Party Liberal, Jebi Mather Hisham of Congress, Santosh Kumar of CPI and A A Rahim of CPI-M. On Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar introduced 'Weapons of Mass destruction and their delivery systems (prohibition of unlawful activities) amendment Bill, 2022 in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to ban funding of weapons of mass destruction and empower the Centre to freeze, seize or attach financial assets and resources of people engaged in such activities. Mr. Jaishankar introduced the bill amid sloganeering by opposition over fuel prices. Earlier, the law had banned only the manufacture of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems. The External Affairs Minister said that the United Nations Security Council's targeted financial sanctions and the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force have mandated against financing activities as well.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"><br />'' On Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill seeks to further amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 and proposes to unify the three existing Municipal Corporations of Delhi into one Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It envisages bringing about greater transparency, improved governance and more efficient delivery of civic service for the people of Delhi.<br />'' <br />''Replying to the debate, Home Minister Amit Shah said the bill will unify the three municipal Corporations -North Delhi Corporation, South Delhi Corporation and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation unto single Municipal Corporation. He accused the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi of meting out step-motherly treatment to the three civic bodies for political reasons.<br />'' <br />''Initiating the discussion on the bill, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of Congress opposed the bill saying that it is constitutionally suspect and legally untenable. He said, the bill is nothing to do with the improvement of plight of the citizens of the national capital.<br />'' Speaking in the favour of the bill, Sudhanshu Trivedi of BJP said that the bill has been brought by following all constitutional norms and it is constitutionally a legal bill.<br />'' <br />''Opposing the bill TMC member Jawhar Sircar said that it is a ploy to postpone the MCD elections in the city.<br />'' <br />''R S Bharathi of DMK opposed the bill saying that the government wants to postpone the elections.<br />'' <br />''On the same day, the Rajya Sabha also passed the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill seeks to amend the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 and the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. The Bill proposes to strengthen the disciplinary mechanism under these Acts and provide for time-bound disposal of cases against members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Cost Accountants of India and the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.<br />'' <br />''Replying to the discussion over the Bill, Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman termed these institutes three important pillars stressing that corporate governance structure needs to be robust in the country. She said the bill will bring the required level of accountability and greater transparency. She said, the requirement for robust regulation has increased as several companies and limited liability partnership have been incorporated due to emphasis on Stand up India and Start Up India in the last few years. Over the opposition allegations, she asserted that there is no proposal or intention to infringe upon the autonomy of these three institutions. Dispelling the doubts of opposition, the Minister said, three acts are going to continue and they will govern the functioning of three institutes.<br />'' <br />''On Wednesday, the Lok Sabha passed the weapons of Mass destruction and their delivery systems (prohibition of unlawful activities) amendment Bill, 2022 with a voice vote. The Bill amends the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Act, 2005.  The 2005 Act prohibits unlawful activities such as manufacturing, transport, or transfer related to weapons of mass destruction, and their means of delivery.  Weapons of mass destruction are biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. The present Bill bars persons from financing any prohibited activity related to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. To prevent persons from financing such activities, the central government may freeze, seize or attach their funds, financial assets, or economic resources whether owned, held, or controlled directly or indirectly.  It may also prohibit persons from making finances or related services available for the benefit of other persons in relation to any activity which is prohibited.<br />'' <br />''Replying to the debate on the Bill, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the passage of the amendment will strengthen India's national security and its global position. He said the bill has been brought in the national interest and strengthen India's credentials and image.<br />'' <br />''The Lok Sabha held a short duration discussion on the situation in Ukraine, arising out of the conflict with Russia. Union ministers, who were engaged in the evacuation exercise, informed the House about the challenges involved and how Operation Ganga, the mission to rescue the Indian students studying in Ukraine, was personally monitored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<br />'' External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also made a statement on the situation in Ukraine. He said, India was the first country to evacuate its citizens and served as an inspiration to others. He said New Delhi encourages talks between Ukraine and Russia. He asserted that if India can be of any assistance in this matter, it would be glad to contribute. He said India's approach will be to promote dialogue to end the conflict. Jaishankar also hailed the role played by four Union Ministers – Jyotiraditya Scindia, Hardeep Singh Puri, Kiren Rijiju and retired General V K Singh, who had gone to countries neighbouring Ukraine, saying India would not have got same level of cooperation, had it not been there for their presence. Mr Jaishankar said the way to deal with the new world order is Atmanirbhar Bharat. He said Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not just an economic policy, it is a Bharat which is capable of running the Operation Ganga.  <br />'' <br />''Several matters of public importance were raised by the members in both the Houses during the Zero Hour. Food Processing Industries Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that the food processing units continued their operations even during Covid-19 and recounted the steps taken by the government to facilitate.<br />'' <br />''On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by a voice vote. Lok Sabha had already passed the Bill. The Bill amends the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Tripura. It includes the Darlong community as a sub-tribe of the Kuki tribe in the list of STs in Tripura.  <br />'' <br />''Speaking on the Bill, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Renuka Sarutra said the number of tribals in Tripura is around 11.66 lakh which 31.76 per cent of the total population of the state as per 2011 census. She said the inclusion of Darlong community as a sub-tribe of the Kuki will give it an identity in the list of Scheduled Tribes of Tripura.<br />'' On Thursday, before adjourning the House Sine die, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla informed that the session had a total of 27 sittings for a total of 177 hours and 50 minutes. In his concluding remarks, he said the Lower House has recorded 129 per cent productivity during the session.<br />'' <br />''In Rajya Sabha, as soon as the House met for the day, Shiv Sena members tried to raise the issue of alleged INS Vikrant fund bungling and came into the Well of the House.<br />'' <br />''Members belonging to Congress, Left Parties, Trinamool Congress and others also joined them by raising slogans demanding a probe into the matter. Chairman Venkaiah Naidu repeatedly asked the protesting members to go back to their seats but they did not pay heed. Naidu described the acts of the agitating members as against the norms, dignity and the decorum of the House.<br />'' Later, he adjourned the House sine die without making his concluding remarks.</span>

Parliament this week gave its seal of approval to the Finance Bill, 2022 with the Rajya Sabha returning it to the Lok Sabha. Parliament also passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.<br />''On Monday, Lok Sabha has passed the  Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain community in the list of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State of Tripura. <br />''<br />''In his reply, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda asserted that the welfare of the tribal community has been a priority for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also said the government will bring more such amendments relating to other states. Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra introduced the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 and Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (2nd Amendment) Bill, 2022 related to Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha. It seeks to authorize the police to take measurements of convicts and other persons for the purpose of identification and investigation of criminal matters.  <br />'' <br />''While, Rajya Sabha took up discussion on the Appropriation Bill 2022 to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the financial year 2022-23. It also took up discussion on the Finance Bill 2022. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman moved the Appropriation Bill 2022 and the Finance Bill 2022 for the consideration of the House.<br />''<br />''On Tuesday, Parliament gave the approval to Appropriation Bill, 2022 and the Finance Bill, 2022 with Rajya Sabha returning it following a discussion. The bills were already passed by the Lok Sabha earlier.<br />''<br />''Replying to the discussion on the Union Budget 2022-23, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India continues to remain among the top five Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destinations in the world. She said the FDI inflows into India till December 2021 was over 500 billion US dollars, which is 65 per cent more than the amount received in the 10 years of UPA government. She said this is because investors have trusted the economic management of the Modi government. She said the FDI inflows in 2020-21 was over 81 billion US Dollars compared to over 74 billion US dollars in the preceding financial year.<br />'' <br />''On Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 by a voice vote. The bill seeks to remove the Bhogta caste from the list of Scheduled Castes and include certain communities in the list of Scheduled Tribes for the state of Jharkhand.<br />'' <br />''Replying to a debate on the bill, Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda said the government will bring more such amendments relating to other states in the House. He said amendments have been made for states of Arunachal Pradesh and Karnataka and it is being done now in the case of Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Jharkhand.<br />''On Wednesday day, the Lok Sabha passed 'The Chartered Accountants, Cost and Works Accountants and Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill.  It aims at revamping the functioning of the three accountancy institutes.<br />''<br />''The Lok Sabha also passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. The Bill seeks to further amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 and proposes to unify the three existing Municipal Corporations of Delhi into one Municipal Corporation of Delhi. It envisages bringing about greater transparency, improved governance and more efficient delivery of civic service for the people of Delhi. At present the three corporations in Delhi — North, South and East Delhi Municipal Corporations — have a total of 272 seats. While North and South corporations have 104 Wards each, the East corporation has 64 Wards. The Bill was moved by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the House.<br />''<br />''Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Union Home Minister Amit Shah countered the opposition allegations saying that this Bill has been brought by following all the constitutional norms. He clarified that as Delhi is Union Territory,  Parliament has the right to legislate on the matters related to National Capital Territory of Delhi. He said, the new Bill in no way encroaches upon the rights of Delhi government. Mr. Shah alleged that Delhi government has not disbursed 33 thousand crore rupees to the three Municipal Bodies.<br />''<br />''On Thursday, the Rajya Sabha bid farewell to 72 of its retiring members with Prime Minister urging them to share their experience gained from within the four walls of the House to all four directions in the best interests of the country and help inspire the coming generations. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu asked the legislators across the country to be propelled by passion, performance and procedural integrity and desist from disrupting the law-making bodies while upholding the honour and privilege bestowed on them by the people. Several members cutting across party lines shared their fond memories with the retiring colleagues and hoped that they would return to the House. Many MPs shared emotional moments while the House witnessed some lighter moments as well. The retiring MPs including seven nominated members are retiring between March and July this year, which is one-third of the total strength of the Upper House. The retiring members represent 19 states and some of them have experience of five terms. Among those who are retiring include A K Antony, Ambika Soni, P Chidambaram, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh, Suresh Prabhu, Praful Patel, Subramanian Swamy, Prasanna Acharya, Sanjay Raut, Naresh Gujral, Satish Chandra Mishra, MC Mary Kom, Swapan Dasgupta and Narendra Jadhav.<br />''<br />''In his remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that experience has more power than knowledge and the MPs should take it forward in the service of the nation. Modi said "We may be moving out of these four walls of this House but we should take this experience from here to all the four directions in the best interests of the country. He said four Ministers -Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Ram Chandra Prasad are completing their tenures during this period. Extending his best wishes to those retiring, he told them to come again to the House. Modi also noted that when experienced people retire, a lot would be said about them in the House but the responsibility of those remaining increases. But, the members who remain have to take forward the tales of experience left behind those retiring", he said.<br />''       <br />''In his remarks, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu called upon the members to ensure that the expectations and aspirations of the people are incorporated in designing laws and policies. Naidu also voiced concern over the House having lost over 35 per cent of the functional time due to disruptions since 2017. He informed the House that the retiring members have a total parliamentary experience of 181 terms including 143 terms in the Rajya Sabha and 38 in the Lok Sabha earlier. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh expressed confidence that the retiring members, through their public engagement would continue to work to increase the confidence of citizens and students in politics and parliamentary democracy. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal, who is also retiring, said that all those members who are retiring have made their valuable contributions during their tenure in enhancing the image of Parliament through their experiences and debates. He said the standards they have set will inspire everyone and will also be remembered. Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said that after listening to the Prime Minister and other members, he realized how important the Rajya Sabha is.  <br />''     <br />''In the Lok Sabha,  Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed her concern over the budgetary cut for MGNREGA saying that several states have negative balance in their accounts to the tune of five thousand rupees which has led to delays in payments to workers. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, she urged the government to make adequate allocations to MGNFREGA. Responding to this, Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur accusing her of politicizing the issue and claimed that her remarks were far from truth. He said the budgetary allocation for MGNREGA was 33 thousand crore rupees in 2013-14 whereas under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it has reached 1.12 lakh crore rupees. The Minister alleged that MGNREGA scheme saw massive corruption under the UPA government, which was weeded out by the Modi government. He said under Prime Minister Modi, geo-tagging of assets created under the MGNREGA was introduced and payments were directly made to the workers in their Jan Dhan accounts. However, Congress members were up on their feet protesting against the remarks made by the Minister.<br />''     <br />''Environment and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said in the Lok Sabha that India has emerged as the developing nations' voice that can neither be suppressed nor ignored. Replying to the discussion on Climate Change the Minister said when it comes to environment, India has always been a solution-provider in the world. He said India, under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, was among the few countries in the world that not only set Nationally Determined Contributions in 2015 but achieved them before time, setting an example for others. Underlining that the Prime Minister has often talked about climate justice,  Mr Yadav said developed nations who are responsible for carbon emissions must take the responsibility.<br />''<br />''The Minister said the carbon emission of the developed countries that account for a population of 17 per cent in the world, is 60 per cent while India's population is 17 per cent and its carbon emission is four per cent, he said adding that India's lifestyle can teach the world how to live in harmony with environment.  <br />''       <br />''On Thursday, Earth Science Minister Jitendra Singh introduced in the Lok Sabha the Indian Antarctic Bill. It seeks to enforce Indian laws if any unlawful activity happens in the territory occupied by the Indian research stations. He said the Antarctic Treaty makes it mandatory for all 54 countries, who are the signatories to apply their respective laws in area occupied by the country. India has two research stations in the Antarctic-Maitri and Bharti — where scientists are involved in research.<br />''<br />''Being Friday, the Rajya Sabha took up the discussion on a private members bill, the Population Regulation Bill, 2019 that seeks to regulate population by promoting the two-child per couple policy. Some of the opposition members who participated in the discussion said that the states which have successfully implemented the family planning must not be made to lose out the central allocations. They alleged that states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab, which have successfully controlled the population are losing out the central assistance.<br />''<br />'' Intervening in the discussion Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that population control should happen by creating awareness among the people and it should not be made compulsory. He noted that the country has witnessed a population growth rate dip from 1970s and 1980s with the success of various policy measures. He assured the members that the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi was taking a lot of steps to stabilize the country's population. <br />''<br />''The Minister also elaborated on the measures taken by the government in enhancing the healthcare infrastructure in the country, including the increase in the number of MBBS and PG seats across all the states. Late the private member bill  was withdrawn.<br />''Some of the members raised several matters of public importance in both the Houses of Parliament during the Zero Hours.<br />''<br />''<br />''<br />

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reply to the debate on President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament and reply by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on the Union Budget 2022-23 are among the highlights of the first phase of the Budget Session that concluded yesterday. The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha are scheduled to reassemble on 14th of March duirng the second phase of the budget session.<br />''<br />''Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the President's address gave a detailed roadmap on measures taken during Covid-19 wave. He said that the world is applauding the efforts of India in dealing with the Covid crisis. He said the country is moving fast towards achieving the goal of 100 per cent vaccination. He also said there has been a record agriculture production during the Corona crisis. He said farmers got maximum MSP through Direct Benefit Transfer. He said as India celebrates 75 years of Independence, it is time to assess the direction that it will take when the country completes 100 years.<br />''<br />''Mr Modi accused Congress of divisive politics and strengthening separatism and alleged that the party believes in divide and rule policy. He also charged Congress party with indulging in blind opposition. He replied to the debate on Presidential address in Lok Sabha on Monday and in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Highlighting the development under his government, Mr Modi said whatever the country has achieved by Sabka Prayas. He said the way the Congress speaks and connects with issues, it seems it has made up its mind for not coming back to power for 100 years.<br />''<br />''The Prime Minister said Azadi Ka Mahotsav is the perfect time to think about how India can play a global leadership role in the coming years. Both the Houses later adopted the motion of thanks by the President. On the opposition charge of increasing unemployment during the Covid pandemic, the Prime Minister said one crore 20 lakh persons were enrolled under the EPFO.<br />''Participating in the discussion on the debate on President's address in the Rajya Sabha, P Chidambaram of the Congress charged the BJP led NDA government at the Centre with mismanagement during the Covid pandemic.<br />''<br />''Seema Dwivedi of BJP lauded the government's efforts in spearheading the vaccination process. Anand Sharma of the Congress said, President's speech was merely a rosy picture is being shown but a line is being drawn that the opposition does not want the process. Former Prime Minister and JD(S) leader H D Devegowda said the budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors is disappointing.<br />''Prakash Javadekar, Rakesh Sinha, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, Seema Dwivedi, Jaiprakash Nishad all of BJP, Vijaysai Reddy of YSR Congress, Ramdas Athawale of RPI, Vinoy Biswam of CPI-M, Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party, Fauzia Khan of NCP, Sukharam Singh Yadav of Samajwadi Party and Ahmed Ashfaque Karim of RJD are among others who participated in the discussion.<br />''In the Lok Sabha, Bhartruhari Mehtab of BJD, Jayant Sinha of BJP, R S Verma of BSP, G R Reddy of TRS were among others who participated in the discussion on the Union Budget.<br />''<br />''While criticizing some aspects of the Union budget, Bhartruhari Mahtab of BJD applauded Finance Minister for presenting a budget that laid out a road map for supporting the growth. He said she needs to be complimented as she presented the budget amidst a challenging economic environment. Mehtab said the budget has a clear intent and managed to provide allocations in many areas that would contribute to making India a modern, developed and inclusive nation.<br />''<br />''He, however said the sectoral allocations have been slashed in critical sectors like agriculture and farmers welfare, higher education, rural development and women and child development. He said reduction in MNREGA is not going to help the poor. He also said there is no provision made for the urban poor.<br />''<br />''Responding to the debate on Union Budget-2022-23 in both the Houses separately, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government has gone for a Budget which stands for continuity with a simplified tax structure. Stating that a sustainable growth with ensure that India remains on the top, she said start-ups are being encouraged because of easy access to funds. Highlighting the importance of emphasizing digital technology in governance in the budget, she said it would ensure transparency in the governance.<br />''Finance Minister said despite crisis due to Covid-19 pandemic, inflation was maintained at 6.1 per cent whereas for a lesser crisis during the previous government it was 9.1 per cent. She said the budgetary allocation in the Health and Family Welfare had gone up from 64 thousand crore rupees to 86 thousand crore rupees. The Finance Minister said the inflation management of the Modi Government is robust. She said the highest inflation this country had endured was from 2010-2014 with retail inflation was more than 9 per cent in 22 out of 28 months. On the opposition allegations of inadequate funds to states, she said for 2022-23, the allocation is one lakh crore rupees in capitalizing the overall investments in the economy for 50 years without any interest burden.<br />'' The Government informed the Lok Sabha that the situation in Afghanistan is of natural concern for neighboring countries like India and in broad terms the Central Asian countries share same concerns and similar objectives. Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan answered members' queries on the issue during question hour. Replying to a question by TMC member Saugata Roy over the broad consensus on Afghanistan at the Central Asia Summit, the Minister said the issue was discussed during the Summit and the situation in Afghanistan is of natural concern for neighboring countries like India and the Central Asian countries. The Minister said India and the five Central Asian countries also decided to establish a joint working group on Afghanistan.<br />''Members in the Lok Sabha raised several issues during the Zero Hour this week, Shyam Singh Yadav of BSP demanded that there should be Ahir Regiment in the Army which will have soldiers from Yadav community. Sanjay Seth of BJP called for a memorial for freedom fighters.<br />''<br />''In the Rajya Sabha members also raised the matters of public importance during the Zero Hour. They included Sushil Kumar Modi of BJP, Vijaysai Reddy of YSRCP,  V.Sivadasan of CPI-M, Fauzia Khan of NCP, Tiruchi Siva of DMK, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena, Abdul Wahab of the IUML and Mahesh Poddar of BJP. The House witnessed noisy scenes when L Hanumanthaiah of the Congress raised the issue of the Hijab row in a Karnataka school. <br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">On the opening day of the Budget Session, Prime Minister Modi paid rich tributes to the singing legend Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar who breathed her last at a Mumbai Hospital on last Sunday. Mr Modi said, her contribution has strengthened the unity and the cultural heritage  of the country. Both the Houses were adjourned for an hour on Monday as a mark of respect to the legendary singer.</span>

Discussion on the motion of thanks on President's address to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament and several matters of public importance figured in the first week proceedings of the Budget Session.<br />''<br />''Several members participated in the discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Two BJP MPs from Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday highlighted the achievements of the Modi government at the Centre and the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh. They said, 4.5 lakh youths were given jobs and 36,000 crore rupees worth farmer loans were waived off in the last five years.<br />''<br />''Initiating the debate on the motion of thanks Harish Dwivedi of BJP slammed the previous governments at the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh for only providing lip services rather than actually working for the welfare of the poor and backward classes. He claimed that 4.5 lakh youths were given jobs in Uttar Pradesh and 36,000 crore rupees worth loans of the farmers were waived off.<br />''<br />''Dwivedi said, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Modi government has provided free food grains to 80 crore poor people across the country while Yogi government supplemented the scheme by providing additional assistance to the poor and the marginalised in Uttar Pradesh.<br />''<br />''He said 4,600 special trains were run during the lockdown which transported 66 lakh migrant workers. The Modi government has also provided 165 crore COVID-19 vaccines free of cost to the people in the country, he said. Dwivedi also said that a number of flagship schemes are being run by the Modi government for providing free LPG and electricity connections, free houses and free health service to the people.<br />''<br />''Participating in the debate, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Modi government has created two India – one of the rich and the other of the poor and the gap between the two are growing. He said, the Presidential address did not touch central challenges facing the country.<br />''<br />''In Rajya Sabha, moving the motion of thanks, Geeta alias Chandraprabha of BJP said, people are repeatedly giving a clear mandate to the NDA because it is making efforts to bring equality through the welfare of the downtrodden, exploited and backward classes while ensuring the country's development. She said, as many as 27 ministers are from OBCs in the Union Council of Ministers and 20 belong to SC and ST communities while 11 union ministers are women. She also highlighted the implementation of various welfare measures in the poll-bound states, where the first phase of voting will be held on February 10, 2022.  The BJP MP also pointed to the government's efforts for women empowerment which includes raising the age for marriage for girls to 21 years from 18.<br />''<br />''Shwait Malik of the BJP, Ram Gopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Tiruchi Shiva of DMK and Sukhendu Sekhar Ray of Trinamool Congress are among others who also participated in the discussion.  Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including providing two crore jobs per year. He alleged that the government has failed to control price rise of essential commodities like petroleum products and daily food items.<br />''<br />''Fauzia Khan of NCP, Sushil Kumar Modi of BJP and Sanjay Singh of Aam Aadmi Party raised several matters of Public importance.<br />''On Thursday,<b> </b>the Lok Sabha has resumed discussion on the motion of thanks on presidential address. Pinaki Mishra of BJD, Rajiv Ranjan Singh of JD(U), Adhir Ranjan Choudhury of Congress, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore of BJP among others who participated in the discussion. Another BJP MP Jaskaur Meena from Rajasthan demanded cancellation of the REET examination.<br />''<br />''The Rajya Sabha resumed normal disruption-free functioning with members participating in the debate on the motion of thanks on the President's address.<br />''<br />''Respoding to this, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expressed happiness over the development during the current budget session and hoped the MPs should let that spirit prevail for the rest of the session.<br />''<br />''The Upper House resumed the debate on the motion of thanks with Union minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi leading the charge from the ruling party side.<br />''<br />''Mr. Naqvi claimed that the politics of "cuts, corruption and appeasement" is over and there are no pressures of "middlemen" or "nepotism" in this government.<br />''<br />''Some members raised various issues including the early appointment of the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), giving exemption to Tamil Nadu students from NEET examinations and higher investments in Assam. A D Singh of RJD, M. Thambidurai of AIADMK, Birendra Prasad Baishya of AGP, Digvijaya Singh of Congress and Sasmit Patra of BJD were among others who participated in the discussion.<br />''<br />''Elamaram Kareem of the CPI(M), K.C. Venugopal of the Congress, B.Lingaiah Yadav of TRS, M. Shanmugam of DMK, Rakesh Sinha (nominated member), Amar Patnaik of BJD, Shaktisinh Gohil of Congress, Santanu Sen of TMC, Jose K Mani of Kerala Congress and Vikas Mahatme of BJP raised issues during the zero hour.<br />''<br />''On Friday, cutting across party lines members in the Lok Sabha expressed concern over certain remarks by an MP on Speaker Om Birla's conduct in the House and said the dignity of the House and the Chair must be upheld.  Responding to this, Speaker said that members should be careful while making comments — both inside and outside the House or on social media.<br />''<br />''Adhir Ranjan Choudhury of Congress, Sudip Bandyopadhyay of TMC, Arvind Sawant of Shiv Sena, A. Raja of DMK, Farooq Abdullah of National Conference, Ritesh Pandey of BSP, Supriya Sule of NCP, Bhartruhari Mehtab of BJD called for honouring the dignity of the Speaker and the Chair. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said the government fully appreciates the efforts of the Speaker for conducting the House smoothly with everyone's cooperation.<br />''<br />''Later, the Lok Sabha resumed debate on the motion of thanks on President's address. Adhir Ranjan Choudhury of Congress and Kirit Solanki of BJP were among others who participated in the discussion.<br />''The Rajya Sabha, on Friday resumed the discussion on the motion of thanks. Prasanna Acharya of BJD, K. Somaprasad of CPI-M, Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena and K Ravindra Kumar of TDP took part in the discussion.<br />''Being Friday the House took up private members' bill on Population Regulation moved by Rakesh Sinha of BJP. Several opposition members expressed concerns saying that Indian Women of this generation will be the biggest victims. The proposed Bill aims at seeking to regulate population by promoting two-child per couple policy.<br />''<br />''Fauzia Khan of NCP and L. Hanumanthaiah both from Congress expressed apprehensions that the move is targeted at a particular community and if passed, it will only further marginalise the marginalised.  Manoj Kumar Jha of RJD, Amar Patnaik of BJD, V. Sivadasan of CPI(M), Binoy Viswam of CPI, Vikas Mahatme of BJP and his party colleague Mahesh Poddar participated in the discussion.<br />''<br />''Earlier, the Rajya Sabha witnessed noisy scenes followed by a walkout by DMK, Congress, Left Parties, RJD and TMC members over the Tamil Nadu Governor's decision to return the NEET exemption bill.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Chairman Venkaiah Naidu later said, people were feeling happy that the Rajya Sabha was functioning without disruption and members are having their say. He also urged the members to follow rules and not disrupt.</span><br />

<span style="color: #222222;">The Parliament witnessed more productive stint this week as compared to the previous week. The proceedings in the Lok Sabha were almost back on track to complete its scheduled businesses this week. Passing of a few key legislations and statements made by the government on the demise of the country's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the Nagaland firing incident were the major highlights of this week in Parliament.<br />''<br />''On Monday, Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement in both the houses over the Nagaland firing incident by security forces which first happened on previous Saturday due to a case of mistaken identity and the subsequent day due to firing to quell violence. Fourteen people died in the incidents, including 13 civilians and a Jawan. Mr Amit Shah first made the statement in the Lok Sabha and conveyed the Government's regret saying a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted which will complete its probe within a month.<br />''<br />''With members from various parties condemning the incident, Mr. Shah said, all agencies must ensure that such incidents do not recur when they take action against insurgents.<br />''<br />''Expressing dissatisfaction with the statement, Opposition parties including the Congress, DMK, SP, BSP and the NCP walked out of the house.<br />''<br />''Earlier in the day, the Opposition members called for the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA).<br />''On Monday evening, the Lok Sabha passed the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in a voice vote after a detailed discussion. It was moved by Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya who said, it seeks to bring all National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Researches across the country at par by giving them the status of Institute of National Importance. As of now, only one such institution enjoys the status which will be increased to seven. While replying to the discussion, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said, the government is taking all necessary steps to make India the pharma capital of the world.<br />''<br />''The Rajya Sabha on Monday saw repeated adjournments as the Opposition continued with their protests demanding revocation of the suspension of 12 members. In the midst of noisy scenes in the afternoon, Home Minister Amit Shah made a statement on the Nagaland killings which was identical to the one he made in the Lower House. After the statement, Deputy Chairman Harivansh adjourned the house for the day as Opposition members refused to relent and continued with their protests.<br />''<br />''On Tuesday, Lok Sabha conducted its business smoothly, though there had been sloganeering by the TRS members for a brief while in the morning, who later staged a walkout. The house took up the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (salaries and conditions of service) Amendment Bill, 2021 for discussion and passage in the post-lunch session.<br />''<br />''While moving the bill, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, it clarifies on when the retired Supreme Court and High Court Judges are entitled to an additional quantum of Pension or Family Pension on attaining a certain age. The Opposition members expressed concern over the long pendency of cases in the courts and the vacancies of Judges.<br />''<br />''Meanwhile, in the morning, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded compensation and jobs from the Centre for the next of kin of farmers who died during the year-long agitation against the three farm laws. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, he referred to a list of farmers who were paid compensation and given jobs in Punjab. He said, around 700 farmers died in the agitation.<br />''<br />''BJP MP Parvesh Verma raised the issue of drug abuse in the national capital and charged the Delhi Government of taking no concrete steps to deal with the growing menace.<br />''<br />''The Rajya Sabha failed to transact any business on Tuesday as well, as the Opposition members continued to protest, disrupting the proceedings. The house witnessed two adjournments before the final one for the day a few minutes after 3 P.M., amid continued uproar over the issue of suspension of 12 MPs.<br />''<br />''However, amid the din, Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya managed to introduce The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021 and The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020. Mamta Mohanta of the BJD managed to speak about the two bills amid the din. With Opposition members unrelenting in their protests, the Deputy Chairman adjourned the house for the day.<br />''<br />''The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 that seeks to rectify an anomaly in the pension and family pension to end any confusion. It was later passed by a voice vote.<br />''<br />''Replying to a variety of issues raised by the members during the debate on the bill, the Minister said, 90 per cent of the pendency of cases lie with the lower judiciary adding that the concerted efforts are being made in coordination with the states and other stakeholders to address them.<br />''<br />''After the passage of the bill, the Lok Sabha took up a discussion on Climate Change. Initiating the debate, DMK's Kanimozhi said, India fulfills over 60 per cent of its energy needs from fossil fuel and asked how the government is going to fulfill its promises made in COP-26 at Glasgow and reduce the sulfur dioxide emission.  <br />''<br />''The highlight of the Rajya Sabha activities on Wednesday was the passage of the two bills to regulate and supervise assisted reproductive technology clinics and to curb unethical practices relating to surrogacy. The Upper House passed the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2020 with amendments. Therefore, the bills, earlier passed by the Lok Sabha, will again go back to it for its approval. The provisions in both the bills include penalty and jail terms for violations.<br />''<br />''On Thursday, it was an emotional moment for all the Members, cutting across party lines, to stand up and pay tributes to the Country's first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat who died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu. Along with General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika and 11 other Armed Forces personnel died when the military helicopter they were traveling in crashed near Coonoor on Wednesday. Indian Air Force Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor of the crash is presently on the life support.<br />''<br />''Making a statement on the incident first in the Lok Sabha, and then in the Rajya Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, a tri-services inquiry team led by Air Marshal Manavendra Singh has started investigation into the incident. Mr Singh said that all efforts were being made to save the survivor of the crash, Group Captain Varun Singh.<br />''<br />''Giving details about the incident, Mr Singh said, Gen Rawat was on a scheduled visit to the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington to interact with the student officers. The Indian Air Force's Mi-17 V-5 helicopter took off from Sulur Air Base at 11.48 a.m. on Wednesday which was to land at Wellington at 12.15 p.m., he said. The Air Traffic Control tower at Sulur Air Base lost contact with the helicopter by eight minutes past 12 noon, the Minister said.<br />''Mr. Singh said, a few locals reported fire in the forest near Coonoor and rushed to the spot where they saw the remains of a helicopter engulfed in flames. Rescue teams from local administration also reached the crash site and tried to rescue the survivors, he said.<br />''<br />''All those recovered from the wreckage were immediately rushed to the military hospital at Wellington. Out of 14 persons on board the helicopter, 13 have succumbed to their injuries, Mr. Singh said.<br />''<br />''Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressed grief at Gen Rawat's untimely demise and said that the country had lost a skilled warrior, an outstanding strategist and an experienced leader.<br />''<br />''The members in both the houses stood in silence for a brief while as a mark of respect for the departed souls.<br />''In the Lok Sabha on Friday, the discussion on climate change resumed in which the BJP members lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government for taking measures to protect the environment and bring India at the centre of international initiative to control global warming.<br />''<br />''In contrast, the Opposition members alleged that the Centre did a volte-face at the Climate Summit in Glasgow by setting a Net Zero target of 2070, questioning the rationale behind it. Trinamool member Saugata Roy asked what prompted the Prime Minister to commit in the COP-26 Summit to a Net Zero target in 2070.  <br />''<br />''N. K. Premachandran of RSP charged the developed nations of diluting their climate commitments over the past three decades since the 1992 Rio Summit adding the common but differentiated responsibility concept has become an insignificant part of the Glasgow Declaration. BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri lauded the Prime Minister's initiatives to popularize the use of energy efficient LED bulbs as an alternative to traditional lighting solutions and offer LPG subsidies which, he claimed, have reduced the dependence on firewood for cooking. Mr Bidhuri targeted the Aam Aadmi Party Government in the national capital, alleging that it has indulged in gimmicks in the name of fighting air pollution and has taken no substantive measures.<br />''<br />''Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav said in his intervention during the debate that the Central Government is working towards making use of stubble in making biofuels and manure in an exercise aimed at reducing incidents of its burning, which is seen to be one of the sources of air pollution in the region, including in the national capital. He made the remarks after Shiromani Akali Dal member Harsimrat Kaur Badal alleged that Punjab farmers were being defamed for stubble burning and asked the Central Government to provide them with resources to deal with it. Ms Badal cited reports, including a submission by the Central Government, to claim that stubble burning plays a minimal role in air pollution and asked the ministry to bring out a white paper on the issue. Mr. Bhupender Yadav said, stubble burning has now been decriminalized and also listed the measures taken to put to use stubble for different purposes so that farmers don't burn them.  <br />''<br />''During Question Hour, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar told Lok Sabha that the US sanctions on Iran have not affected India's Chabahar Port Project. Replying to a question from BSP member Ritesh Pandey, he clarified that US sanctions are not relevant to the project in Iran.<br />''<br />''Meanwhile, members of the Upper House on Friday participated in a discussion on a resolution moved by Congress member Amee Yajnik on controlling pollution in the country. Moving the resolution post-lunch during Private Member's business, she asked the government to introduce stringent legal provisions to mitigate environmental pollution and promote sustainable development.<br />''<br />''Participating in the discussion, Shiv Pratap Shukla of BJP highlighted several steps taken by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to combat pollution, including the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission and providing LPG connections to the poor.<br />''<br />''In a nutshell, the Parliament this week passed a host of key legislations, listened to the statements of Ministers and participated in discussions on crucial issues being faced by the nation. </span><br />