Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu has called an all-party meeting on February 22 for mutual consultations on the upcoming Budget Session.
The government will discuss with leaders of various political parties the financial, legislative and other business to be taken up in both the Houses of the Parliament during the ensuing Budget Session.
The Budget Session will commence on February 23 and subject to the exigencies of the government business will conclude on May 8.
It will be held in two phases. The first phase will be from February 23 till March 20 and the second phase from April 20 till May 8. There will be 20 working days during the first phase and 13 in the second phase. During the intervening recess, the Standing Committees will take up detailed examination of the Demands for Grants of different Departments and Ministries.
The Budget Session starts with an address by President Pranab Mukherjee to members of both the Houses in the Central Hall of the Parliament.
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The 44-item agenda of the government proposed for the Budget Session consists of financial, legislative and non-legislative business. Financial business (11 items) includes presentation of and discussion on General and Railway Budgets for 2015-16, discussion and voting on demands for grants, both General and Railway Budgets for 2015-16, supplementary demands for grants for 2014-15 and excess demands, if any for 2013-14.
The Centre has proposed presentation of Railway Budget on February 26, Economic Survey on February 27 and General Budget on February 28.
The legislative agenda comprises of introduction, consideration and passing of seven new bills by both the Houses including the Finance Bill, 2015, and bills replacing six ordinances, consideration and passing of three bills pending in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Rajya Sabha and introduction of ten new bills.
The pending bills in the Lok Sabha are - the Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 relating to introduction of GST, the Lok Pal and Lokayuktas and other Related Law (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2014. After being passed by the Lok Sabha, these Bills need to be taken up by Rajya Sabha.
The bills pending in the Rajya Sabha include four bills already passed by Lok Sabha viz., the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2014, the Public Premises Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2014, the Regional Rural Banks (Amendment) Bill 2014, the Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill 2014, and the Payments and Settlement Systems (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Other pending bills are the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Constitution (Scheduled Casts) Orders (Amendment) Bill 2014.
The new bills for introduction pertain to National Cooperative Development Corporation, Warehousing Corporation, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation, Arbitration and Conciliation, Repeal of Appropriation Acts, Registration of Births and Deaths, Whistle Blowers Protection, Indian Institutes of Management, National Academic Depository and Identification of Scheduled Castes.
The Non-Legislative Business includes discussion on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address and constitution of Railway Convention Committee.
