Gujarat Assembly

44% of seats of engineering courses remained vacant in Guj in 2023: Govt

The Gujarat government on Thursday told the legislative assembly that more than 44 per cent seats in various engineering colleges, including self-financed institutes, in the state, which comes to more than 62,000 seats, remained vacant in 2023. The data tabled in the House also revealed that more than 32 per cent or 7,742 seats of Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Computer Application (MCA) courses remained vacant in the previous year. Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs during the Question Hour on Thursday about the vacant seats in colleges offering technical and professional courses, state Higher and Technical Education Minister Rushikesh Patel said various government-run, grant-in-aid and self-financed colleges have 1,40,852 seats of engineering degree and diploma courses in Gujarat. Of these 1,40,852 seats, 71,629 are of degree engineering courses, while 69,223 are of diploma engineering courses, he said. The minister informed the House

Purchased electricity worth Rs 40,000 cr in 2 years: Guj govt to Assembly

The Gujarat government on Thursday informed the Assembly that it has purchased electricity worth Rs 40,634 crore from different power generation firms in the last two years. Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs, state energy minister Kanubhai Desai said Rs 20,898 crore was paid to 804 firms, mostly renewable energy projects, in 2022 while Rs 19,736 crore was paid in 2023 to 919 firms towards the purchase of electricity. In 2022, the average cost was Rs 5.25 per unit while it was Rs 4.75 in 2023, he added. Congress Legislature Party leader Amit Chavda and senior Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar confronted Desai over the issue and sought to know why private firms are given preference over state-run energy generation firms. "The total installed capacity of the state government's power plants is 9,347 MW while the total installed capacity of three private entities - Adani, Essar and Tata - is 5,361 MW. Despite our capacity being more, we give preference to private firms

1,606 primary schools in state operate with 1 teacher: Guj govt in Assembly

As many as 1,606 government-run primary schools in Gujarat were functioning with just one teacher, the state government informed the legislative assembly on Monday. In a debate during the Question Hour of the ongoing budget session, state Education Minister Kuber Dindor admitted that the number of schools facing a shortage of teachers has increased in the last two years mainly because of the transfer of educators to places of their choice. While Dindor assured the House that vacant posts in the state-run primary schools would be filled "at the earliest", Congress MLAs took a strong exception and asked the BJP government to specify the timeframe for filling the posts. Responding to a question by Congress MLA Tushar Chaudhary, the minister said 1,606 government primary schools in Gujarat were functioning with just one teacher as of December 2023. The state has more than 32,000 government primary schools. He said steps are being taken to ensure that students do not suffer, and these

Gujarat Assembly clears supplementary demands for grants worth Rs 7,500 cr

The Gujarat Assembly on Thursday approved supplementary demands for grants worth over Rs 7,500 crore which were incurred as additional expenditure during the financial year of 2023-24. Tabling the demands, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai said additional funds were allocated beyond budgetary provisions to carry out pro-people work like building houses for tribals and lay new roads as well repair existing ones under the Mukhya Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana'. The minister said it is the government's resolve to provide houses to everyone. The government had initially allocated Rs 163 crore to build houses for tribals under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana', he said. But, to cover the maximum number of beneficiaries, we had allocated an additional budget of Rs 821 crore. We have also increased scholarships for tribal students, which led to extra expenditure, said Desai. In all, the finance minister sought permission of the House for an additional expenditure of over Rs 7,500 crore spent by ..

More than half million children in Gujarat malnourished: Govt data

More than 5.70 lakh children in Gujarat are malnourished, the Gujarat assembly was informed on Wednesday with the government listing various steps being taken to improve the situation. Responding to a set of questions raised by Congress MLAs during Question Hour, Women and Child Development Minister Bhanuben Babariya informed that out of 5.70 lakh malnourished children in the state, nearly 4.38 lakh children are underweight, while 1.31 lakh fell in the 'severely underweight' category. Notably, the highly-urbanised district of Ahmedabad accounted for the highest number of malnourished children (56,941), followed by tribal-dominated Dahod (51,321), Banaskantha (48,866), Panchmahal (31,512), Kheda (28,800), Surat (26,682) and Bhavnagar (26,128), Babariya stated in written replies giving the data till end-2023. In one year, as many as 9,634 malnourished children were added in Kheda district, which was the highest in Gujarat. Kheda was followed by Ahmedabad (3,516 children), Bharuch ...

Gujarat Assembly session: Budget for FY25 to be presented on Feb 2

The budget session of the Gujarat assembly will begin on Thursday and the state budget for FY 2024-25 will be presented on Friday, a state minister said. The budget will reflect the vision of the state government for the next year and a road map for the next 25 years, he said. The opposition Congress has said it will corner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on a range of issues including inflation, unemployment, and the recent boat capsize tragedy in a lake in Vadodara, resulting in the death of 12 students and two teachers. The budget session will start with the customary address of Governor Acharya Devvrat. "On the first day, the governor will present the previous year's achievements of the state government in his address to the House," Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai will present the budget on the next day (February 2). The budget will reflect the vision of the s

Vadodara boat capsize: FIR filed, manager, staff of boating firm booked

Preliminary investigation suggests that the boat was packed beyond capacity, the police informed

Vibrant Gujarat summit: Seminars planned in Gandhinagar from Jan 10-12

Managing Director of Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation, Roopwant Singh, on Friday announced that the state is all set to host the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit (VGGS) 2024

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates NeVA project of Gujarat assembly

President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday inaugurated the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) project of the Gujarat assembly, aimed to make the House working paperless, and said it will bring transparency in the functioning of the assembly. Murmu also addressed the state assembly, as it commenced its four-day monsoon session. "NeVA is a progressive transformation which will bring transparency in the functioning of the Gujarat assembly and also help members of the House to access best practices of other assemblies," she said. After solar alliance, the setting up of the Global Biofuel Alliance in the recently concluded G-20 summit is an important step for environment protection and self-sufficiency in the energy sector, Murmu said.

President to address MLAs on 1st day of Gujarat assembly's monsoon session

President Droupadi Murmu has arrived on a visit to Gujarat where she will address legislators on the first day of the state assembly's monsoon session in capital Gandhinagar on Wednesday. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel received Murmu on her arrival in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Murmu will inaugurate the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) project of the Gujarat legislative assembly and address MLAs in Gandhinagar on the opening day of the four-day monsoon session of the House. The NeVA project has been implemented under the concept of 'One Nation, One Application' envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to make the assembly functioning paperless, said a release by the assembly secretariat. All MLAs have been given training to access and operate the NeVA application using tablet computers, said the release. Apart from the regular business, nine bills will be discussed in the assembly during these four days, including the 'Gujarat Common Universities Bill, 2023', which the

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Gujarat Assembly passes resolution against BBC documentary, seeks action

Gujarat Assembly on Friday passed a resolution requesting the Centre to take strict action against the BBC for tarnishing the image of Prime Minister Modi with its documentary on the 2002 riots

Gujarat Assembly passes resolution against BBC for 2002 riots documentary

The Gujarat Assembly on Friday passed a resolution requesting the Centre to take strict action against BBC for tarnishing the image and popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with its documentary on the 2002 riots in the state. The controversial two-part series by the British Broadcasting Corporation titled 'India: The Modi Question' misrepresents the events of 2002 in a malicious and low-level attempt to tarnish India's image globally, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Vipul Patel said in the House while moving the resolution. The documentary claims to have probed certain aspects of the riots, which took place after the Godhra train burning incident, when Modi was Gujarat chief minister. The documentary was banned in India soon after its release. Patel's resolution was supported by BJP MLAs Manisha Vakil, Amit Thaker, Dhavalsinh Zala and minister Harsh Sanghavi. It was passed by voice vote in the absence of Congress MLAs who were expelled from the House earlier in the day. After pa

Gujarat Assembly passes bill to make Gujarati lessons compulsory for kids

The Gujarat Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a bill which makes teaching the Gujarati language compulsory in all primary schools in the state, including those affiliated with CBSE, ICSE and IB boards. If a school is found violating the provisions of the "Gujarat Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Gujarati Language Bill, 2023" for more than a year, the government would "direct the Board or institution" to disaffiliate the school. The bill, tabled by state Education Minister Kuberbhai Dindor, was passed unanimously by the 182-member House as both the opposition parties - the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party - supported its provisions. As per the bill document, the schools which are currently not teaching Gujarati will have to introduce Gujarati as an additional language for classes 1 to 8 in phases from the upcoming academic year 2023-24. "Every school shall follow textbooks prescribed by the Gujarat government for teaching Gujarati as an additional language. The state governm

Gujarat yet to get Rs 9,136 cr as GST compensation from Centre: Minister

Gujarat is yet to get Rs 9,136.26 crore as Goods and Services Tax compensation from the Union government, the state Assembly was informed on Monday. During discussion on the issue in the House, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said Gujarat was losing an average Rs 15,000 crore every year after the GST Act came into force and sought information of pending GST compensation. Responding to the question, state Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai informed the House Rs 9,136.26 crore was pending by way of GST compensation. "For the year 2021-22 and 2022-23, Gujarat has claimed Rs 30,400 crore as GST compensation. The Centre has so far paid Rs 21,264 crore while payment of Rs 9,136 crore is still pending. Of those Rs 21,264 crore, the Centre has paid Rs 4,200 crore in cash and Rs 17,045 crore as loan. The Centre will pay the interest on that loan through cess fund," Desai told the Assembly. This cess is collected from various products, such as tobacco, coal and soft drinks, for the purp

Gujarat Assembly passes Bill to curb paper leak in recruitment exams

With the objective of curbing paper leaks in government recruitment exams, the Gujarat Legislative Assembly has unanimously passed a Bill that provides for up to 10 years in prison for such malpractices. As per the provisions of the bill, the accused shall also be liable for fine which shall not be less than Rs 10 lakh, which may extend to Rs 1 crore. Following a heated debate, the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2023, tabled by Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, was passed on Thursday as opposition Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members gave their nod. The bill is aimed at curbing "unfair means" which include to leak or attempt to leak a question paper, procure a question paper in an unauthorised manner and to solve such a paper in an unauthorised manner. Unfair means also include an act of assisting an examinee during examination for monetary gains. Any examinee (candidate appearing for an exam) indulging in unfair means shall be punishe

Shankar Chaudhary elected unopposed as Speaker of Gujarat Assembly

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Shankar Chaudhary was on Tuesday elected unopposed as the Speaker of the newly-formed Gujarat Legislative Assembly. Besides, senior BJP MLA Jetha Bharwad was elected unopposed as the Deputy Speaker during the first session of the 15th state Assembly in Gandhinagar. The opposition Congress as well as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supported the nominations of ruling party legislators Chaudhary and Bharwad. While Chaudhary's name was proposed by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Bharwad's name was proposed by state Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai. Chaudhary, who represents the Tharad seat in Banaskantha district, had served as a minister in the Gujarat governments led by Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupani between 2014 and 2017. He had lost the 2017 Assembly election from Vav seat. Bharwad, a six-time MLA from Shehra Assembly seat of Panchmahal district, had served as the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly for a year between 2021 and 2022 in the 14th ...

2-day session of Gujarat Assembly to begin; newly-elected MLAs to take oath

The newly-elected MLAs of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly will take oath on the first day of the two-day session of the House on Monday, an official has said. Elections for the post of Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held on Tuesday. Protem speaker and senior-most Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Yogesh Patel will administer the oath to the 182 MLAs in the first session of the 15th Legislative Assembly in the state capital Gandhinagar on Monday, Gujarat Assembly secretary D M Patel told PTI on Sunday. On the second day of the two-day session on Tuesday, the new members will meet to elect the Speaker, he said. As per an official notification issued by the Assembly Secretariat, elections for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker will be held in the first half on Tuesday and other businesses will be taken up in the second half. The BJP, which won the seventh consecutive term in the state with a record mandate in recent elections, has declared Shankar Chaudhary and Jethabhai Bha

22% Gujarat MLAs have criminal cases; BJP's Rivaba Jadeja among the richest

As many as 22 per cent winning candidates or 40 out of the total 182 in the recently concluded Gujarat Assembly elections have criminal cases against their names, according to an analysis by ADR

Guj poll result HIGHLIGHTS: Massive victory for BJP, Patel to be CM again

Gujarat election result 2022: Exit polls have predicted a landslide win for the ruling BJP, while AAP could see a 'positive sign'. Stay tuned for Gujarat Assembly election result LIVE updates