Page 6 - Lok Sabha

LS passes banking laws amendment Bill allowing 4 nominees in bank accounts

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which allows bank account holders to have up to four nominees in their accounts. Another proposed change relates to redefining 'substantial interest' for directorships, which could increase to Rs 2 crore instead of the current limit of Rs 5 lakh, which was fixed almost six decades ago. The Bill piloted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was approved by a voice vote. Replying to the debate on the Bill, Sitharaman said depositors will have the option of successive or simultaneous nomination facility, while locker holders will have only successive nomination. She also said that since 2014, the Government and the RBI have been extremely cautious, so that banks remain stable. "The intention is to keep our banks safe, stable, healthy, and after 10 years you are seeing the outcome," Sitharaman said. The bill proposes to increase the tenure of directors (excluding the chairman and whole-time director) in coopera

Parliament updates: Lok Sabha passes The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024

Parliament winter session news updates: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

High-stakes Constitution debate set for Parliament’s winter session

Galwan disrupted decades of LAC peace; next aim de-escalation: Jaishankar

While diplomatic engagement has improved relations, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar emphasised the need for a fair settlement to normalise ties between the nations

Lok Sabha will be convened on Sunday, warns Om Birla amid House disruptions

The Winter Session of Parliament, which began on Nov 25 and is set to continue until Dec 20, has faced significant disruptions due to Opposition protests

6 million new job cards issued under MGNREGS every year, Centre tells LS

Sixty lakh new job cards are issued under the MGNREGS on average every year and the government has no role in the deletion of the job cards which is done based on various parameters, the Centre said on Tuesday. Minister of State for Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told the Lok Sabha that 57 per cent of the rural development budget is allocated for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and asserted that Aadhaar-seeding of the cards enhances transparency. He was responding to Congress leader K C Venugopal, who claimed that the names of 10.43 crore MGNREGS workers have been deleted in the last four years. Venugopal also wanted to know whether the deletions were linked to the Aadhaar-seeding requirement. "Ninety-nine per cent of all job card holders have Aadhaar seeding. Aadhaar seeding is nothing but to increase transparency. It is not an obstacle," the minister said during the Question Hour. According to Pemmasani, the deletion of job car

Oppn MPs, Rahul Gandhi, stage walkout in Lok Sabha over Sambhal violence

Almost the entire opposition in the Lok Sabha, including Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a brief walkout from the House over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal. As soon as the House assembled to take up the Question Hour, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav rose from his seat and raised the issue, seeking Speaker Om Birla's permission to speak on the subject. "This is a very serious matter. Five people have lost their lives," Yadav was heard saying. As the Speaker said members could raise the issue in the Zero Hour, Yadav and his party colleagues started to walk out in protest. Some SP members, meanwhile, rushed to the Well, raising slogans. While the SP members were protesting in the Well of the House, DMK member A Raja was seen exhorting other opposition members, including those from the Congress, to rise from their seats and join the SP protest. NCP and Shiv Sena-UBT members stood up in support of the Samajwadi Party MPs. Some of the

Govt introduces Coastal Shipping Bill in Lok Sabha amid noisy protests

A Bill that seeks to promote coastal trade and encourage the participation of Indian-flagged vessels owned and operated by Indian citizens for national security and commercial needs was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal introduced the Bill amid noisy protests by opposition members over the recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and the Adani issue. Sandhya Ray, who was chairing the proceedings, asked Congress members Manish Tewari and Gaurav Gogoi to speak but they refused, saying that the House was not in order. Opposition members are allowed to speak on Bills if they wish to oppose it at the introduction stage itself. The Coastal Shipping Bill, 2024, was later introduced following a voice vote amid the din. The Bill is among the five new measures planned for introduction by the government in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

Parliament session highlights: LS, RS adjourned after protests over Adani issue, Sambhal violence

Parliament winter session news highlights: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

SBI planning to open 500 new branches across India in FY25: MoS Finance

The State Bank of India (SBI) is planning to open 500 new branches across India during the current financial year, Parliament was informed on Monday. Of this, 135 new branches have already been opened till October 31, 2024, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. Currently, the endeavour of the government is to ensure availability of a banking outlet (bank branch/business correspondent/ India Post Payments Bank) within 5 kilometres of all inhabited villages in the country, he said. Availability of banking outlets is monitored by a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based app, namely, Jan Dhan Darshak (JDD) app, he said. To another question regarding shortage of staff in SBI, Chaudhary said, public sector banks (PSBs) including SBI are board governed commercial entities. The requirement of manpower in each PSB is determined by the respective PSB keeping in view various factors which include, inter-alia, business requirement, spread

Govt, Oppn work to break impasse in Parliament; Constitution debate likely

The government and opposition parties have come close to reaching an agreement to break the impasse in Parliament with a discussion on the Constitution to mark its 75th year of adoption likely to take place in the coming days, sources said. The Samajwadi Party may also be allowed to raise the Sambhal issue and the Trinamool Congress happenings in Bangladesh in the Lok Sabha, they said. The opposition wants an official announcement of dates for the discussion on the Constitution before agreeing to the resumption of regular parliamentary proceedings, they added. "We are hopeful that Parliament will begin its work from Tuesday. Positive talks have happened," a source said. However, there is little possibility of any specific discussion on the Adani issue, sources added, noting that opposition members may touch on it during other debates. The Congress has been persistent in raising the issue of the indictment of US prosecutors of Adani Group chairperson Gautam Adani and other company

Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned till Dec 3 amid opposition ruckus

Both Houses were adjourned for the day after they reconvening at 12 noon following adjournments since the sessions began at 11 am

Lok Sabha adjourned till 12 noon amid protests by opposition over Adani

Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 12 noon on Monday amid protests by opposition members over the Adani indictment row, recent violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal and other issues. As soon as the House met after the weekend break, many opposition members, including those from the Congress, were on their feet, raising the indictment of industrialist Gautam Adani in a US court on bribery charges, among other issues. Some members were in the Well of the House while other opposition members stood in the aisle and raised slogans. Speaker Om Birla asked the opposition members to allow the Question Hour and said they could take up their issues later. Amid the din, one question was taken up. However, the opposition members ignored the speaker's pleas, following which he adjourned the House till 12 noon. The Lok Sabha proceedings were washed out last week as well due to the protests by the opposition members on the same issues. Before the House assembled, Parliamentary Affairs Mini

Canada ended Student Direct Stream for students on Nov 8, Centre tells Parl

Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said this in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha

13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Govt

Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations

Parliament highlights: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha adjourned amid protests by Opposition MPs

Parliament winter session news updates: Catch all the latest news developments related to the proceedings in the Parliament here

Parliament Winter Session: Lok Sabha adjourned for fourth day over protests

Konkan Railway needs major replacements to ensure safety, minister tells LS

The infrastructure of Konkan Railway Corporation Limited has become more than 25 years old, requiring major renewal of capital assets to ensure safety of traffic, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday. Vaishnaw said the infrastructure replacement requires major capital expenditure and the five shareholders of KRCL - Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Karnataka, Government of Goa and Government of Kerala - have been approached by the Ministry of Railways to contribute for capital expenditure or to relinquish their share in favour of the ministry. The minister replied to questions raised by BJP MP Kota Srinivas Poojary, who wanted to know the status of merger of Konkan Railway. There are five shareholders in Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) namely the Ministry of Railways, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Karnataka, Government of Goa and Government of Kerala, Vaishnaw said. The infrastruct

Congress questions govt's silence on repeated parliament adjournments

With Parliament facing repeated adjournments, the Congress on Friday said the big mystery is why the government is not resisting the interruptions and instead facilitating the aggression of the INDIA parties especially on the Adani issue. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the government has much to feel defensive and apologetic about. "Yet another day of a washout in the Parliament on the Modani issue. Both Houses adjourned today after only a few minutes. The big mystery is why the government is not resisting the adjournments," Ramesh said in a post on X. "On the contrary, the government is facilitating the aggression of the INDIA parties on Modani especially - as also on Manipur, Sambhal, and Delhi's law and order. Clearly it has much to feel defensive and apologetic about," the Congress leader said. His remarks came soon after Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned for the day on Friday as opposition MPs protested the rejection of adjournment

Congress files adjournment notice in LS to discuss Adani indictment issue

Congress MPs have continuously sought to discuss the Adani indictment in the Lok Sabha since the start of the winter session on November 25