The parliament convened for the second leg of the Budget Session on March 14, 2022.
The Rajya Sabha today held a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with Union Minister Arjun Munda replying at the end of it.
Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, during Question Hour, says the Centre is planning to develop India’s road infrastructure equivalent to that of the U.S. by the end of 2024. He also seeks more efforts to create awareness among the public about road safety.
During the Zero Hour, several members of the House raised matters of urgent public importance, from the rise in air ticket prices to the setting up of a neutrino research project in Tamil Nadu. Issues about managing misinformation regarding Covid pandemic and regulating social media were also discussed.
Here are the latest updates
Rajya Sabha adjourned
Rajya Sabha proceedings have been adjourned until 11.00 a.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2022. The House will resume after four-day-long holiday due to Holi festival and weekend.
Discussion on the working of Ministry of Railways begins
BJD member Prasanna Acharya says the internal resources of the Indian Railways have been on a decline, increasing the Railways’ dependency on market boring. He says more market boring may have “cascading effect”, while adding that this will also lead to heavy interest burden on the Railways.
Open to suggestions from Opposition: Arjun Munda
Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, ending his reply on the discussion on the working of the Ministry, says he is open to criticism as well as suggestions from the Opposition members. He, however, said the MPs should not criticise just for the sake of it.
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda says it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government which brought Arunachal Pradesh, a State with 100% tribal population, under the list of tribal State.
“You (Congress MPs) keep talking about Arunachal having tribal population it was us who brought it under the list of Tribal States,” he says
Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda says the government has marked approximately 36,000 tribal villages under Pradhan Mantri Adi-Adarsh Gram Yojana to provide them with facilities like clean drinking water, internet, water-drainage system, 100% admission rate in schools and decreasing the dropout rate.
Tribal Affairs Minister replies on debate
Talking about efforts in the field of education for tribals, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda says the Eklayva schools will be modified on the lines of central government-run Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas.
He says even though the Eklavya schools had been setup in 1997-98, the condition of the schools remained poor despite government fulfilling monetary requirements. “We will ensure these (Eklavya schools) get required facilities to excel in the fields of sports, skill development, local art and culture,” he says.
Ministries used to work without coordination before 2014: Arjun Munda
Union Minister Arjun Munda says earlier all central ministries used to work separately without coordinating with one another and it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who pointed it out after the government under his leadership was formed at the Centre.
Talking about some questions from the Opposition members, he says the questions they are asking us today are the ones they have sought votes on and ruled the country for years.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh says while individual forest rights under the Forest Rights Act 2006 have been given at a large scale, making the Act a success in this aspect, community forest rights have not been given at the same scale, especially in States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. He asks Arjun Munda, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs to look into the matter.
CPI's Binoy Viswam says Father Stan Swamy fought for tribal rights
CPI MP Binoy Viswam says Father Stan Swamy fought for the rights of tribal communities. "He was tortured to death in a prison cell. Why ? He fought for the rights of the tribals. He raised the voice for their 'Jal, Jameen, Jangal'. They (BJP) don't like it. So they killed him. At this moment I proudly bow my head before his memory."
He also says the government acts in the interests of FDI (foreign direct investments), particularly in the field of mining, in lands that belong to tribal communities in states like Jharkhand and Odisha.
Rajya Sabha resumes with discussion on tribal affairs ministry’s working
Rajya Sabha resumes session and begins to discuss the working of the ministry of tribal affairs. BJP nominated member Suresh Gopi from Kerala urges tribal affairs minister Arjun Munda to direct National Commission for Scheduled Tribes to visit tribal hamlets in Kerala.
Rajya Sabha adjourns till 2 PM
Rajya Sabha adjourns till 2 PM amid Question Hour.
Congress questions govt on plan to phase out petrol, diesel engines
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh questions if the government has a plan to phase-out petrol and diesel vehicles in the country over the next few years. He also says, the government should share such a plan, if it exists.
“Unless we have a roadmap, we are not going to be giving incentives to the private car manufacturers to phase-out petrol and diesel engines... What is the roadmap for the next 10 to 15 years for the phase-out of petrol and diesel engines?” Mr. Ramesh asks.
To this question, Mr. Gadkari says the government has launched scrapping policy to tackle the issue. He also says the shift towards EV would be a “natural choice” of people because of its benefits. However, he says he would not commit any target towards the phase-out but the “game will change” in three years.
Nitin Gadkari on sale of electric vehicles, govt’s incentives for EV and future energy
Union minister Nitin Gadkari says that the sale of electric vehicles increased in the country since 2020. Mr. Gadkari also says that several startups in the country are also working on alternate battery technologies.
In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea of ’Aatmanirbhar Bharath’ (self-reliant India), Gadkari says, the government will reduce import and within two years and the use of clean fuel, alternative fuel and bio fuel will increase in the country.
CPI (M) MP John Brittas asks a supplementary question about the Centre’s model policy to promote EVs in India. To this, Mr. Gadkari says that GST rate for EVs are only five percent. The minister also says alternative power sources should be focused upon.
He calls “green hydrogen” as the “fuel for the future” and notes it is being used across Europe. He says government committed towards ecology and environment.
Nitin Gadkari says govt planning to develop India’s road network on par with U.S. by 2024
Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, during Question Hour, says the Centre is planning to develop India’s road infrastructure equivalent to that of the U.S. by the end of 2024. He also seeks more efforts to create awareness among the public about road safety.
He says expanding road infrastructure is not the only problem but also includes other aspects such as road engineering, automobile engineering and education. He also notes that India has one of the easiest method to obtain a driving licence.
Mr. Gadkari replies to a question by Congress’ L. Hanumanthaiah question about the number of accidents on National Highways and also about enlarging roads connecting to the National Highways.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva urges Centre to drop proposal to set up neutrino observatory project in Tamil Nadu
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva says the government should consider dropping the proposal for a neutrino observatory project in Theni district in Tamil Nadu to conserve the “rich wild life and the biodiversity” of the region.
He says that the site for the project falls within a major tiger corridor, one among 32 identified by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the structural activities of the project will cause damage to the environment.
He cites the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority of Tamil Nadu listing the anticipated damage to the site.
Members raise several issues of public importance in Rajya Sabha
Several members of the Rajya Sabha raise matters of public importance ranging from the rise of air travel price to the management of misinformation regarding the Covid pandemic during the Zero Hour.
Vandana Chavan of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) says that rumours, fake news and misinformation spreading through social media platforms led to the “discrediting the threats of the virus” and “vaccine hesitancy”. She urges the government to consider mandating social media platforms and also develop a credible platform to provide “fast, accurate and authentic information”.
Jose K Mani of the Kerala Congress (M) says that the “unregulated rise in fare of air tickets”, particularly to the gulf area. He also demands the government to intervene and take necessary action.
List of Business
- Papers and reports to be laid on the table
- V. Muraleedharan to make a statement regarding Government Business for the week commencing Monday, the 21st of March 2022
- Question Hour
- Further discussion on the Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Tribal Affairs
- Arjun Munda to move The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022
Day 2 recap
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh informed the house that an official high-level investigation has been initiated to ascertain the cause on the accidental firing of a missile on March 9. He informed that no damage had been caused by the accidental firing.
P.C. Mody, Secretary-General informed the House of the bills passed by the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2022, including The J&K appropriation Bill.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in response to the “ICICI may have been the lead bank of the consortium, but clearly, there are 10 Public Sector Banks in this. There was a forensic audit report received by CBI, submitted in January 2019...that Fraud Identification Committee took five months over it. On June 19, 2019, they recognised it as fraud, and SBI has given the whole detail to CBI November 8, 2019.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar briefed Lok Sabha about the advisories issued to Indian nationals in Ukraine in the days leading up to the war, and about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regular calls with Ukrainian and Russian Presidents to ensure safe evacuation of Indian students in Ukraine.
Discussions were held on the developments in the North-Eastern States.
Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the government is not planning to introduce cryptocurrency, adding that cryptocurrencies are currently unregulated in India.
