House adjourned for the day
Speaker Om Birla adjourned house proceedings till 11 am on March 17.
Lok Sabha passes Appropriation Bill; Tourism Minister calls PM Modi India's best ambassador
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18:30 March 16
18:29 March 16
LS passes Appropriation Bill, 2020-21
The Lok Sabha passed the Appropriation Bill 2020-21, authorising the government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its working as well as implementation of its programmes and schemes.
The house passed the bill after the Speaker applied 'guillotine' on demands of grants for various ministries. With parliament having very limited time for scrutinising the expenditure demands of all the ministries, after a pre-decided period of discussions over spending envisaged in the budget for some ministries is over, a guillotine is applied.
Once the speaker applies the guillotine, all the outstanding demands for grants, whether discussed or not, are put to vote at once. After this, appropriation bill is taken into consideration.
18:11 March 16
No decision to discontinue printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes: MoS Thakur
The government said no decision has been taken to discontinue printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes, and state-owned SBI and Indian Bank are reconfiguring ATMs for Rs 500 and Rs 200 notes.
"No indent was placed with the presses for printing of Rs 2,000 denomination notes for 2019-20. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes," Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
17:52 March 16
Patel said the footfall had increased in Mahabalipuram
PM Modi Indian tourism's best brand ambassador
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the best brand ambassador for Indian tourism, claiming that the footfall of tourists increased in Mahabalipuram after PM Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram.
17:48 March 16
Patel said peace was important for tourism
Need funds, but changing perception more important: Minister
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that though more funds were required for the tourism sector, it was more important to change the perception.
17:48 March 16
Patel said India has proved itself as a safe country
India's rescue efforts will help tourism in future: Minister
Addressing the House, Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that India's commendable efforts to rescue its own citizens and also people from other nations from virus-hit nations will go on to help build trust, which will in turn help tourism in India.
17:03 March 16
BJP MP Diya Kumari
Suggest setting up of special tourism police: BJP MP
BJP MP from Rajasthan Diya Kumari suggested the government to chalk out a comprehensive national strategy on the saftey of tourists. She suggested the setting up of special tourism police at tourism spots for the safety of women travellers.
16:54 March 16
Masoodi said the government should have announced a rehabilitation package
Tourism in JK saw a loss of Rs 2,000 crore following Art 370 move: JKNC MP
JKNC MP from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi said that the tourism industry was the worst affected following the abrogation of Article 370, claiming that Jammu and Kashmir reported a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore in the last eight months.
16:35 March 16
Arif said post CAA, India has isolated itself as an intolerant country
Tourism sector in India showing negative growth: CPI(M) MP
CPI(M) MP from Kerala AM Arif said that the country was witnessing a tourism recession or slowdown. Citing a report, he said that the tourism sector in India was showing negative growth. He added that the enactment of CAA also led to India isolating itself as an intolerant state with many countries issuing travel advisories to their citizens, asking them not to travel to India.
16:10 March 16
Reddy said the government needs to review the issue
Tourism contribution to GDP has fallen: TRS MP
TRS MP from Telangana Ranjith Reddy drew attention to the fall in share of the GDP contributed by tourism. "Tourism contributed 5.8 per cent to the national GDP in 2014-15. It has now come down to 5 per cent," he said, urging the government to review the issue.
15:49 March 16
Singh said foreign tourists needed better facilities
Tourists from world over come to Bihar, but still no 5-star hotels: JD(U) MP
JD(U) MP from Bihar Mahabali Singh said that though Bihar had world famous religious tourism sites like Bodh Gaya where foreign tourists visit in large numbers, it is unfortunate that the state still has no five-star hotels.
15:36 March 16
Satyavathi said funds were not being completely utilised
India's tourism can expand with higher allocation of funds: YSRCP MP
Citing a study, YSRCP MP from Andhra Pradesh BV Satyavathi said, "India's travel and tourism industry have the potential to expand by 2.5 per cent on the back of higher budgetary allocation and low-cost healthcare facilities."
"However, more than 45 per cent of the allocated funds in the previous budget have not been utilised," she added.
15:22 March 16
Roy said security was foremost for any tourist
How will foreigners come to a country where riots take place: TMC MP
Concluding her speech, TMC MP Satabdi Roy said that for any tourist around the world, security was foremost.
"In a country where it takes years to hand out punishment to rapists, and there are riots in the name of patriotism, I want to ask how will foreigners come here," she said.
15:13 March 16
Roy said the budget fails to address the sector's potential
India has potential, but still behind Switzerland: TMC MP
Trinamool Congress MP from West Bengal Satabdi Roy said that though India has a lot of potential, the country still has not reached the level of Switzerland, which is seen as the premier tourism destination.
She said the allocation for tourism in this year's budget was not enough as it fails to address the potential of the sector.
14:38 March 16
Rudy said India could do a lot in terms of food tourism
Indians don't see tourism beyond Goa: BJP MP
BJP MP from Bihar Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that though India has tremendous potential in various sectors of tourism like wildlife, spiritual, wedding, and historical, many Indians themselves did not think of tourism beyond Goa.
Adding that India also had tremendous potential in food tourism, Rudy cited various examples of eminent foreign personalities having an affinity towards Indian food.
14:20 March 16
Congress MP Vincent Pala
Amount allocated for tourism not enough: Congress MP
Congress MP from Shillong Vincent Pala said that tourism is very important for the state of Meghalaya. The amount of Rs 2,400 crore allocated for tourism is not enough at all, he said.
14:08 March 16
Discussion on grants for Tourism
The House has now taken up further discussion on demands for grants under the control of Ministry of Tourism for the year 2020-21.
13:37 March 16
House adjourned till 2 pm
House adjourned till 2 pm
Speaker Om Birla adjourned House proceedings till 2 pm after the Opposition tried to raise the issue of petrol and diesel prices in the wake of a slump in global crude oil prices.
13:05 March 16
Speaker Om Birla announced the end of the Question Hour at noon
Lok Sabha witnesses noisy scenes over Rahul Gandhi's question
Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed noisy scenes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other party colleagues strongly protested after he was not allowed to ask a second supplementary on a question related to wilful defaulters during Question Hour.
The protests came after Speaker Om Birla announced the end of the Question Hour at noon as the designated time for it is 11 am to noon, leading to a walk out by Congress members.
12:35 March 16
Gehlot called it a historic move
10% reservation for Economically Backward Classes a historic step: Minister
Calling the move to grant 10 per cent reservation to Economically Backward Classes a historic step, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said that work is currently underway to benefit senior citizens and 'divyang' individuals as well.
Replying to Demands for Grants for Social Justice Ministry, he said the ministry has become "active" in the last five years and has taken several historic decisions. In the last five years some of key decisions taken by the government was to accord constitutional status to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission and giving reservation in educational institutions based on economic criteria.
He said a high-level board was also constituted for nomadic tribes. For divyang (physically challenged), 132 camps were set up in 126 districts to give assistance, he said.
12:26 March 16
Thakur said the government had nothing to hide
CIC website has list of all defaulters: Thakur
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of not having received any answers, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that the CIC website lists names of all wilful defaulters.
"A list of wilful defaulters is available on the website. There is nothing to hide. All these people took money and went away during their (Congress) government. The question posed by a senior member of the House shows his lack of understanding of the subject," he said.
11:50 March 16
Why is PM not answering on defaulters, asks Rahul
Rahul alleged he had not yet received an answer to his question
Why is PM not answering on defaulters, asks Rahul
Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi brought up the current situation of the Indian economy.
"The Indian economy is going through a difficult period. Our banking system is practically not working anymore. Banks are failing and I suspect more will fail due to the current global situation," he said.
"The central cause of this failure and unemployment is the hollowing out and stealing of money from our banks," added.
"I had asked - who are the top 50 wilful defaulters in India," he said. He further alleged that he received no answer from the Prime Minister or the Finance Minister.
18:30 March 16
House adjourned for the day
Speaker Om Birla adjourned house proceedings till 11 am on March 17.
18:29 March 16
LS passes Appropriation Bill, 2020-21
The Lok Sabha passed the Appropriation Bill 2020-21, authorising the government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its working as well as implementation of its programmes and schemes.
The house passed the bill after the Speaker applied 'guillotine' on demands of grants for various ministries. With parliament having very limited time for scrutinising the expenditure demands of all the ministries, after a pre-decided period of discussions over spending envisaged in the budget for some ministries is over, a guillotine is applied.
Once the speaker applies the guillotine, all the outstanding demands for grants, whether discussed or not, are put to vote at once. After this, appropriation bill is taken into consideration.
18:11 March 16
No decision to discontinue printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes: MoS Thakur
The government said no decision has been taken to discontinue printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes, and state-owned SBI and Indian Bank are reconfiguring ATMs for Rs 500 and Rs 200 notes.
"No indent was placed with the presses for printing of Rs 2,000 denomination notes for 2019-20. However, there is no decision to discontinue the printing of Rs 2,000 banknotes," Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
17:52 March 16
Patel said the footfall had increased in Mahabalipuram
PM Modi Indian tourism's best brand ambassador
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the best brand ambassador for Indian tourism, claiming that the footfall of tourists increased in Mahabalipuram after PM Modi met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mahabalipuram.
17:48 March 16
Patel said peace was important for tourism
Need funds, but changing perception more important: Minister
Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that though more funds were required for the tourism sector, it was more important to change the perception.
17:48 March 16
Patel said India has proved itself as a safe country
India's rescue efforts will help tourism in future: Minister
Addressing the House, Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said that India's commendable efforts to rescue its own citizens and also people from other nations from virus-hit nations will go on to help build trust, which will in turn help tourism in India.
17:03 March 16
BJP MP Diya Kumari
Suggest setting up of special tourism police: BJP MP
BJP MP from Rajasthan Diya Kumari suggested the government to chalk out a comprehensive national strategy on the saftey of tourists. She suggested the setting up of special tourism police at tourism spots for the safety of women travellers.
16:54 March 16
Masoodi said the government should have announced a rehabilitation package
Tourism in JK saw a loss of Rs 2,000 crore following Art 370 move: JKNC MP
JKNC MP from Anantnag Hasnain Masoodi said that the tourism industry was the worst affected following the abrogation of Article 370, claiming that Jammu and Kashmir reported a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore in the last eight months.
16:35 March 16
Arif said post CAA, India has isolated itself as an intolerant country
Tourism sector in India showing negative growth: CPI(M) MP
CPI(M) MP from Kerala AM Arif said that the country was witnessing a tourism recession or slowdown. Citing a report, he said that the tourism sector in India was showing negative growth. He added that the enactment of CAA also led to India isolating itself as an intolerant state with many countries issuing travel advisories to their citizens, asking them not to travel to India.
16:10 March 16
Reddy said the government needs to review the issue
Tourism contribution to GDP has fallen: TRS MP
TRS MP from Telangana Ranjith Reddy drew attention to the fall in share of the GDP contributed by tourism. "Tourism contributed 5.8 per cent to the national GDP in 2014-15. It has now come down to 5 per cent," he said, urging the government to review the issue.
15:49 March 16
Singh said foreign tourists needed better facilities
Tourists from world over come to Bihar, but still no 5-star hotels: JD(U) MP
JD(U) MP from Bihar Mahabali Singh said that though Bihar had world famous religious tourism sites like Bodh Gaya where foreign tourists visit in large numbers, it is unfortunate that the state still has no five-star hotels.
15:36 March 16
Satyavathi said funds were not being completely utilised
India's tourism can expand with higher allocation of funds: YSRCP MP
Citing a study, YSRCP MP from Andhra Pradesh BV Satyavathi said, "India's travel and tourism industry have the potential to expand by 2.5 per cent on the back of higher budgetary allocation and low-cost healthcare facilities."
"However, more than 45 per cent of the allocated funds in the previous budget have not been utilised," she added.
15:22 March 16
Roy said security was foremost for any tourist
How will foreigners come to a country where riots take place: TMC MP
Concluding her speech, TMC MP Satabdi Roy said that for any tourist around the world, security was foremost.
"In a country where it takes years to hand out punishment to rapists, and there are riots in the name of patriotism, I want to ask how will foreigners come here," she said.
15:13 March 16
Roy said the budget fails to address the sector's potential
India has potential, but still behind Switzerland: TMC MP
Trinamool Congress MP from West Bengal Satabdi Roy said that though India has a lot of potential, the country still has not reached the level of Switzerland, which is seen as the premier tourism destination.
She said the allocation for tourism in this year's budget was not enough as it fails to address the potential of the sector.
14:38 March 16
Rudy said India could do a lot in terms of food tourism
Indians don't see tourism beyond Goa: BJP MP
BJP MP from Bihar Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that though India has tremendous potential in various sectors of tourism like wildlife, spiritual, wedding, and historical, many Indians themselves did not think of tourism beyond Goa.
Adding that India also had tremendous potential in food tourism, Rudy cited various examples of eminent foreign personalities having an affinity towards Indian food.
14:20 March 16
Congress MP Vincent Pala
Amount allocated for tourism not enough: Congress MP
Congress MP from Shillong Vincent Pala said that tourism is very important for the state of Meghalaya. The amount of Rs 2,400 crore allocated for tourism is not enough at all, he said.
14:08 March 16
Discussion on grants for Tourism
The House has now taken up further discussion on demands for grants under the control of Ministry of Tourism for the year 2020-21.
13:37 March 16
House adjourned till 2 pm
House adjourned till 2 pm
Speaker Om Birla adjourned House proceedings till 2 pm after the Opposition tried to raise the issue of petrol and diesel prices in the wake of a slump in global crude oil prices.
13:05 March 16
Speaker Om Birla announced the end of the Question Hour at noon
Lok Sabha witnesses noisy scenes over Rahul Gandhi's question
Lok Sabha on Monday witnessed noisy scenes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other party colleagues strongly protested after he was not allowed to ask a second supplementary on a question related to wilful defaulters during Question Hour.
The protests came after Speaker Om Birla announced the end of the Question Hour at noon as the designated time for it is 11 am to noon, leading to a walk out by Congress members.
12:35 March 16
Gehlot called it a historic move
10% reservation for Economically Backward Classes a historic step: Minister
Calling the move to grant 10 per cent reservation to Economically Backward Classes a historic step, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot said that work is currently underway to benefit senior citizens and 'divyang' individuals as well.
Replying to Demands for Grants for Social Justice Ministry, he said the ministry has become "active" in the last five years and has taken several historic decisions. In the last five years some of key decisions taken by the government was to accord constitutional status to the Other Backward Classes (OBC) Commission and giving reservation in educational institutions based on economic criteria.
He said a high-level board was also constituted for nomadic tribes. For divyang (physically challenged), 132 camps were set up in 126 districts to give assistance, he said.
12:26 March 16
Thakur said the government had nothing to hide
CIC website has list of all defaulters: Thakur
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of not having received any answers, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that the CIC website lists names of all wilful defaulters.
"A list of wilful defaulters is available on the website. There is nothing to hide. All these people took money and went away during their (Congress) government. The question posed by a senior member of the House shows his lack of understanding of the subject," he said.
11:50 March 16
Why is PM not answering on defaulters, asks Rahul
Rahul alleged he had not yet received an answer to his question
Why is PM not answering on defaulters, asks Rahul
Congress MP from Wayanad Rahul Gandhi brought up the current situation of the Indian economy.
"The Indian economy is going through a difficult period. Our banking system is practically not working anymore. Banks are failing and I suspect more will fail due to the current global situation," he said.
"The central cause of this failure and unemployment is the hollowing out and stealing of money from our banks," added.
"I had asked - who are the top 50 wilful defaulters in India," he said. He further alleged that he received no answer from the Prime Minister or the Finance Minister.
Last Updated : Mar 16, 2020, 6:48 PM IST
