New Delhi: On Day 4 of the ongoing Winter Session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India continues to maintain the momentum of the fastest-growing major economy, with all sectors contributing significantly in economic activities. Replying to a short-duration discussion on the state of the economy in the Rajya Sabha, the minister also highlighted the various achievements of the Modi government since May 2014.
Congress MP K Suresh asked the government to take steps to stop caste-based discrimination in higher educational institutes. Suresh said data reveals that around 13,500 students belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes have dropped out of central universities, IITs and IIMs in the last five years.
Earlier during a short-duration discussion on the 'Economic situation in the country' in Rajya Sabha, Congress MP and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said, "If India is growing at the fastest rate in the world, then why is the impact of the growth not felt on the ground? We are a large economy, we are growing at the fastest rate in the world & we have the largest FDI coming in, but why is it not seen on the ground? I specifically want to ask why is it not seen in the inflation and unemployment numbers?" Taking part in the debate, the BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi weighed in on India's growth rate on the state of the national economy amid the prevailing global challenges in the Rajya Sabha in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament and said that the country's robust GDP numbers reflect the "growth rate of Hindutva".
- 6.33 pm Lok Sabha adjourned to meet again on Friday at 11 am.
- 6.30 pm Lok Sabha passes the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
- 6.25 pm Working on to make NAAC mandatory for institutions, says Education Minister Pradhan.
- 6.22 pm During Lok Sabha session, Dharmendra Pradhan says, Narendra Modi did the work to unite languages.
- 6.10 pm Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addresses the Parliament.
- 6.03 pm Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am on December 8.
- 6.00 pm BJP issues whip to all its MPs of Lok Sabha to be present in the house on December 8.
- 5.50 pm Rajya Sabha takes up special mentions.
- 5.41 pm About 13.5 crore people moved out of 'multi-dimensional' poverty in the last five years, says FM Sitharaman in Rajya Sabha.
- 5.21 pm FM Sitharaman says that the states receive 100% of state GST, and nobody touches it. She also says that 50% of IGST goes to the state and 41% of CGST share is also given to states based on the finance commission's recommendations.
- 4.53 pm Finance Minister says direct tax collection boosted 21.82 per cent this year and the monthly GST collections were stabilised at Rs 1.6 lakh crore.
- 4.38 pm Sitharaman focuses on healthcare, sanitation, and reduction in malnutrition under the Modi-led government, saying multi-dimensional poverty is on the decline. She further includes that 13.5 crore Indians who have come out of multi-dimensional poverty since 2014.
- 4.13 pm Finance Minister praises Prime Minister Modi for his massive efforts to make India economically strong and outrun China.
- 4.05 pm Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman starts speaking at the ongoing Rajya Sabha session.
- 4.00 pm JD(U) MP Kaushalendra Kumar, the representative of the Nalanda constituency, urges to focus on educational development at Nalanda University during the Rajya Sabha session.
- 3.50 pm The Prime Minister arrived at the Rajya Sabha session during the Question Hour on Thursday and was greeted with slogans by treasury benches. It is pertinent to note that PM Modi entered the new Rajya Sabha House during the winter session of Parliament for the first time. During the time, the slogans were chanted like "BJP guarantee, Modi guarantee" and "Teesri baar, Modi Sarkar".
- 3.37 pm BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad says in the Rajya Sabha that Congress leaders made a strange plan to divide the country. The North-South division has already been started as the newly-elected Telangana CM, Revanth Reddy, says that our DNA is better than Bihar's DNA. To this, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi did not react nor has the statement been withdrawn.
- 3.27 pm BJP's Ram Chander Jangra from Haryana assures that in the Modi ji's era, India will take a strong economic hold worldwide while speaking to the Rajya Sabha.
- 3.18 pm Dr Ashok Bajpai, the BJP candidate of Uttar Pradesh, says that India developed tremendously in the last 9.5 years journey of the Modi government while speaking to the Rajya Sabha.
- 3.12 pm Arunachal Pradesh's BJP MP Tapir Gao urges the Education Minister of India to commence 'One Nation, One Syllabus' while speaking to the Lok Sabha.
- 2.55 pm During the ongoing Rajya Sabha session, BJP MP Sadanand Shet Tanawde from Goa assures that India will become the third largest economy country worldwide in the next three years. He also says that Digitalization will play a pivotal role in India by 2024.
- 2.25 pm
BJP MP Aditya Prasad says the Indian economy is now the fifth largest economy and is poised to attain the third spot soon. The recovery of the economy post-Covid is remarkable and is even recognised by international rating agencies. - 2.14 pm
BJP MP Shambhau Sharan Patel says the country under PM Modi is on the economic growth track. People are reaping benefits in health, rural healthcare and several other sectors - 2.08 pm
BJP MP Selbaganabathy says there has been a satisfactory collection of the GST. He praises government healthcare and financial initiatives. The country outpaced China's GDP in April, adds Selbaganabathy - 2.05 pm
CPI(M) MP Shivadasan speaks about the plight of anganwadi workers and low pay in the country. - 2 pm
Rajya Sabha resumes. Discussion on Economy - 12.53 pm
Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil expresses dismay over the inadequate number of judges in the county. He cites a lack of steps by the government to fill up vacancies saying 324 out of 1,124 required posts of High Court judges are lying vacant. - 12.45 pm
YSRCP MP Vijaysai Reddy wants to know the status of forests, and surveys in various ghats. - 12.38 pm
CPI MP Sandosh Kumar P wants to know if the Centre has plans to bring unexplored tourist destinations under its ambitious tourism scheme. - 12.33 pm
TMC MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy wants to know if West Bengal's Gangasagar will be brought under the ambit of its pilgrimage schemes. - 12.29 pm
BJP MP Sumitra Valmik wants to know what more new steps the Centre has taken to develop tourism infrastructure in the Northeast. - 12.27 pm
Tourism minister G Kishan Reddy says the Centre decided to encourage SHGs with monetary help and training. - 12.23 pm
Congress MP Mukul Wasnik says what more can the government do to ensure that schools are not closed. - 12.19 pm
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh asks if the government can consider re-looking two existing policies to tackle air quality in India. - 12.10 pm
AAP MP Sandeep Pathak says the Punjab government is taking seriously the issue of stubble burning. - 12.15 pm
On a query, EAM Jaishanjkar says India is seriously taking the issue of the detention of Indian fishermen by Sri Lankan authorities. - 12.10 pm
EAM Jaishankar says ASI contributed to the renovation of the temple renovation in Vietnam. - 12.07 pm
On a query to BJD MP, EAM S Jaishankar says India's trade with Latin America is 50 billion dollars. - 12.05 pm
Kerala MP John Brittas wants an update on India's action on the allegation of a murder bid of a US citizen of Indian origin. - 12.3 pm
JD(U) MP Aneel Prasad Hegde expresses concern over the use of harmful pesticides and seeks the government's attention. - 12 pm
TMC MP Abir Ranjan Biswas raises the issue of the plight of manual scavengers. He demands that robots be employed in such work. - 11.58 am
Congress MP L Hanumantaiah says over 57,582 Dalits were ill-treated in India. The top states which account for the maximum cases are Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. - 11.52 am
Congress MP Vivek Tankha raises the issue of inadequate facilities at the AIIMS. He questions provisions like online facility which he says is not adequate
- 11.45 am
Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan expresses concern over the negative portrayal of society in Bollywood movies. - 11.40 am
BJD MP Prashant Nanda says post-Corona even youth are prone to oxygen deficiency in trains, they suffer from sodium deficiency. He appeals railway minister to take note of the fact and make provision for ICU and oxygen facilities - 11.33 am
Kerala Congress (Joseph) MP Jose K. Mani expresses concern over coastal management. He demands policy re-look by the Centres and ensure timely implementation of coastal projects. - 11.23 am
AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal raises the issue of lack of facilities for differently-abled train passengers and requests the government to look into the issue. - 11.21 am
BJP MP Dr K Laxman raises the issue of the demolition of structures near Tirumala. - 11.17 am
BJP MP Sumer Singh Solanki demands that the hurdles regarding Aadhar card issuance of differently-abled persons. - 11.15 am
BJD MP Manas Ranjan Mangraj demands coastal roads for Odisha. - 11.10 am
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari expresses concern over the rising number of hate crimes in India. He says Uttar Pradesh accounts for the maximum number of such a crime. - 11 am
Rajya Sabha proceedings begin. - 10. 53 am
Women MPs of the TMC protest against Union Minister Giriraj Singh and demand his expulsion from the cabinet, over his remark on West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. - 10.41 am
"Such shameless ministers can say such things...", Mahua Moitra slams Giriraj Singh - 10.35 am
The BJP parliamentary meeting begins. - 10.23 am
JP Nadda welcomes PM Modi at the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. - 9.55 am
Bharatiya Janata Party MPs welcome PM Modi with chants of "Modi ji ka swagat hai" at the Parliamentary party meeting in Delhi, after the party's victory in three states.
9.40 am
PM Modi arrives for BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. - 9.28 am
Amit Shah arrives for a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting. - 9:23 am
Union Ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw, S Jaishankar and Virendra Kumar arrive for the BJP Parliamentary Party meeting.
- 9. 13 am
BJP MP Chhedi Paswan will lay the Statements of the Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (2023-24).
