New Delhi:

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is likely to speak on the Union Budget 2024 at 2 pm in the Lower House today. According to the sources, Congress MPs believe that, as the Leader of the Opposition, Rahul must address the House.

Earlier, in a meeting with Congress Lok Sabha MPs, Rahul Gandhi stated that since he has already spoken during the special session of Parliament, he believes others should also be given a chance on a rotational basis, instead of him speaking every time.

As per the sources, party MPs are insisting that Rahul’s address will have a significant impact as the Leader of the Opposition, and thus he should speak. According to sources, Rahul has not made a final decision yet, but due to the pressure from MPs, he will decide today morning.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over the Union Budget presented on Tuesday, saying that it is an attack on the “dignity of India’s federal structure”.

“This budget is an attack on the dignity of India’s federal structure – in the greed to save power, there is neglect of other states of the country, there is discrimination against them,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on Facebook.

The Congress MP participated in an INDIA bloc protest against the Budget at the Parliament complex on Friday.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged discrimination with opposition ruled states in the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said her speech mentioned projects for only two states.

Speaking briefly in the Rajya Sabha, Kharge, who is Leader of Opposition in the House, alleged such budget has never been presented and it has been done to save the BJP-led government, which is dependent on support of JD-U and TDP for its survival.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The financial packages to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh showed that this budget was of “compulsion”, the opposition claimed on Friday as it accused the Centre of meting out “step-motherly” treatment to states ruled by non-NDA parties.

During a discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer referred to the ‘Hum Do Humare Do’ slogan and said it seems that two persons are dictating terms to two people who ran the government in the last two terms.

“When the Lok Sabha results were coming in and the BJP was stuck around 230-240 seats, we were hoping their seats would go down by 10-20 more. But now we are thankful that they got 240 (seats). Else some other ‘babuji’ besides Naidu ji and Nitishji would have come and the allocation for education, health, MGNREGs would have suffered further,” he said.

No other government has presented a Budget which is driven by compulsions, the AAP MP from Sangrur claimed.

Mr Hayer sought to know why funds were not allocated to Punjab when other states got assistance in dealing with floods. “This is a budget to save their ‘kursi’ (chair),” he alleged.

Rashtriya Loktantrik Party MP Hanuman Beniwal claimed that common people were disappointed by the Budget.

“Rajasthan gave you 25 seats but it was disappointed with the Budget. Other than two states, all others have received step-motherly treatment. Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma tweeted about what Bihar got in the Budget but had to take it down after criticism. What kind of Budget is this?” he said.

He also demanded that farmers should get a legal guarantee for MSP and the Agnipath scheme should be scrapped. The MP from Nagaur demanded a special category status for Rajasthan and said if that is not possible, a financial package be given to his state.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal dubbed the Budget a “sarkar bachao (save government) budget” and said only nine states were mentioned in it with two “on whose shoulders this government is standing” being prioritised.

She also alleged that “partiality” had been done in the Budget on the basis of religion and natural calamities.

“It is very good that Bodh Gaya and Rajgir (both in Bihar) were given support. But Darbār Sahib (in Punjab’s Amritsar), where people come from around the world, was neglected,” Badal said.

She also accused the Centre of being “anti-farmer”.

Congress MP from Patiala Dharamvira Gandhi demanded a legal guarantee for MSP. What kind of a budget is this in which Punjab has not been mentioned, he said.

The Patiala MP also demanded the scrapping of the Agnipath scheme and a hike in wages and man-days under MGNREGS.

IUML MP from Kerala Abdussamad Samadani alleged that the BJP sacrificed the interests of the majority of states to please its allies. This goes against democracy and federalism, he added.

Samadani also accused the BJP of fanning a divisive agenda through the Kanwar Yatra eateries order.

BJP MP from Jharkhand, Vishnu Dayal Ram, came out in support of the government, saying that for years those who ruled in Delhi “ignored” Bihar’s plight and it was the Narendra Modi dispensation that provided justice to the state.

“One can ask for support for their states but they don’t need to oppose Bihar for that,” he said.

Mr Ram also hailed the Centre’s actions in Jammu and Kashmir and said the government has ushered in development there.

“After abrogation of Article 370, the priority in Jammu and Kashmir was to provide security. The government adopted a zero-tolerance policy to eradicate terrorism.

“Employment opportunities have been provided to youth to stop them from going on the path of terrorism… strikes and stone pelting incidents have been ended, ushering in development there,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are each likely to have a 20-hour discussion on the Union budget, which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present on Tuesday, with the Lower House expected to have separate debates covering ministries of railways, education, health, MSME and food processing, PTI reported quoting its sources said.

The business advisory committees (BAC), which have representatives from different parties, of the two Houses met on Monday to finalise the agenda for the session. The government, however, is entitled to introduce any new item, depending upon exigencies, with the permission of the Chair.

In Rajya Sabha, sources said, a discussion for eight hours is likely to be scheduled on the appropriation and finance bills, and a four-hour debate each on four ministries, which are yet to be identified.

A Congress MP said his party highlighted its demand for short-duration discussions on issues like the Agnipath scheme and the NEET row during the Lok Sabha BAC meeting. However, it was decided that the discussion related to different ministries would allow all parties to raise their issues.

A government source said a 20-hour time slot for the general discussion on the budget will also provide different parties an opportunity to raise a range of issues to which Sitharaman will reply.

Issues like paper leaks, including in the prestigious NEET, can be covered when the debate related to the demand for the grant to the education ministry comes, a source said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed at least 16 exams due to different reasons since its inception in 2018, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The reasons for postponement included the COVID-19 pandemic, administrative reasons, logistical reasons, and technical issues.

The information was shared by Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar in response to a written question in Lok Sabha asked by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.

“Since its inception in 2018, NTA has successfully conducted over 240 examinations involving over 5.4 crore students.

“Since most of the examinations conducted by NTA are held in multiple-subjects, multiple-shifts and span over a number of days, there have been instances due to unforeseen circumstances like COVID-19 pandemic, logistical and technical issues, administrative issues, legal orders etc, when examination dates initially notified in respect of specific subjects or shifts could not be adhered to,” the Minister said.

According to the data shared by the minister, four exams — JEE-Main (2020), NEET-UG (2020), JEE-Main (2021) and NEET-UG (2021) — were postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

CSIR UGC-NET (2020), UGC-NET (December 2020), UGC-NET (May 2021), and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) AIEEA (2020) were postponed due to “COVID-19 pandemic and logistical challenges”.

Delhi University Entrance Test (DUET) 2020 for admission to UG, PG-MPhil, and PhD courses was postponed as the registration process was put on hold by DU due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)-2021 was postponed due to the revision of the examination pattern by the AICTE.

All India Ayush Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET), 2021, and the Joint Integrated Programme in Management Admission Test (JIPMAT), 2021, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

IGNOU PhD Entrance was postponed in 2022 due to administrative reasons.

Graduate Aptitude Test Biotechnology (GAT-B), 2023 was postponed as per consultation with regional centres for biotechnology.

In 2024, the National Common Entrance Test (NCET), 2024 was postponed due to technical issues, and CSIR-NET, 2024 due to logistic issues.

“NTA has started declaration of examination calendar of major examinations, much in advance for the facilitation of candidates. The examination calendar is planned taking into consideration, buffer days to accommodate for reschedules and postponements for reasons beyond the control of NTA,” the minister said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Economic Survey 2023-24 will be tabled by the Centre in both houses of Parliament today. The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators of 2023-24.

The Economic Survey 2023-24 will be presented in Lok Sabha at 1 pm and in Rajya Sabha at 2 pm, followed by a press conference by Chief Economic Adviser Anantha Nageswaran.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget in the Parliament on Tuesday.

Here are the LIVE updates for this story:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives at the Parliament, ahead of the commencement of the Budget Session of Parliament today.

Congress MP Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice in Lok Sabha to discuss border situation with China

Congress MP Manish Tewari today gave an adjournment motion notice in the Lok Sabha demanding a discussion on the border situation and India’s trade deficit with China.

“I hereby give notice of my intention to ask for leave to move a motion for the adjournment of the business of the house for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent importance. That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other businesses of the day to have a discussion on the border situation and the huge trade deficit with China,” Mr Tewari stated.

He further stated that, since 2019, there have been ongoing border clashes between India and China, with reports of Chinese troops blocking access to patrolling points in Eastern Ladakh.

Budget Session LIVE Updates:

On Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table the Economic Survey Report 2023-2024, Priyanka Chaturvedi says, “The Economic Survey is clear in front of the nation. The central government has failed to control issues of corruption, unemployment, inflation, etc… It has failed in supporting businesses and MSMEs and preventing banking frauds. The country has seen the X-ray of this economic survey earlier, which is why the people did not give the complete majority to the central government…”

#WATCH | Delhi: On Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table the Economic Survey Report 2023-2024, Priyanka Chaturvedi says, “The Economic Survey is clear in front of the nation. The central government has failed to control issues of corruption, unemployment, inflation,… pic.twitter.com/ATAAS8pNXU

– ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

Parliament Budget Session Updates:

On the Parliament Session, MoS Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal says “We had an all-party meeting yesterday in which all the issues of the Opposition were mentioned by them, we have noted down. Now in Lok Sabha, the day and time of discussion will be decided by the Speaker and in Rajya Sabha, the Chairman will decide. The government is ready for discussion. As Rajnath Singh said yesterday that it is everyone’s responsibility to run the House, it will be a good discussion…”

#WATCH | On the Parliament Session, MoS Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal says “We had an all-party meeting yesterday in which all the issues of the Opposition were mentioned by them, we have noted down. Now in Lok Sabha, the day and time of discussion will be decided by… pic.twitter.com/JkflzMMQvs

– ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

Parliament Budget Session LIVE Updates:

On Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table the Economic Survey Report 2023-2024, RSP MP NK Premachandran says, “…We expect some exemptions, especially in direct tax. The government is well served because RBI has already provided Rs 2.11 lakh crores as dividends. The government has never expected such an amount from the RBI. It is double the expectations of the government. Another favourable factor is regarding the direct tax collection… It is a favourable condition for the government because they have never expected such an amount from the RBI. So, it is the best opportunity to provide some exemptions and privileges to the middle-class section of society…”

#WATCH | Delhi: On Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table the Economic Survey Report 2023-2024, RSP MP NK Premachandran says, “…We expect some exemptions, especially in direct tax. The government is well served because RBI has already provided Rs 2.11 lakh crores as… pic.twitter.com/TV7bKRnkBB

– ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024

Congress MP Manickam Tagore gives adjournment notice in Lok Sabha to discuss “paper leaks”

Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Monday gave an adjournment motion notice in Lok Sabha, demanding a discussion on the ongoing controversy over the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

In his notice, Manickam Tagore urged the House to suspend all listed business of the day to discuss the “unprecedented cases of paper leaks in conduct of exams including NEET-UG and UGC NET and the failure of National Testing Agency (NTA).”

What Is Economic Survey

The Economic Survey document, prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance and formulated under the supervision of the chief economic adviser, will give insights into the state of the economy and various indicators of 2023-24 (April-March) and some outlook for the current year. Read more

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to table Economic Survey in Parliament today

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Economic Survey 2023-24 along with a statistical appendix in Parliament today, a day ahead of the Union Budget.
• The Budget Session of Parliament will commence today and subject to the exigencies of government business, the session is likely to conclude on August 12.
• Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman, Jayant Chaudhary, Pankaj Chaudhary, Kirtivardhan Singh and Sukanta Majumdar will present the document on the table in Lok Sabha today.
• Union Minister Manohar Lal will move the motion for election to the Rajghat Samadhi Committee (RSC).