General discussion on the budget of Jammu and Kashmir to be held.

The Rajya Sabha held a discussion on the working of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with Union Minister Arjun Munda replying at the end of it on Thursday, March 16.

The parliament convened for the second leg of the Budget Session on March 14, 2022.

Here are the latest updates

1-02 pm

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Deputy Chairman adjourns the House to meet at 2 pm.

12-53 pm

Crude oil imports

In response to a question, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, says, “In the last three financial years, we have imported less than 1% crude oil from Russia. He says that in the first nine months of the year, only 0.2% of our oil requirement has been imported from Russia

He continues, “Our oil companies have invested in Russia, and it’s been very profitable, 337 million dollars investments have resulted in 3.7 billion revenue and another 20 years remain.” He says facts on the ground vary, some oil companies have expressed their intent to withdraw, and some said they will not invest fresh.

12-47 pm

Defence

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh says, in response to a question, “There have been 90-100 army recruitment rallies per year, and no region is left out, and each rally covers 6-8 districts,” on the recruitment drive.

12-25 pm

Civil Aviation

In response to a question, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, says that scheduled operators can fly from all destinations. He says that all Indian carriers entered a period of insolvency because of the pandemic. He further says that because of Atmanirbhar Bharat, Indian carriers are able to stand despite the pandemic.

In a period of two years, the Indian cargo traffic has grown to 19% despite the pandemic, he says.

Revenue from cargo has grown in the last year, and this has enabled Indian cargo carriers to stand on their own feet, he says.

12-02 pm

Rajya Sabha reconvenes; question hour begins

After a brief adjournment, the House reconvenes to start with the question hour.

11-49 am

House adjourned till 12 pm

The Chairman adjourns the House till 12 pm as all zero hour and special mentions exhausted.

11-44 am

On unemployment

Dr Sivadasan, Kerala MP (CPI(M)), quoting statistics, says that it’s important the govt. increases vacancies in the public sector undertakings to address the problem of growing unemployment. He demands that govt. needs to change their labour and industrial policies to suit the changing economy.

11-37 am

On medical education in India

KJ Alphons, Rajasthan MP (BJP), says that there is a shortage of medical seats in the country. “Since the fees to medical education is very high, and the seats are insufficient, many medical students are seeking admissions in China, Ukraike and elsewhere.

He says that 500 new medical colleges to be set up in the country.

11-23 am

Declare March 21 as a day of national importance, says Kailash Soni

Kailash Soni, Madhya Pradesh MP (BJP), says on this day in 1977, Morarji Desai ended the Emergency that was imposed in 1975. “Declare this day as a day of national importance,” he says.

11-17 am

On booster dose for senior citizens

Priyanka Chaturvedi, Maharashtra MP (Shiv Sena) demands that the government come out with clear guidelines on booster doses for the population under 60 years of age. She says many foreign countries demand booster dose certification administered within a specific time before allowing entry, and the ministry needs to come up with specific guidelines since India has decided to open international air travel from March 27.

11-11 am

On cold storage warehouses in A.P.

Ayodhya Rami Reddy, Andhra Pradesh MP (YSRCP) raises the issue of the lack of cold storage warehouses in Andhra Pradesh. He says that cold storage warehouses help in chilly exports and appeals to the parliament to increase financial assistance and infrastructure.

To this appeal, Venkaiah Naidu, Chairman, says that there are enough cold storage warehouses in the said State.

11-06 am

Zero Hour begins

After papers and reports of the parliamentary standing committee were laid on the table, the Zero Hour begins in the Upper House of the Parliament.

11-01 am

Proceedings begin

The parliament convened for the session after Holi. Papers are being laid on the table.

10-00 am

List of Business

1. Papers and reports of the parliamentary standing committee to be laid on the table
2. Question Hour
3. Nirmala Sitharaman to move the Bill to authorise payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India for the services of the financial year 2021-22, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration. 
4. Nirmala Sitharaman to move the Bill to provide for the authorisation of appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the amounts spent on certain services during the financial year ended on the 31st day of March 2019, in excess of the amounts granted for those services and for that year, as passed by Lok Sabha, be taken into consideration. 
5. General discussion on the budget of Jammu and Kashmir
6. Nirmala Sitharaman to move the Bill to authorise payment and appropriation of certain further sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the services of the financial year 2021-22, be taken into consideration
7. Nirmala Sitharaman to move the Bill to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the services of the financial year 2022-23, be taken into consideration.
8. Discussion on the working of the Ministry of Railways, raised by Shri Prasanna Acharya, on the 16th of March, 2022

10-00 am

Day 4 recap

1. BJD member Prasanna Acharya says the internal resources of the Indian Railways have been on a decline, increasing the Railways’ dependency on market boring
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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