The Private Members' Legislative Business is also scheduled for today. (File)
A number of bills are scheduled to be discussed in both the Houses of the Parliament today. The discussions in the Lok Sabha today include the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019; discussion and voting on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways for 2019-20. The Private Members' Legislative Business is also scheduled for today. The Rajya Sabha will introduce the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
In what was termed as a "record" in Parliament yesterday, nearly 100 members participated in a marathon discussion which ended two minutes short of midnight. The debate was about the Indian Railways and demands for grants for the Railway Ministry. The Lok Sabha sat till 11:58 pm. "It is for the first time in nearly 18 years that the Lower House (Lok Sabha) sat for this long," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi said after the session concluded.
The Railway Minister's reply and subsequent vote in the Lok Sabha is scheduled to happen in the second half of today's Lok Sabha session.
Here are the Highlights from the Parliament session:
Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tells the Lok Sabha that his ministry was working towards using Artificial Intelligence in a safe and effective way in public health.
Lok Sabha has passed the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The government is doing the best possible for research on cancer and the Department of Biotechnology's funding for such activities has resulted in vastly improved understanding of the disease, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan says in the Lok Sabha.
The Science and Technology Minister says all future health programmes would focus on preventive and promotive healthcare.
No question of privatisation of Railways: Piyush Goyal
Rejecting the opposition's allegation that the government is working to privatise the national transporter, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal says there is "no question" of privatisation, but said the ministry will invite investments for new technology, lines and projects in national interest.
Replying in the Lok Sabha to the discussion on Demands for Grants of the railways, Mr Goyal reeled out figures to claim that the Narendra Modi government has performed much better in boosting both infrastructure and safety parameters of the national transporter as compared to the UPA era.
Budget to boost investment: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the big picture presented in the Budget is backed with a plan to increase investment without compromising on the fiscal consolidation roadmap.
Replying after a general discussion on the Union Budget 2019-20 in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said, "Comprehensive steps have been envisaged for the next 10 years."
She says the mid-term target of the government is to make India a $5 trillion economy. The target of putting India in the $5 trillion club is not "without a plan", she said and listed out measures proposed in the Budget.
To boost investment, she says the FDI norms would be further liberalised, extension of lower corporate tax to companies with Rs 400 crore turnover, incentives for boosting use of electric vehicles in the country.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Speaks In Rajya Sabha
It is crucial to manage India's inflation, exchange rate, she says.
"The UPA has left a huge burden of unpaid bills on us. The credit culture in 2008 burdened us."
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, in the Lok Sabha, says: "As per the census 2011, the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) in comparison of census 2001 has declined in 21 States/UTs."
As per latest reports of Health Management Information System of Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) shows improving trends and SRB has increased from 923 to 931 at national level between 2015-16 and 2018-19.