An action-packed 2017 for Indian Parliament

Agencies
December 31, 2017

New Delhi, Dec 31: Making of history, break from tradition, repeated disruptions along with entry and exit of political heavyweights made 2017 a year to remember in the history of Indian Parliament.

For the first time, the presentation of the Union budget was advanced to February 1 and the Railway budget was also merged with it.

The government termed it as a big financial reform so as to make full funds available to Union ministries for execution of their developmental projects before the beginning of the financial year.

The major landmark in the year was the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which resulted in the ushering in of a new indirect tax regime in the country. All the four bills related to it were passed in the budget session.

To celebrate its passage, the government called a midnight joint parliamentary session, an unusual offing from the usually stormy Parliament, but was boycotted by the most of the opposition.

This session was called at the midnight of June 30, as the GST was to be implemented from July 1.

However, certain other important bills could not see the light of day including one seeking to give constitutional status to the OBC body, National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). It got stuck in the Upper House where the government lacks a majority.

At the fag end of the year, an important legislation to criminalise the practice of instant triple talaq was passed by the Lok Sabha.

During the year, Parliament also witnessed debut, retirement and resignation of political heavyweights mainly in the Rajya Sabha.

The year witnessed the entry of BJP chief Amit Shah in the Rajya Sabha, while the BSP supremo Mayawati resigned and CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury retired from the Upper House.

The Upper House also got a new chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, after he was elected as the country's Vice President, succeeding Hamid Ansari.

The action continued in the Parliament even when it was not in the session as its parliamentary standing committees called two eminent personalities RBI governor Urjit Patel and movie director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

While Patel appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, Bhansali was called by the panel on information and broadcasting over the controversy around his movie 'Padmavati'.

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Agencies
August 2,2020

New Delhi, Aug 2: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday issued fresh guidelines for international passengers coming to India amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The new guidelines will be implemented from 12:01 am on August 8.

The ministry has also asked all passengers to submit a self-declaration form online at least 72 hours before travel.

"All travellers should submit self-declaration form on the on the online portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) at least 72hours before the scheduled travel," the guidelines said.

It also said that those coming to India must give an undertaking that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days as prescribed by the government. "They should also give an undertaking on the portal that they would undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days i.e. 7 days paid institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by 7 days isolation at home with self-monitoring of health," it added.

Giving exemptions in some cases, the guidelines mentioned, "Only for compelling reasons/cases of human distress such as pregnancy, death in the family. Serious illness and parent (s) with children of 10 years or below, home quarantine may be permitted for 14 days."

"If they wish to seek such exemption, they shall apply to the online portal at least 72 hours before boarding. The decision taken by the government as communicated on the online portal will be final," it said further.

The guidelines further said that travellers could request for exemption from institutional quarantine by submitting a negative RT-PCR test report on arrival.

"This test should have been conducted within 96 hours prior to undertaking the journey. The test report should be uploaded on the portal for consideration," it added.

Passengers have also been asked to download the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile phones.

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News Network
May 18,2020

As many as employees of Zee News have tested positive for the coronavirus, Editor-in-Chief Sudhir Chaudhary said on Monday. Most of them are asymptomatic, he said, tweeting an official statement from Zee News about the situation.

The organisation said that on May 15, one of its employees tested positive for the coronavirus. Following this, the company started testing employees who may have come in contact with the employee. Twenty-seven more were found to be infected.

“Fortunately most of them are asymptomatic and are not complaining of any discomfort,” Zee News said. “We believe this is because of early diagnosis and proactive intervention.”

The news network said all guidelines and protocols have been followed, and its office, newsroom and studios have been sealed for sanitisation. The Zee News team has been shifted to an alternative facility.

“At the moment, Zee Media Corporation has 2,500 employees, by far the largest in the private sector,” the company said. “We are committed to the safety of each one of them.”

Chaudhary also claimed that “those who are infected had the option of sitting at home and sharing memes”. “They came to work because they are committed professionals.”

Following this, some social media users claimed that Zee News employees found infected with Covid-19 were still at work. In response, Chaudhary alleged that a malicious campaign was being conducted to distort his statement. He said no infected employee had come to work, and all the contacts of the employee who tested positive on May 15 had been tested and quarantined.

Over the past two months, journalists from several media organisations have tested positive for the coronavirus. On April 21, 26 employees of a Tamil news channel based in Chennai tested positive for the coronavirus. The previous day, over 50 journalists from Mumbai were found infected, after samples of over 170 journalists were tested.

On May 7, a newspaper journalist died of the coronavirus in Agra. Some states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Delhi, have tested journalists for Covid-19.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Jan 7: India’s monetary authority allowed banks to offer foreign-currency transactions outside of local market hours, a move aimed at boosting trading volumes at home.

Interbank deals, as well as those with customers in and outside India, can be undertaken by banks or their overseas branches and units at all times, the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement late Monday. It stopped short of saying whether the timing of the onshore over-the-counter market has been extended from the current 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The move is in line with recent recommendations to reverse the trend of the partially convertible rupee being traded more abroad than in India. London has overtaken Mumbai to become the top center for trading the rupee, adding to a sense of urgency among local authorities to deepen the onshore market.

Average daily volumes for rupee in the U.K. soared to $46.8 billion in April, a more than fivefold jump from $8.8 billion in 2016, according to a survey from the Bank for International Settlements published in September. That exceeded the $34.5 billion recorded in India.

Analysts say more trading abroad could amplify volatility in the domestic market and reduce the effectiveness of policy actions.

India’s decision comes as the London Stock Exchange Group Plc has started asking market participants if they want the bourse to function fewer hours, signaling it’s open to an argument driven by changing trading patterns and calls for a better work-life balance.

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