Parliament highlights: Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am tomorrow

Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 11 am tomorrow. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addressed both the houses on the on-going Russia-Ukraine crisis. Earlier today, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed both the houses over the missile misfire incident that took place on March 9. He assuered that missile system is highly reliable and safe and also stated that a high-level probe was ordered over the incident. The Parliament had resumed on Monday for the second phase of the Budget Session and also returned to normal functioning.

Congress MP Anand Sharma lauds MEA for evacuation of Indians from Ukraine

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Anand Sharma on Tuesday appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and diplomats for evacuating Indian nationals from war torn Ukraine.

"I am saying on record that the Ministry of External Affairs and diplomats have done a commendable job in evacuating our citizens," Sharma said.

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Govt working towards making North East, India's new engine of growth and there has been remarkable development of region under leadership of PM Narendra Modi, Union minister G Kishan Reddy tells Rajya Sabha

Lok Sabha will function till 10 pm tonight. The Lok Sabha is discussing the demands of the Ministry of Railways for grants for the year 2022-2

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 11 am tomorrow

No power crisis in India, generation capacity greater than peak demand: Power minister

India is not facing any power crisis as the installed electricity generation capacity stood at 395.6 gigawatts (GW) against the peak demand of 203 GW recorded in 2021-22,Parliamentwas informed on Tuesday.

"There is no power crisis in the country. As on February 28, 2022, the installed generation capacity is around 395.6 GW, which is sufficient to meet the demand of electricity in the country. The peak demand experienced during the current year was only 203 GW," said Power Minister R K Singh in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Martyrdom of freedom fighters including Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru is fact and not dependent on presumed presence or absence of official records, Govt tells Lok Sabha, asserts that their stature is far above any award, title or status

Centre has not yet taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens for entire country, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai tells Lok Sabha

Another Indian Harjot Singh suffered bullet injuries on his way out in Kyiv. His medical expenses were taken care of&arrangements made for movement from Kyiv to Polish border. He was brought back in IAF flight to India accompanied by a doctor arranged by our Mission in Poland: EAM

At Kharkiv, Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudarm, a final year medical student of Kharkiv Medical University lost his life. We deeply mourn his untimely demise. Our Embassy in Ukraine is diligently pursuing the repatriation of his mortal remains to India: EAM

In line with India's principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, foreign nationals were also evacuated from conflict zones & brought to India: Jaishankar

They included 147 citizens of 18 countries. Many Ukrainian nationals that are family members of Indian nationals have also been evacuated: Jaishankar

Their evacuation from the city needed a credible ceasefire. This finally materialised due to the personal intervention of PM himself with the Presidents of Ukraine & Russia: Jaishankar

Sumy evacuation was extremely complex as our students faced the prospect of being caught in crossfire: Jaishankar

PM deputed 4 Union Ministers as special envoys to Romania, Hungary, Slovak Republic & Poland to facilitate Operation Ganga: Jaishankar

PM spoke to PMs of Romania, Slovak Republic, Hungary & President of Poland to seek support for facilitation of entry of Indians to their countries: EAM

PM spoke to presidents of Russia and Ukraine on multiple occasions. He took up the issue of the safe evacuation of Indians, especially from Kharkiv and Sumy: Jaishankar

The evacuation flights were from Romania, Poland, Hungary & Slovakia. While IAF rose to the occasion, most of the pvt airlines also participated enthusiastically: Jaishankar

Under Operation Ganga, 90 flights have been operated out of which 76 were civilian flights & 14 were IAF flights: Jaishankar

There was a natural reluctance to leave educational institutions & affect their studies. Some universities actively discouraged & showed reluctance to offer online courses: Jaishankar

Despite our efforts, however, a large majority of students elected to continue staying in Ukraine: Jaishankar

Around 4000 Indians departed from Ukraine by direct/indirect flights till 23rd Feb: Jaishankar

Air bubble instructions then imposed were immediately lifted in consultation with Ukrainian side to increase number of direct flights: Jaishankar

In view of the continued buildup of tensions in Feb, Embassy issued an advisory on 15 Feb 2022, advising Indians in Ukraine whose stay isn't essential to leave the country temporarily. It also advised Indians not to travel to Ukraine or undertake non-essential movements within Ukraine: Jaishankar

More than half the students were in universities in eastern Ukraine that borders Russia&has been epicentre of conflict so far: Jaishankar

As tensions increased, Indian Embassy in Ukraine started a registration drive for Indians in Jan 2022: Jaishankar

The most challenging part of the evacuation exercise was evacuating Indian nationals from Kharkiv and Sumy. Both the places witnessed heavy shelling and airstrike: Jaishankar, on students' evacuation from Ukraine

MEA monitored evacuation operations on a 24/7 basis, and received support from concerned ministries and organization MoCA, Defence, NDRF, IAF, pvt airlines: Jaishankar

Entire exercise involved a whole of Govt approach, with PM himself chairing review meetings almost on a daily basis: Jaishankar

It involved movement in a war-torn situation in a large country, at times over a 1000 kms & required exiting border checkpoints clogged by an estimated 26 lakh refugees: Jaishankar

The exercise was undertaken at a time when military actions, including airstrikes and shelling, were underway: Jaishankar

Our community was dispersed across Ukraine, posing its own logistical challenges: Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

At the direction of the PM, we launched Operation Ganga, thereby undertaking one of the most challenging evacuation exercises during an ongoing conflict situation: Jaishankar

We were participating in global deliberations of this evolving situation in UNSC: Jaishankar

Hostilities placed the Indian community of 20,000 plus in direct danger: Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

Despite the challenges posed by the serious ongoing conflict, we have ensured that about 22,500 citizens have returned home safely: S Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

Pressing challenge during Russia-Ukraine conflict was safeguarding Indians stuck in a war-torn situation: S Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

Jaishankar's statement on Russia-Ukraine crisis in RS delayed after uproar

The Minister for Development of North East Region is responding to the discussion on the working of the Ministry in Rajya Sabha.

The government has increased IPS recruitmentfrom 150 to 200 from the 2020 Civil Service Exam. Due to efforts made to expedite the process of appointments to IPS officers from the State Police Service in Telangana, 20 IPS officers appointed by promotion from State Police Service in Telangana: Ministry of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha

Till now, the Government has not taken any decision to prepare the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) at the National level: MoS Home Nityanand Rai to Lok Sabha

Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm

Kanimozhi says govt neglects Railways, slams Rathore's 'rose-tinted' glasses on its outlook

Lok Sabha discusses Demand for Grants for Railways Ministry; MP Rathore says Railways still India's pride

The Government has extended validity of FCRA registration certificates upto 31st March, 2022 or till the date of disposal of the renewal application, whichever is earlier, of only those entities who fulfil the criteria: MoS Home Nityanand Rai to Lok Sabha

The applications for renewal of certificate of registration issued under the FCRA, 2010 are processed in accordance with the provisions of the FCRA, 2010 and rules made thereunder: MoS Home Nityanand Rai to Lok Sabha

Section 14 of FCRA provides cancellation of certificate registration: MoS Home Nityanand Rai to Lok Sabha

Not just ICICI Bank, but 10 public sector banks also involved in ABG shipyard banking fraud: Nirmala Sitharaman

Lawlessness continues in Bengal despites an elected govt: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Rajnath Singh's statement in Rajya Sabha

Follow live session of Rajya Sabha proceedings, here

Follow live session of Lok Sabha proceedings, here

Matters of Urgent Public Importance being raised in Rajya Sabha, Question Hour underway in Lok Sabha

Rajnath assueres that missile system highly reliable and safe

Highest priority given to safety, security of weapon system, any shortcomings will be immediately verified: Rajnath Singh

Standard operating procedures of operation, maintenance and inspections being reviewed over missile misfire: Rajnath Singh

Exact cause of incident can be known through probe: Rajnath Singh

Govt has taken missile misfire matter seriously and ordered a high-level probe: Rajnath Singh

Missile misfire incident is regrettable, relief no losses happened: Rajnath Singh

Accidental missile was released during routine inspection, maintainence: Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha

I'd like to tell this House about an incident that occurred on 9th March 2022. It's related to an accidental missile release during the inspection. During routine maintenance and inspection of the missile unit, around 7 pm, one missile got accidentally released: Rajnath Singh in Rajya Sabha

BJP MP Sushil Modi has given Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha demanding an investigation of the cases of bank fraud amounting to Rs 13,000 crore.

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi gives Zero Hour Submission in Rajya Sabha to discuss the "falling EPFOinterest rates".

Congress MP Manish Tewari gives Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha to discuss Russia-Ukraine crisis and the plight andfuture of Indian students evacuated from Ukraine.

Missile misfire: What is India-Pakistan missile testing notification pact?

India said on Friday it had accidentally fired a missile into Pakistan this week because of a "technical malfunction" during routine maintenance, giving its version of events after Pakistan summoned India's envoy to protest.

Pakistani officials said the missile was unarmed and had crashed near the country's eastern city of Mian Channu, about 500 km (310 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

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Parl panel raps tribal affairs ministry for under-utilisation of funds

A parliamentary standing committee has rapped the tribal affairs ministry for under-utlisation of funds and asked it to make sincere efforts to improve its spending so that people get benefits of schemes.

In its report presented toParliamenton Monday, it also took note of reduction in the ministry's budgetary allocations since 2020-21 and said it could not convince the finance ministry on this.

Rajnath Singh to give statement in Parliament over inadvertently firing missile in Pakistan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will make a statement in the Parliament on Tuesday over inadvertently firing a missile that landed in Pakistan.

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Vacant posts in culture ministry 'pathetic' state of affairs: Parliament committee

A Parliamentary Panel has taken note of massive vacancies in the culture ministry, and said that these vacancies “reflect a very pathetic state of affairs” in ministry’s organisations.

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