Parliament Highlights: Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha adjourned till 11 am on March 21

Sonia Gandhi in Lok Sabha urged the government to end the influence of Facebook, other social media giants on electoral politics in India. Meanwhile, BJP MP Hema Malini in Lok Sabha demanded the government to make arrangements for financial aid and pension for artists. Nitin Gadkari in the Rajya Sabha said that the government is working on the plan to develop India's road infrastructure at par with the USA by the end of 2024.

Budget session of Parliament | Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha adjourned till 11am on March 21

Cong MP demands central grants to Kidwai institute at Bengaluru

Congress Rajya Sabha member L Hanumanthaiah on Wednesday urged the Centre to provide a special grant to Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology at Bengaluru for establishing a Proton Therapy Facility to treat cancer patients.

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No need for special recruitment drives in Railways: Centre

Centre on Wednesday ruled out special recruitment drives for filling vacancies of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in Railways.

Replying to supplementaries in theLokSabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the Railways has been recruiting personnel at regular intervals and there was no need to launch special drives.

Ashwini Vaishnaw says DPRs for dedicated freight corridors are 'being prepared'

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday said his ministry has sanctioned preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for new Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) on three routes and their outcome would be the primary basis for arriving at an investment decision.

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Government likely to table Constitution Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha

The Centre is likely to table 'The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the Rajya Sabha.

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India-UAE trade pact: Bilateral trade projected to touch $100 bn in 5 years

The bilateral trade in goods is projected to increase from the current USD 60 billion to USD 100 billion annually within five years of the implementation of the India-UAE free trade agreement, parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Social media being used to hack democracy, charges Sonia Gandhi in LS, calls for curbs

Vaishnaw says that the government has increased its share in freight.

Vaishnaw takes a dig at the Opposition over dynasty politics. To the criticisms raised against the Railways Budget, Vaishnaw said that a person born into a "royal family" will definity say that any work is "impossible".

Work on dedicated freight corridors started after PM Modi came to power, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Investment in Railways doubled between 2014 and 2019, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi boosted capital investment into Railways between 2014 and 2019.Vaishnaw said that between2009-2014, the department saw Rs 45,980 crore investment, while the investment doubled to Rs 99,511 crore between 2014 and 2019.

Average 32 people lost their lives due to train accidents in 2020, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary as he raises safety issues in railways

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary raises the safety issues in railways in Lok Sabha. He rakes up the incident where 12 coaches of Guwahati-Bikaner Express were derailed in Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal, killing five, in January.

End Facebook interference in India's democracy: Sonia

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday urged the government to put an end to the alleged "systematic interference" of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.

Making a Zero Hour submission in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi referred to a report published in Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective claiming that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties.

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Hema Malini seeks financial aid and pension for artists

BJP MP Hema Malini in Lok Sabha said that India is the best across the world due to its culture and cultural heritage. "Our art, culture and artists are its base. Any country that has neglected its artists, has only declined. Art sector and artists are facing problems. As an artist, I'm worried for them," she said.

She demanded the government to make arrangements for financial aid and pension for artists.

She further pointed out that in 2017, the Ministry of Culture launched National Mission on Cultural Mapping scheme to collect information on art and artists. "As per latest info, this has been closed due to lack of resources. I request the government to make necessary resources available for completion of this scheme," she said.

77 crore people covered under 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme: Centre

As many as 77 crore people in the country have been covered under the 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme through which beneficiaries can take their share of food grains from anywhere in the country, Union Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.

Goyal said in Lok Sabha that the technology driven initiative was conceptualised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, taking into account the problems being faced by migrant workers in getting government benefits.(PTI)

Rahul attacks Facebook, says its 'worse for democracy'

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi attacked social media giant Facebook on Wednesday and alleged that it was "worse for democracy".

Gandhi shared a compilation of news reports on Twitter, accusing the social media giant of helping the BJP reach out to voters during the elections.

"Meta-worse for democracy," Gandhi said on Twitter.

He also shared a report of Al Jazeera and The Reporters' Collective which claimed that Facebook had offered BJP cheaper deals for election advertisements as compared to other political parties. (PTI)

In Lok Sabha, Congress president Sonia Gandhi urged the government on Wednesday to put an end to the alleged "systematic interference" of Facebook and other social media giants in India's electoral politics.

DMK MP asks the Indian Railways ministry to change the Sanskrit word 'Divyang' to English term as only 14,000 people in India speak Sanskrit.

Karti Chidambaram bats for social security for gig workers and calls for regulation of the gig economy.

Railways has approved preparation of DPRs for dedicated freight corridors: Govt

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday said his ministry has sanctioned preparation of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for new Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) on three routes and their outcome would be the primary basis for arriving at an investment decision.

Vaishnaw said due to continuous economic growth, demand for rail transportation in both passenger and freight sectors is continuously increasing and the Indian Railways is constantly endeavouring to increase its capacity over a large number of routes to meet this growing demand.(PTI)

TDP MP Ram Mohan Naidu raises the issue of illcit liquor shops across Andhra Pradesh in the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha. "If the liquor mafia issue is not looked into, it could lead to major issues in the state," he says.

Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.

Sonia Gandhi urges government to end influence of Facebook, other social media giants on electoral politics in India

K-Rail project bulldozing the houses of Kerala people, says Congress MP Suresh Kodikunnil

Meanhwile, in Lok Sabha, Congress MP Suresh Kodikunnil said the K-Rail project bulldozing the houses of Kerala people.Dubbingthe Silver Line project "Prodigal White Elephant", the MP said that the project is a "ticking time bomb planted over Kerala".

Gadkari lists problems behind high road accident rates

Gadkari lists problems behind high road accident rates. He says ease of getting driving licence, education of people, and engineerings problems are the reasons behind the high instances of accidents he India.

Highest numbers of road accidents happens in India, says Gadkari

Highest numbers of road accidents happens in India, says Gadkari. He adds that the age group of victims in between 18 and 45.

Gadkari informs the Rajya Sabha that the Regional Officers have been given additional power to define an accident spot as "Black Spots" and the aproval process has been smoothened so that accidents can be reduced.

'Technology and flexibility has led to the successful implementation of the scheme across the nation,' says Mansukh Mandaviya

TMC leader Mahua Moitra puts questions on 'one nation one card' portability across the nation

Hema Malini speaks on One Nation, One Ration scheme in Lok Sabha

Piyush Goyal lauds government's One Nation, One Ration scheme in Lok Sabha.

In Lok Sabha, discussion is under way on the Demands for Grants under the control of Ministry of Railways for 2022-23.

Budget Session resumes in both the Houses.

TMC MP Abir Ranjan Biswas has given Zero hour Notice in Rajya Sabha on concerns over linking of Aadhaar with voter IDs.

Centre likely to table Constitution Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha

The Centre is likely to table 'The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022' in the Rajya Sabha.

The Upper House will also discuss the working of tribal affairs ministry and railway ministry.

Union Tribal Affair Minister Arjun Munda will move the Bill further to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 to omit 'Bhogta' community from the list of Scheduled Castes in relation to Jharkhand and the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950 for inclusion of certain communities in the lists of Scheduled Tribes in relation to the State for consideration.(IANS)

No plan to introduce cryptocurrency, says government

There is no plan by the government to introduce cryptocurrency, the Parliament was told on Tuesday.

There is no plan to introduce a cryptocurrency and currently it is unregulated in India, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. "Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does not issue cryptocurrency. Traditional paper currency is legal tender and is issued by RBI in terms of provisions of RBI Act, 1994. A digital version of traditional paper currency is called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)," the minister said.(IANS)

Modi talks like Vajpayee, but does not act like him: Tharoor

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at times, displayed certain traits of Atal Bihari Vajpayee by saying the right things, but has not translated his words into actions.

He also said Modi might serve the country better by implementing what he has said publicly.(PTI)

Rename Hajipur railway station after Ram Vilas Paswan: Nephew in LS

Lok Jan Shakti Party MP Prince Raj on Tuesday demanded renaming the Hajipur railway station in Bihar after his uncle and former Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Participating in the debate on demands for grants for the Railways, he said since Paswan represented Hajipur, it would be appropriate to rename the railway station after him.

He also demanded that a statue of Paswan be installed in the station complex. Paswan died on October 8, 2020.(PTI)

Indian embassy dilligently purusing to bring back Naveen's body from Kharkiv, Jaishankar tells RS

India's embassy in Ukraine is “diligently pursuing” return of the mortal remains of Naveen Shekharappa Gyanagoudar, who hailed from Karnataka, but was killed in the war zone of Kharkiv in the East European nation on March 1 last.

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Till when will you take advantage by scratching wounds: Cong after PM's 'The Kashmir Files' remarks

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised "The Kashmir Files", a film based on the plight of displaced Kashmiri Hindus, and slammed the "campaign to discredit" it, the Congress accused the BJP government on Tuesday of not doing anything for the welfare of Kashmiri Pandits and asked till when "will you take advantage by scratching wounds"?

The Opposition party also asked as to how long will the "harvest of profit from the cultivation of hate" continue.

Russia-Ukraine conflict to have major economic implications, says Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

The government on Tuesday told Parliament that Russia's military operations in Ukraine were expected to result in major economic implications as India had substantial dealings with both nations.

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