Budget Session: 34 pc productivity of Lok Sabha, 24.4 pc of Rajya Sabha

New Delhi [India], April 6 (ANI): Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned sine die on Thursday, bringing an end to the Budget Session that registered very low productivity of 34 per cent in the Lower House and 24.4 per cent in the Upper House.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal made the announcement while addressing the media. “The productivity of the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, 2023 was approximately 34 per cent and that of the Rajya Sabha was 24.4 per cent,” said the MoS.

The Minister said a total of six bills were passed by both the Lok Sabha as well as theRajya Sabha. During this session, a total of eight bills (eight in the Lok Sabha) were also introduced.

The Finance Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023; The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023; The Appropriation Bill, 2023 and The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 were passed and returned by both the Houses.

The bills introduced in the Lok Sabha include The Finance Bill, 2023, The Inter-services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023, The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation Bill, 2023, The Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023, The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2023, The Appropriation Bill, 2023, The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 and The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The Budget Session of Parliament which commenced on January 31, 2023, was adjourned sine die earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha were adjourned for recess on February 13 to reassemble on March 13 to enable departmentally related Standing Committees to examine and report on the Demands for Grants relating to various ministries and departments.The first part of the Budget Session yielded a total of 10 sittings of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. In the second part of the Session, there were 15 sittings of both Houses. During the entire Budget Session, in total, there were 25 sittings.

The Union Budget for 2023-24 was presented on February 1, 2023. A general discussion on the Union Budget was held in both Houses in the first part of the Session.

This engaged the Lok Sabha for 14 Hours 45 minutes against the allotted time of 12 Hours and the Rajya Sabha for 2 Hours 21 minutes against the allotted time of 12 Hours. A total of 145 members of the Lok Sabha and 12 members of the Rajya Sabha participated in the discussion on the subject.

Demands for Grants of individual ministries of Railways, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Tribal Affairs, Tourism, Culture and Health and Family Welfare could not be taken up due to continuous disruptions in the Lok Sabha.

In the end, the Demands for Grants of the ministries and departments were put to the Vote of the House on March 23. The related Appropriation Bill was also introduced, considered and passed by the Lok Sabha on March 23 itself.

Appropriation Bills relating to the Second and Final Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2022-23; Demands for Grants for the year 2023-24 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2022-23 in respect of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after their adoption were also introduced, considered and passed on March 21 in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill, 2023 on March 24.

In the Rajya Sabha, the working of the ministries of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Textiles, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rural Development, Cooperation, Railways and New and Renewable Energy could not be discussed due to continuous disruptions in the House.

The Rajya Sabha returned the Appropriation Bills related to Demands for Grants for the year 2023-24 and Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2022-23 in respect of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir; Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2022-23 and Demands for Grants for the year 2023-24 in respect of the Union on March 27. Rajya Sabha also returned the Finance Bill, 2023 with a recommendation for an amendment given by the Government on March 27, which the Lok Sabha agreed to on the same day. As such the entire Financial Business was completed in the Houses of Parliament before March 31.

One Bill namely “the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023” amends the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which envisages removing ambiguity in the applicability of the provisions of said Act, promoting plantation in non-forest areas and conserving the forests was referred to the Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament after motions to this effect were adopted in both Houses after its introduction in Lok Sabha.

During this Session, the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which provides for augmentation of Competition regulation in India, was also passed by both Houses of Parliament.