Rajya Sabha News

cheque bounce and NPA matters, is not just a legal problem but an economic bottleneck.“The approach is to move from a litigation-heavy enforcement model to a resolution driven framework. Reducing pendency in cheque bounce cases means unlocking stuck money, easing pressure on banks, and improving credit circulation, each of which has a direct bearing on economic growth,” Said Gauhar Mirza, partner at law firm Saraf and Partners.A similar meeting was last held on 5 February 2026, during which discussions centred on measures to settle one-third of the total pending accident claim cases in tribunals and high courts across India.Emails sent to the finance ministry, IBA, General Insurance Council, MCPC and NALSA remained unanswered till press time.Abhishek Singhvi, senior advocate at the Supreme Court, and Rajya Sabha member, said, “India, with the best and the brightest in its legal ecosystem, and despite avant garde doctrines like basic structure and PIL (public interest litigation), suffers the ignominy of humongous arrears and five crore plus case pendency.

₹37 trillion. Also, only 66 of the 291 operational central PSUs were listed on India's stock exchanges.The listed companies had a market capitalization of ₹38.57 trillion as of 31 March 2025, according to the department of public sector enterprises.Panda said that the 22-member parliamentary panel plans to review close to two dozen public sector enterprises by the end of its current term, compared to four in the last year of the previous Lok Sabha. COPU, comprising 15 Lok Sabha members and seven Rajya Sabha members, is reconstituted every year.The current 18th Lok Sabha has a five-year tenure that began in June 2024.Panda said that the committee, in its first year—August 2024 to April 2025—under his chairmanship in the current Lok Sabha delivered 12 reports, a three-fold increase from the reports presented in the panel's last year in the previous Lok Sabha.

Motion of Thanks to the President's Address, Union budget and the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. A total of 16 Bills were passed in this session. Though the Opposition registered its protests over issues, it refrained from forcing adjournments and chose to stage walkouts or attack the government through debates on most occasions. Rajya Sabha ex-officio Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar informed the House in his concluding address on Friday that productivity of the session was 119% (PRS Legislative Research data puts it at 112%).

Business of word play- Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday spoke about the government's attempt to revive BSNL. After he completed his reply during question hour in the Rajya Sabha, Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said that BSNL now means 'Bhai Sahab Nishchit Lagega' while in the past people used to criticise BSNL for poor connection by mocking it as 'Bhai Sahab Nahi Lagega'. Happy about screen time- Sansad TV’s decision to show the presiding officer and the MP speaking at the moment in a split frame on the screen has made panellists chairing the proceedings happy. While the initial reaction was that this has been done to give more footage to the Rajya Sabha Chairman and the Lok Sabha Speaker, the panellists are delighted as they get more visibility in the few minutes that they get to preside over the proceedings. People from their constituency and the state concerned see the panellists almost throughout the period they chair the proceedings.

Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on Thursday termed the allegations levelled against him by Anurag Thakur in the Lok Sabha baseless, saying the remarks damaged his reputation as he dared the BJP MP to prove them or else resign. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress president said the BJP MP was compelled to withdraw his defamatory remarks made during the debate on the Waqf Bill in the Lower House. «But the damage has been done,» Kharge said. He also sought an apology from Thakur as well as the Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, J P Nadda, over the issue. «Yesterday, Anurag Thakur hurled completely false and baseless charges at me in the Lok Sabha. When my colleagues challenged him, he was compelled to withdraw his defamatory remarks. But the damage has been done,» Kharge said.

Rajya Sabha, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Ramnath Thakur said, «The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through its All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on wheat has developed 114 varieties during the last 15 years which are suited to varying weather conditions. »...Out of total wheat area planted in the country during 2024-25, more than 60 per cent of wheat area is under climate resilient varieties. These climate-resilient varieties show less reduction in yield under stress environments," he added. The minister was replying to a question regarding the measures being taken to ensure that the wheat crop is not affected by rising temperatures in March. «The wheat varieties such as DBW187, DBW303, DBW327, WH1270, PBW872 have been developed and notified for the October planting and modifying planting schedules has allowed the grain filling to occur at comparatively lower temperatures and reduces the wheat exposure to heat stress, thereby resulting in higher yield,» Thakur said. In addition, ICAR- Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) Karnal is monitoring the weather situation and issuing advisories to farmers, allowing them to implement protective measures in case of rising temperature.

Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the ongoing process of rationalizing customs duties and withdrawing the 6 per cent equalization levy, which began in 2023, is independent of any global events and will continue. Sitharaman said customs duty reductions are part of India's broader objective to strengthen its manufacturing hub and boost battery and advanced chemistry capacities. Replying to a debate on the Finance Bill 2025 in Rajya Sabha, Sitharaman said, «Consistently, budget after budget, we are coming up with a reduction in duties so that India's aspiration for being a manufacturing hub and India's aspiration in building capacities for battery manufacturing and advanced chemistry is being supported. So, this is a consistent thing.» «I heard quite a few members say, „Oh, the tariff war has started, so in response to the tariff announcements made by President Trump, here we are doing it. No, we have been doing it since 2023, steadily, every year. Newer items are being brought in, keeping in mind Atmanirbhar Bharat and, at the same time, Viksit Bharat's requirements, as well as simplifying the customs duty and compliance details,“ Sitharaman said. »So, this is an ongoing process. It has nothing to do with today's global situation but is a process that will continue even in the future," she added.

Congress on Monday filed notices for breach of privilege against parliamentary and minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju and health minister JP Nadda over their statements in Parliament about Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar's purported remarks in the context of the four per cent quota for Muslims in government contracts in the state. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, said none of his party colleagues spoke about changing the Constitution and claimed the BJP charge was a diversionary tactic to avoid discussion on the currency seizure from a Delhi High Court judge's residence.

In written replies to questions in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh said the first task force comprises members from the Department of Atomic Energy, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Niti Aayog, Ministry of Law and Justice and Ministry of External Affairs. «The Task Force is looking into various aspects like build, own, operation of nuclear power plants by the private sector, nuclear safety, security, safeguards, fuel procurement/fabrication, waste management, spent fuel reprocessing,» Singh said. He said a separate task force is also looking into the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act to address the concerns raised by private suppliers. The CLND Act is considered to be the biggest hurdle to private sector participation due to a provision in it that pins liabilities on nuclear suppliers, in addition to the operator, in case of damage.

Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said the government will soon come up with a new policy for toll charges on national highways, offering a reasonable concession to consumers. Replying to queries in Rajya Sabha, the minister also said that the apex committee and high-level empowered committee have recommended further deliberations for satellite-based tolling in view of security and privacy considerations, breach and overall operational control. The ministry of road transport and highways is firming up annual and lifetime charges for toll on national highways likely to be around Rs 3000 for a year and Rs 30,000 for 15 years, paid in one-go. The move is aimed at maintaining cash flow for the government while ensuring seamless travel experience at toll plazas by highway users. Responding to a question, the minister asserted that the government is spending a lot on building road infrastructure and therefore toll charges are necessary. “It is the policy of the department that when you want a good road, you have to pay for it,” Gadkari said. According to the rules of 2008, toll plaza on the same section of the national highway and in the same direction cannot be established within 60 kilometers.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Trinamool Congress — met the Election Commission of India separately on Tuesday over the allegations of irregularities in voter numbers, demanding action by the poll body. The BJP also visited the poll panel in West Bengal over the alleged fake voters in the state, claiming that Bangladeshi infiltrators and Rohingyas have been included in voters' list. The BJP also alleged the state government of West Bengal has played a role in settling a significant number of Bangladeshi infiltrators and adding them to the voter list. This has weakened our electoral process and these voter lists should be scanned, the BJP demanded. The delegation of Trinamool Congress, led by its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O'Brian, met the poll panel over the issue of duplicate Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC). The party, in its memorandum, said that the issue of duplicate EPIC numbers was kept buried, allegedly for several years, until it was flagged by the party supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

Under the chairmanship of power minister Manohar Lal, 30 Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members from various political parties will be given a presentation this week on aspects of nuclear energy and its role in India's net-zero journey, people aware of the development said. As India builds on its nuclear energy mission, public engagement becomes crucial on a source that raises concerns on safety, especially the perceptions built on high-profile accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima.

In a post on site X, Mayawati said Kumar has decided to hold only one post — as BSP vice-president, a post he has held for years — in favour of the party and the movement. The BSP chief further said that she welcomes the decision.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that Uddhav Thackeray planned to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, but first the BJP and later MVA allies including Sharad Pawar played a spoilsport.

Harsh Malhotra to the Rajya Sabha as part of a written reply on Tuesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Eknath Shinde was hindering the state's progress. In his weekly column Rokhthok in the Shiv Sena (UBT) mouthpiece 'Saamna', Raut further claimed Shinde was yet to come to terms with the fact that he was not reinstated as chief minister after the November 2024 assembly polls and was desperately trying to regain the position, which Fadnavis fully understands.

Jagan Mohan Reddy's close associate and the party's parliamentary party leader Vijayasai Reddy on Friday announced that he would resign from the Rajya Sabha, third one to do so after the party lost assembly polls in Andhra Pradesh last year.

Sanjay Raut on Sunday said his party wants to go solo in the local bodies polls to strengthen its base and has never called for dissolution of the opposition INDIA bloc or the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). Raut's remarks came a day after he cited the lack of opportunities for workers of respective parties in an alliance and the right to organisational growth as the major considerations for contesting solo, which raised a question mark over the opposition bloc's unity. Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Raut said, «The MVA was formed for the assembly polls and INDIA bloc for the Lok Sabha elections. The local body elections are meant to empower party workers and strengthen the organisation at the grassroots level.» «I or my party have never said that the INDIA bloc or the MVA should be dissolved,» the Rajya Sabha member added.

Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the alleged caste atrocities committed against Dalits and Adivasis in the states including Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh where they are in power.

Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday at the age of 92. Singh breathed his last at AIIMS Delhi, where he had been admitted earlier that evening.