Parliament proceedings live updates | Happy coincidence that new parliament building in coming up when we celebrate 75th year of Independence, says President

President Ram Nath Kovind is addressing the joint session of Parliament on Friday, which will mark the beginning of the Budget session.

As many as 16 Opposition parties, including the Congress and its allies, Left parties, and Trinamool Congress announced that they will boycott the address. Later in the day, AAP, SAD and BSP also said they are boycotting.

Here are the live updates:

11.55 am

In the last few years, the country has done many things which were once considered very difficult.

After the removal of the provisions of article 370, the people of Jammu and Kashmirhave got new rights.

The construction of the grand Ram temple has started after the Supreme Court decision.

With the help of the DBT, more than 13 lakh crore rupees have been transferred to the beneficiaries in the last 6 years.

We once had only 2 mobile factories. Today India is the second largest mobile manufacturer in the world.

11.53 am

India’s Diplomatic Outreach

India supplied essential medicines to more than 150 countries along with meeting the domestic needs of the country. India is committed to ensuring vaccine availability globally.

The Vande Bharat Mission, which is the largest such campaign in the world, is being appreciated. India has brought back nearly 50 lakh Indians from all parts of the world, as well as more than one lakh foreign nationals to their own countries.

India has also entered the Security Council as a provisional member for the eighth time this year, gaining historical global support. India has also assumed the position of President in BRICS for 2021.

11.50 am

Renewable Energy

We are proud that ISRO scientists are working on important missions like Chandrayaan-3, Gaganyaan, and Small Satellite Launch Vehicle. The country’s first indigenous pressurized heavy water reactor has been successfully tested in Kakrapar a few months ago.

India is aiming to reduce the emission intensity of GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 as compared to the year 2005. India is among the leading countries in implementing the Paris Agreement.

Recently work has started to build the world’s largest Hybrid Renewable Energy Park in Kutch. In the last 6 years, India’s renewable energy capacity has grown two and a half times, while solar energy capacity has increased 13 times.

11.49 am

LAC clashes

In June 2020, 20 of our soldiers made their supreme sacrifice in the Galwan Valley to protect the motherland. Every countryman is grateful to these martyrs.

My government is fully committed to protecting the interests of the country and is also vigilant. Additional forces have also been deployed to protect India’s sovereignty over the LAC.

He quotes Malayalam poet Vallathol’s verses on patriotism.

Government’s emphasis is also on self-reliance in the defense sector. A few days ago the government has ordered HAL to manufacture 83 indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas.

11.48 am

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh

The people of Jammu and Kashmir have also supported my government’s development policy. Only a few weeks ago, for the first time since independence, the Zilla Parishad elections in Jammu and Kashmir have concluded successfully.

The participation of a large number of voters has shown that Jammu and Kashmir has moved rapidly towards a new democratic future. The people of the state have been empowered by getting new rights.

After the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat-Health Scheme, every family in Jammu and Kashmir has decided to get the benefit of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.

After the formation of Union Territory, the process of election of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council has been successfully completed a few months ago. Now the people of Ladakh themselves are taking decisions related to the development of their state more quickly.

11.47 am

Today, insurgency in the Northeast is at an end and there has been a big reduction in incidents of violence. The youth wandering the path of violence are now returning to the mainstream of development and nation-building.

The resettlement of Bru refugees is being completed with peace and harmony. Similarly, the historic Bodo Peace Accord has also been successfully implemented. After the agreement, this time the Bodo Territorial Council elections have also been successfully completed.

There has been a big reduction in incidents of Naxal violence and the area of ​​Naxalite affected area has been narrowing.

11.46 am

Today, work is going on to expand the metro service in 27 cities of the country. A few days ago a driverless metro was also operated on a route of Delhi Metro. Public transport is also being improved with the construction of Regional Rapid Transit Systems in cities.

The Brahmaputra River is the ‘Jibonadhara’ of the north-eastern states including Assam. By making this lifeline the basis of economic activities, work is being done to start various national waterways.

This will benefit the farmers, youth and entrepreneurs of the Northeast. Efforts are on to make the Brahmaputra and the Barak River a development stream by developing ‘Integrated National Waterways’ through the ‘Earth Brahmaputra’ programme.

11.45 am

Infrastructure

In this period of Corona, the country has started recovering from the loss that the economy had suffered amidst efforts to save the life of every Indian. Even in this difficult time, India has emerged as an attractive place for the investors of the world.

He lists out several infrastructure developments such as Chennai-Port Blair optical fibre, Kevadia seaplane service, Sagarmala project, Kochi-Mangaluru gas pipeline, dedicated freight corridors.

“Kevadia, which holds the pride of the world’s tallest Sardar Patel statue, has now started running trains directly from many cities of the country.”

Construction of the Dobhi-Durgapur gas pipeline is increasing the flow of ‘Urja Ganga’. This pipeline will go to West Bengal and will provide gas to various industries in East India, especially fertilizer factories. Similarly, work is underway at the Tuticorin-Ramanathapuram gas pipeline to connect Tamil Nadu’s fertilizer plants and other industrial units with the gas pipeline.

Construction of about 40 lakh of more than one crore houses approved for the poor in the cities has been completed. In order to provide better housing to the laborers working in cities, fair rent scheme has also been started.

11.40 am

New parliament building

“Earlier governments also tried to build a new Parliament building. It is a happy coincidence that moving towards the 75th year of independence, our country has started construction of the new Parliament building. With the formation of new Parliament House, every member will get more facility to fulfill his parliamentary obligations.”

In addition to facilitating faceless tax assessment and appeals, my Government has made many provisions of the Companies Act to be non-criminal to encourage entrepreneurship in the country.

For the first time, a production linked incentive scheme of about Rs 1.5 lakh crore has been implemented in the country for 10 sectors related to manufacturing. Its benefits have started showing in the manufacturing of many other goods including electronics.

11.35 am

The President  now speaks on digital initiatives of the government.

The development of modern technology in India and easy access to modern technology of every Indian is an important identity of India becoming self-sufficient.

Digital payments of more than Rs 4 lakh crore have been made from UPI in December last year. Today more than 200 banks of the country are connected with the UPI system.

‘Trishakti’ of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile (JAM) have ensured the people their rights. Because of this JAM Trishakti, 1,80,000 crores are being saved from falling into the wrong hands.

Our own navigation satellite system – NaVIC – is also increasing the pride of India today. Thousands of fishermen are getting the benefit of this.

11.33 am

National Education Policy

After highlighting various schemes of Union government on skill development, women empowerment and  Rural Livelihood Mission, Mr. Kovind speaks on National Education Policy.

For the first time in the National Education Policy, students have been given freedom to read the subject according to their interest. Youngsters have been given the option to change the subject and stream even in the middle of a course.

More than 3 crore 20 lakh students are getting the benefit of various scholarship schemes of the government. These include students belonging to scheduled castes, backward classes, forest dwellers and tribal classes and minority communities.

The youth have benefited greatly by ending the interviews in Group C and Group D. The government has set up the National Recruitment Agency to relieve the youth from the hassle of taking several different exams for appointment.

11.31 am

Rural development

Under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, construction of 6 lakh 42 thousand km of roads in rural areas of the country has been completed.

Internet connectivity along with roads in villages is equally important. After providing electricity to every village, my government is campaigning to connect more than 6 lakh villages of the country with optical fiber.

Efforts like the three lakh crore rupee emergency credit guarantee scheme, the 20 thousand crore special scheme for the hard-hit MSMEs and the Fund of Funds have benefitted millions of small entrepreneurs.

The MSMs from far-flung areas of the country are gaining transparency as well as greater participation in government procurement through the GeM portal.

11.30 am

Improvement in the standard of living of the people of the village is my government’s priority. The best example of this is 2 crore houses built for poor rural families since 2014. The pace of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has also been accelerated to provide a solid roof to every poor by the year 2022.

He quotes B.R. Ambedkar on water policy. “Water is Wealth. Water being the wealth of the people and its distribution being uncertain, the correct approach is not to complain against nature but to conserve water.”

“Taking the inspiration of Baba Saheb, my government is working on an ambitious plan of ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’. Under this, along with delivering ‘every house water’, water conservation is also being done at a rapid pace. Under this campaign 3 crore families have been connected to the pipe water supply so far.”

In this campaign, water connections are being given to the siblings of scheduled castes and tribes and other people from the disadvantaged sections on a priority basis.

11.28 am

Agri reforms

To make agriculture more profitable, my government is also paying special attention to modern agricultural infrastructure. For this, one lakh crore rupees agricultural infrastructure fund has been started.

Kisan Rail introduced across the country is writing a new chapter in providing new markets to the farmers of India. So far, more than 100 farmer trains have been run through which more than 38 thousand tons of grains and fruits and vegetables have been sent by farmers from one region to another.

The government has also set up an animal husbandry infrastructure development fund of 15 thousand crores to encourage the setting up of infrastructure and investment in the dairy sector.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Kusum Yojana, 20 lakh solar pumps are being given to the farmers. The production of ethanol from sugarcane, maize, paddy etc. has also been encouraged by the government. Due to the positive policies of the government in the last 6 years, the production of ethanol has increased from 38 crore liters to 190 crore liters.

11.27 am

On new farm bills

After extensive deliberations, the Parliament passed seven months ago three important agrarian reforms, the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Simplification) Bill, the Agriculture (Empowerment and Protection) Price Assurance and Agricultural Services Agreement Bill, and the Essential Commodities Amendment Bill.

The biggest benefit of these agricultural reforms also started getting more than 10 crore small farmers immediately. Many political parties had given full support to these reforms from time to time only after realizing these benefits to small farmers.

At present, the implementation of these laws has been postponed by the country’s highest court. My government will respect and follow the Supreme Court’s decision in full respect.

The insult of the holy day like tricolor and Republic Day happened in the past is very unfortunate. The Constitution which gives us the right to freedom of expression, the same constitution teaches us that law and rule should be followed equally seriously.

My government wants to make it clear that before the three new agricultural laws were enacted, there was no reduction in the rights and facilities which were under the old system. Rather, through these agricultural reforms, the government has given new rights to farmers as well as new rights.

11.26 am

On small and marginal farmers

The need of the hour is that special attention should be paid to the small and marginal farmers who have only one or two hectares of land in the agricultural sector. More than 80 percent of all farmers in the country are small farmers and their number is more than 10 crore.

These are small and marginal farmers in my government’s priorities. In order to support the small expenditure of such farmers, more than Rs 1,13,000 crore has been directly transferred to their accounts through PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

The Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme has also benefited the small farmers of the country. Under this scheme, in the last 5 years, farmers have received an amount of about 90 thousand crore rupees in lieu of premium of 17 thousand crore rupees.

11.25 am

In 2013-14, where only 42 lakh hectares of land had the facility of micro-irrigation, today more than 56 lakh hectares of additional land has been connected with micro-irrigation.

Today, food grain availability in the country is at a record level. While the country had produced 234 million tonnes of foodgrains in the year 2008-09, the country’s production has increased to 296 million tonnes in the year 2019-20.

Vegetable and fruit production has also increased from 215 million tonnes to 320 million tonnes in the same period. I congratulate the farmers of the country for this.

11.23 am

The government has attempted a positive change in every system from seed to market in the last 6 years, so that Indian agriculture can become modern and agriculture can also expand.

11.20 am

In the last 6 years, there has been an increase of more than 50 thousand seats in undergraduate and post graduate medical education. The government has also approved 22 new ‘AIIMS’ under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

The self-reliant Bharat Abhiyan is not only limited to construction in India, but it is also a campaign to raise the standard of living of every citizen of India and increase the confidence of the country.

11.18 am

The President highlights the government’s flagship scheme — Ayushman Bharat.

 Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, 1.5 crore poor in the country have received free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh. With this, more than 30 thousand crores rupees of these poor are saved from being spent.

Today, Ayushman scheme can be availed in any of the more than 24 thousand hospitals in the country. Under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Yojana, 7 thousand centers across the country are getting medicines at very cheap rates to the poor.

11.15 am

“We have seen huge benefits of the work done by my government in the last 6 years in the health sector during this corona crisis,” says the President.

It is a matter of pride for us that today India is running the world’s largest vaccination campaign. Both vaccines of this programme are manufactured in India. In this time of crisis, India has provided millions of doses of corona vaccine to many countries while discharging its obligation towards humanity, says the President.

We have seen huge benefits of the work done by my government in the last 6 years in the health sector during this corona crisis.

11.12 am

If we want to increase our importance, we have to become self-sufficient while reducing our dependence on others, says President Kovind echoing te Union Government’s Atma Nirbhar slogan.

The global circumstances created in the Corona period, when every country had its own needs as its priority, reminded us why building a self-sufficient India is so important, he says.

11.10 am

The President continues his speech

“Nearly 31 thousand crore rupees were also directly transferred to the Jan Dhan accounts of poor women. During this period, more than 14 crore free gas cylinders were also received by the poor women beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme across the country.”

“In all its decisions, my government has also presented a unique example of the collective power of the federal structure. This coordination between the central and state governments has strengthened democracy and strengthened the prestige of the Constitution.”

11.05 am

The President pays tributes to former President Pranab Mukherjee and six MPs who lost their lives due to COVID-19.

“I am satisfied that due to the timely decisions of my Government, the lives of millions of countrymen have been saved,” Mr. Kovind says.

Lakhs of lives have been saved due to the timely decisions of my government, the President says. He lauds government’s initiatives such as One nation, one ration, Sharmik Special trains and Gareeb Kalyan Yojana for migrant workers.

“With the announcement of a record economic package to handle the economy, my government also took care that no poor have to starve.”

“Through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana’, 80 crore people were ensured 5 kg extra grain free of cost for 8 months. The government also cared for migrant workers, workers and people living away from their homes.”

11.00 am

President begins his speech in Hindi.

This session shows no matter how big the challenge is, we will not stop and India will not stop, says the President. “Whenever India is united, it has achieved impossible goals.”

He quotes poet Assam Kesari, Ambikagiri Raychaudhuri, to say the greatness of India is the ultimate truth. In the same consciousness, In the same meditation, in the same practice, in the same impulse, become one, become one.

10.55 am

President Ram Nath Kovind arrives for the joint session. He is welcomed by Rajya Sabha Chairperson M. Venkaiah Naidu and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

National Anthem plays.

10.50 am

Budget part of 4-5 mini Budgets: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks before the parliament session begins.  
| Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan