Government to Present J&K Budget on Monday

The second budget session will commence on March 14 from till April 8. The government’s prime agenda is to get the Parliament to approve J&K’s budget model.

Budget session goals 

The Parliament held the first part of the budget this year from January 29 to February 11. The second budget session will commence on March 14 from 11 am and continue till April 8. During this session, the government’s prime agenda is to get the approval of the Parliament to the proposed and presented budget model for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman will present the budget of J&K in the Lok Sabha which will probably be discussed post-lunch.  The Centre will also look forward to pass the Constitution(Scheduled Tribes) Order(Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha.  

The Opposition aims to make the government answer to the Parliament on issues like rising unemployment, a reduction in the interest rate on employees’ provident fund and the evacuation of Indians stranded in the war-torn Ukraine. 

Covid protocols to continue 

Both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will continue to  follow the restrictions in regards to Covid-19 protocols. Unlike the first part of the Budget Session, both the houses will have simultaneous sitting on Monday due to the lessening severity in the country’s coronavirus cases. However, social distancing rules are to stay. The Parliament will use both the chambers and visitor’s gallery to make a socially distanced seating arrangement possible.   

The Rajya Sabha has a total of 237 MPs instead of 245 owing to eight vacancies. The arrangement will accommodate 139 MPs in the chambers and remaining 98 in the gallery. The total strength of the Lok Sabha is 538 members; 282 members including the Prime Minister will be sitting in the chamber while the rest 258 will be in the gallery.  

The media access will continue to remain limited like the previous session due to limited sitting capacity in the press gallery. The entry of visitors will continue to remain suspended and only sitting members of the Parliament are allowed entry to the Central Hall. 

 Published by Iram Rizvi