Parliament LIVE | States' duty to supervise coaching centres: Dharmendra Pradhan
Rajya Sabha holds short duration discussion under rule 176 on death of three students in a Delhi coaching centre
The Rajya Sabha on Monday (July 29) held a short duration discussion under rule 176 on the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a coaching centre in Delhi due to water logging.
Allowing the discussion, Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said the culture of coaching centres has become no less than a "gas chamber" and stressed on the need to examine the huge expenditure incurred on newspaper advertisements by them.
“I find that youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured, I further find that coaching has become virtually commerce." He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to commercialisation of education.
"Coachings have become a flourishing industry with high returns....every time we read a newspaper front one or two pages are by way of advertisements....Every penny spent on advertisement is coming from the students, every new building is coming from the students," he said.
Comparing the coaching culture to no less than "gas chambers", the chairman stated, "In a country where opportunities are getting enlarged this silo is turning out to be a problem...they are becoming no less than a gas chamber." He urged the members to tell the youths about the various other employment and skill opportunities available in the country.
Rahul's criticism of Budget
Earlier, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi strongly criticised the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, saying India is trapped in a 'chakravyuh' represented by the lotus symbol that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wears on his chest.
Youth have been trapped in the Agnipath scheme, with no provisions in the Budget for pension for Agniveers, he said.
He further said there's an atmosphere of fear in India, and that fear has pervaded every part of our country. Legal guarantee for MSP in the Budget would have helped farmers get out of 'chakravyuh', but the government did nothing, he added.
The Budget has stabbed the middle-class, which enthusiastically banged thalis when asked to do so by Modi when the COVID pandemic began, he said.
Dalits, tribals, backwards account for 73 per cent population, but hardly get anything from the Union Budget, he further said. The Budget has not addressed the issue of tax terrorism that has hurt small businesses hard, he noted.
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- 29 July 2024 6:55 PM IST
#WATCH | Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw says, "...It is sad that Rahul Gandhi's behaviour as the leader of the opposition and the language he uses in Parliament, questioning the constitutional post of the Lok Sabha Speaker, is an action to undermine democracy and the… pic.twitter.com/2XmbD1f6ud
— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2024 - 29 July 2024 6:40 PM IST
No politics over IAS aspirants' death, states must supervise coaching centres' functioning: Pradhan
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said there are clear guidelines for running coaching centres and it is the duty of the state governments to supervise their functioning.
Taking part in a short debate in the Rajya Sabha over the death of three students due to flooding of the basement of a UPSC coaching centre in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar following heavy rains on July 27, he termed the incident unfortunate and said there should be no politics over it.
Nothing would compensate for the loss the bereaved families have suffered, Pradhan said.
"We must fix responsibility so that such incidents do not recur," he said, adding, "There should be no politics... Negligence has happened and someone has to take responsibility so that a solution can be found." Stressing that education is in the concurrent list and is the responsibility of the Centre as well as the state, Pradhan said the coaching centres have responsibilities too.
- 29 July 2024 6:38 PM IST
National Conference MP Mehdi raises demand for elections in J&K
National Conference MP Ruhullah Mehdi on Monday raised the demand for holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir at the earliest.
The Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission to conduct elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30. The poll panel is yet to announce a schedule for the elections.
Participating in a debate on the Union budget in the Lok Sabha, Mehdi said only a month was left and no process had been started to conduct the elections.
"I have not come here to beg for elections … The Supreme Court had given directions to this government that a democratic government be formed by September … Just one month is left and no process for the elections has been started yet," the Srinagar MP said.
"I request you that for the spirit of democracy, give them directions that the Supreme Court's order is followed and elections are conducted," he added.
- 29 July 2024 6:22 PM IST
Govt plans to operationalise Car Nicobar, 11 other airports under UDAN this year
The government plans to operationalise 12 more airports across eight states and Union Territories, including one at Shibpur in Car Nicobar, under the regional air connectivity scheme this year.
Currently, 579 routes connecting 85 airports -- including 13 heliports and 2 water aerodromes -- have been operationalised under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme that was introduced in 2016.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said, UDAN is an ongoing scheme where bidding rounds are conducted from time to time to cover more destinations/stations and routes.
"Revival/upgradation of unserved and underserved airports is undertaken upon its identification through valid bid and award to the Selected Airline Operator," he said.
Under UDAN, he said 12 airports are likely to be operationalised this year, including one at Shibpur, Car Nicobar in Andaman & Nicobar Island.
Others include Ambikapur (Chhattisgarh), Rewa and Datia (Madhya Pradesh), Amravati and Solapur (Maharashtra), Daman (Daman & Diu), Ambala (Haryana), Moradabad and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Vellore and Neyveli (Tamil Nadu).
"For revival and development of un-served and under-served airports/ heliports/water-aerodromes in the country, an amount of Rs 4,500 crore in the Phase I and an amount of Rs 1,000 crore in Phase II of the scheme has been allocated.
"An expenditure of Rs 4,073 crore. has been incurred for revival/development of airports under Phase I as on 30.06.2024," the minister said.
- 29 July 2024 6:10 PM IST
LS Speaker Om Birla meets media persons covering Parliament
Birla assures media persons that all issues related to movement restrictions and coverage will be resolved.
- 29 July 2024 6:05 PM IST
Coaching culture has become a gas chamber, need to examine ad spend: Jagdeep Dhankhar
Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said the culture of coaching centres has become no less than a "gas chamber" and stressed on the need to examine the huge expenditure incurred on newspaper advertisements by them.
The Rajya Sabha on Monday held a short duration discussion under rule 176 on the deaths of three UPSC aspirants in a coaching centre in Delhi due to water logging.
Allowing the discussion, Dhakhar remarked, "I find that youth demographic dividend of the country has to be nurtured, I further find that coaching has become virtually commerce." He also pointed out the high sums earned by the coaching centres leading to commercialisation of education.
"Coachings have become a flourishing industry with high returns....every time we read a newspaper front one or two pages are by way of advertisements....Every penny spent on advertisement is coming from the students, every new building is coming from the students," he said.
Comparing the coaching culture to no less than "gas chambers", the Chairman stated, "In a country where opportunities are getting enlarged this silo is turning out to be a problem..they are becoming no less than a gas chamber." He urged the members to tell the youths about the various other employment and skill opportunities available in the country.
