Budget Session 2.0: Govt will help students from Ukraine, says Pradhan

As the second part of the Budget Session of Parliament began on Monday, March 14, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan gave an assurance that Indian students evacuated from Ukraine will not be left in the lurch.

“Operation Ganga took place under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, Now, when we have brought them here, the government will take care of the arrangements to make them doctors,” he said. “This is the time to take them out of shock and take care of them. We are committed towards them.”

Session agenda

Following the debacle in the recent Assembly elections, the Opposition is all set to take on the Centre over a range of issues. Topping the agenda are the recently announced cut in EPF interest rate, rising unemployment, and the evacuation mission for Indians stranded in Ukraine.

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Also in this session, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the Budget for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha. Congress leader Manish Tewari said J&K’s tourism and handicraft industries have been hit hard, and require support.

Among the Bills that are going to be tabled for passage in the Lok Sabha is the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill.

Venkaiah rues poor attendance

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, meanwhile, expressed concern over the poor attendance in the meetings of parliamentary panels with the Upper House. It would be logical to nominate members who have an interest in the committees, he said.

According to agency reports, Naidu gave an account of the work done by the eight Rajya Sabha committees that held 23 meetings for 73 hours and 33 minutes in the period after the first part of the Budget Session. The three committees — on Education, Personnel and Public Grievances and Commerce — reported an average duration of meetings of over four hours during the recess period, he pointed out.

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The Vice-President further urged MPs to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour within and outside the House. Speaking about the Ukraine conflict, he said the evacuation of students from the war-torn country was a challenging task. Both the Centre and state governments came in for some praise for carrying it out successfully.

Choice of music

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had, in December 2021, asked all airlines and airports to consider playing Indian music in their flights and terminals. This had led to several debates on social media.

Addressing persistent doubts on the issue, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in Parliament that the Centre has no plans to make it mandatory for airlines and airports to opt for Indian music in their premises and flights. He was responding to a query from Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ambika Soni.

Meanwhile, NCP MP Supriya Sule took on the Centre, asking it to stop targeting the previous regimes for the nation’s problems.

“That dialogue of what happened in the last 60 years has become boring now. You’ve had seven years now,” she said. “If a child is malnourished, a mother will feed a child in seven years and make him/her healthy!” she added.