Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke in the Lok Sabha, saying that the past five years of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government were about “reform, perform and transform” in the country.
From abolishing triple talaq to abrogating Article 370 to introducing 33 percent women’s reservation to building Ayodhya Ram temple — while emphasising some of his government’s achievements, PM Modi said the 17th Lok Sabha saw a productivity of 97 percent.
Besides this Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar delivered their valedictory remarks. Birla said that the House had passed several significant legislations including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bill, triple talaq bill and women’s reservation bill. Meanwhile, Dhankhar highlighted that the country is making phenomenal progress in all walks of life.
Here’s all that happened in the last Budget Session of the 17th Lok Sabha
1. Govt tables Budget 2024-25
The Interim Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25 was tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1. This was the sixth budget presented by the current finance minister and the last one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s second term.
Tap here for key highlights of the Budget 2024-35
In the latest budget, the government increased the allocation of the infrastructure sector to ₹11.11 lakh crore in FY25, which will be 3.4 percent of the Gross domestic product (GDP). The total receipts of the government, excluding borrowings, were estimated at ₹27.56 lakh crore in 2023-24, with tax receipts at ₹23.24 lakh crore. The government also announced a ₹1 lakh corpus for long-term financing of tech-savvy youth with a 50-year interest-free loan.
ALSO READ: Budget 2024 in numbers: Increased allocation in infrastructure; 50-year loan for key sectors
ALSO READ: Budget 2024 Updates: Nirmala Sitharaman prioritises affordable housing, Green growth, boosts capex
2. Govt releases White Paper
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman laid the ‘White Paper’, comparing 10 years of economic management of the Congress-led UPA government with that of the Modi government, in Parliament on February 8. Discussion on this White Paper was also held in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Tap here to read more about the White Paper and discussion related to it
1. Nirmala Sitharaman alleges shortage of defence ammunition under UPA govt: ‘No bulletproof jackets’
2. FM Sitharaman says ‘UPA did not put the nation first, left economy in tatters’
3. ‘Economy was in crisis, NDA overcame challenges left by UPA’
3. Congress releases ‘Black Paper’ against BJP’s rule
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge released a ‘black paper’ on the ‘failures’ of Prime Minister Narendera Modi-led central government in the last 10 years. The party alleged that “the Modi government’s 10 years in power have devastated the country’s economy, aggravated unemployment, destroyed the country’s agricultural sector, abetted crimes against women and committed grave injustices against minorities in the country.”
4. List of new bills passed in Budget Session 2024
1. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024
2. The Jammu and Kashmir Local Bodies Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024
3. The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2024
4. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024
5. The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2024
5. Productivity of Budget Session 2024
According to PRS Legislative Research, the Lok Sabha’s productivity was recorded ar 148 percent, while that of the Rajya Sabha was at 137 percent. The Lok Sabha functioned for 63.5 hours and the Rajya Sabha functioned for 56.8 hours. As per the report, the Lok Sabha spent nearly 30 hours on non-legislation matters, while the Rajya Sabha spent 25 hours on the same.
This was far more than the productivity recorded in last year’s winter session of Parliament (which had happened just before the Budget Session 2024) – when the Lok Sabha’s productivity was recorded at 74 percent and that of the Rajya Sabha at 81 percent.
Key takeaways from 17th Lok Sabha’s tenure
In his valedictory address on Saturday, Speaker Om Birla said the 17th Lok Sabha had a total of 274 sittings which lasted for 1,354 hours, 345 hours more than the scheduled time.
“A total of 387 hours were lost due to disruptions in this Lok Sabha. The total work productivity of the 17th Lok Sabha has been around 97 percent which is the highest among the last five Lok Sabhas,” he was quoted by PTI as saying.
He added, “The 17th Lok Sabha passed 222 bills. During this period 202 bills were introduced and 11 bills were withdrawn by the government.”
The Lok Sabha also saw passage of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill and enactment of farm sector reforms that drew widespread year-long protests in the National Capital Region (NCR). The protests forced the government to roll back the three contentious farm laws.
Besides, Parliament saw a major security breach on December 13 last year coinciding with the anniversary of the Parliament attack. Prime Minister Modi inaugurated the new Parliament building on May 28. He also installed the sacred ‘Sengol’ in the Lok Sabha chamber.
Parliamentary delegations from 16 countries visited India during this Lok Sabha. Also, 42 Indian Parliamentary delegations visited abroad. Birla said that the active participation in international parliamentary forums is indicative of India’s growing stature and prestige at the global level.
(With inputs from agencies)
Here’s your comprehensive 3-minute summary of all the things Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech: Click to download!
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Published: 10 Feb 2024, 10:49 PM IST
