RS clocks 99% productivity in 1st part of budget session

The Rajya Sabha clocked 99 per cent productivity during the two-week long first part of the dual phase Budget session of Parliament, Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said Friday.

The House broke for a three-week recess on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to a discussion on the budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1. The recess will allow parliamentary committees to examine the budget allocation for various ministries.

Parliament will now meet on March 8 for the second part of the Budget session.

"I am happy to inform you that this part of the session has been quite productive with the House clocking 99 per cent productivity," Naidu said before adjourning the proceedings till March 8.

Besides discussion on the Budget, the House also debated for 15 hours on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session. Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to that debate earlier this week.

"The productivity of the House during this week has been 113 per cent as against the productivity of 82 per cent during the first week," he said. "As against the total scheduled time of 45 hours 4 minutes, net of only 30 minutes has been lost due to disruptions," Naidu said.

Naidu, who is also the Vice President of India, said during the first part a total of 27 hours and 11 minutes were spent on debate and discussions.

Over 60 per cent of the total functional time was spent on discussing Motion of Thanks to the President and the General Budget for 2021-2022, he said. "About 100 members spoke on these two subjects alone."

As against the total loss of 4 hours 24 minutes during the first week, the members sat for an extra 3 hours 54 minutes during the second week.

A total of 88 issues of public importance have been raised. These include 56 Zero Hour and 32 Special Mentions. Also, 55 Starred Questions were orally answered.

During the two weeks, three Bills were passed -- The J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2021; The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Bill, 2021 and The Major Ports Authority Bill, 2020, he added.