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Union Budget to be presented on Feb 1, budget session starts from Jan 29

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Union Budget to be presented on Feb 1, budget session starts from Jan 29

Union parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar announces schedule for the budget session, President Ram Nath Kovind to address both Houses on Jan 29

Soon after the Winter Session of Parliament ended on Friday following an impasse over the anti-triple talaq Bill, Union parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar announced that the Budget Session would commence in a matter of just three weeks – from January 29.

President Ram Nath Kovind will address the joint sitting of the two Houses on January 29 and the Economic Survey will be tabled on the same day.

Kumar announced that while the first part of the Budget Session would last from January 29 to February 9, the general budget will be presented on February 1. It may be recalled that from 2016, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government had ended the tradition of presenting the Railway Budget separately – usually announced two days ahead of the presentation of the Union Budget. The government now presents a common budget, with allocations for the railways included within the Union Budget itself.

On February 9, the Parliament will break for its customary recess and reconvene for the second part of the Budget Session from March 5. The session will end on April 6.

Details of how many actual sittings the Budget Session will have are still awaited. The government also has to declare the legislative agenda for the session, an announcement of which is expected over the next few days.

The Modi government had faced considerable flak for delaying the commencement of the winter session in wake of the Assembly polls that were held in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat in November and early December respectively. A curtailed winter session, with just 14 days of legislative sittings, was convened from December 15 after the second phase of the Gujarat Assembly polls ended on the previous day.

The winter session ended on Friday (January 5). A session marred by uproar by the Congress-led Opposition over various issues – including Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unsubstantiated criticism of his predecessor Dr Manmohan Singh for allegedly hatching a conspiracy with Pakistan in wake of the Gujarat assembly polls, the anti-Dalit violence in Maharashtra and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill – saw both Houses of Parliament transact little legislative business.

A total of 40 Bills and one financial item had been identified by the government for being taken up in both Houses of Parliament during the Winter Session. Of these, the Lok Sabha was able to pass only 12 legislations – including the contentious Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill. The Rajya Sabha, where the Modi government is in a minority, saw only nine Bills being passed. The government had hoped to get the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill passed by the Rajya Sabha – following its smooth passage in the Lok Sabha on December 28 – but the Opposition’s insistence of sending the Bill to a select committee off the House and the Treasury’s reluctance to do so, ensured that the legislation was not passed.

Since the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill had originated in the Lok Sabha and could not be passed by the Rajya Sabha within the Winter Session, it now stands lapsed. It remains to be seen whether the Centre will be able to evolve a consensus over this Bill before the Budget Session and have it passed afresh by both Houses of Parliament when they convene for the second-half of the session in March-April.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far.

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Indian Navy submarine collides with fishing boat near Goa coast, 2 fishermen missing

Indian Navy officials on Friday said that an Indian fishing vessel with a crew of 13 collided with an Indian Naval submarine near the Goa coast. 

Following the incident, a massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Indian Navy, which has deployed six ships and aircraft. Reportedly, while 11 crew have been rescued, two are still missing.

The Ministry of Defence issued a statement and said that the vessel, Marthoma, collided with a Scorpene-class submarine about 70 nautical miles off the Goa coast. It added that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two are underway and are being coordinated with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Mumbai (MRCC). It further mentioned that additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts.

The statement said that the cause of the incident is being investigated. Notably, Scorpene-class submarines are a major part of India’s naval power in the Indian Ocean as they can undertake multifarious types of missions, including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying, and area surveillance.

Reports said that the state-of-the-art technology utilised for the construction of the Scorpene-class submarines has ensured superior stealth features such as advanced acoustic silencing techniques, low radiated noise levels, hydro-dynamically optimized shape and the ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision-guided weapons. Furthermore, the attack can be launched with both torpedoes and tube-launched anti-ship missiles, whilst underwater or on the surface.

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy in its statement said that 13 crew members were aboard the fishing vessel at the time of the collision. It added that while 11 crew have been rescued so far, two fishermen are still reported missing.

A spokesperson from the Navy told the media that eleven crew have been rescued so far. He stated that search and rescue efforts for the remaining two crew members of Marthoma are in progress and are being coordinated with the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai. Additional assets including from the Coast Guard have been diverted to the area to augment the efforts, he continued.

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10 Naxalites killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area.

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Ten Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday.

The confrontation started in the morning within a forest area under the jurisdiction of the Bhejji police station, where a joint operation was being conducted by security personnel as part of an anti-Naxalite initiative, according to Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P. 

This operation was initiated following intelligence regarding the presence of Maoists connected to the Konta and Kistaram area committees, situated in the forested regions around Korajguda, Dantespuram, Nagaram, and Bhandarpadar villages.

So far, the bodies of ten Naxalites have been recovered at the scene. Additionally, a significant cache of weapons was seized, including an INSAS rifle, an AK-47, and a Self Loading Rifle (SLR). 

The District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) continue their search operation in the area. This incident contributes to the year-to-date total of 207 Naxalite fatalities recorded in various clashes across the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, comprising seven districts. 

On Wednesday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital, North Block. Their discussion focused on developmental progress in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh and efforts aimed at enhancing peace and stability in these regions. 

The Chief Minister emphasised that both the state government and security forces are diligently working to eradicate Naxal influence in Chhattisgarh, aligning with the Union Home Minister’s commitment to eliminate Naxalism by 2026.

“I met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and updated him about the Naxal activities in Chhattisgarh. Over the past 11 months, close to 200 Naxals have been neutralized, and approximately 600-700 have surrendered. We are making significant strides towards the goal set by the Prime Minister and Home Minister to achieve a Naxal-free India by March 2026,” CM Sai told reporters following the meeting.

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Canada fact checks own media, rejects report claiming PM Modi knew of Nijjar murder plot

The clarification comes after a Canadian newspaper cited an unnamed national security official, claiming the alleged plot to murder Nijjar was orchestrated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

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Canada fact checks own media, rejects report claiming PM Modi knew of Nijjar murder plot

The Canadian government clarified that there is no evidence to connect Prime Minister Narendra Modi or his top officials to any criminal activity in Canada, including the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The clarification comes after a Canadian newspaper cited an unnamed national security official, claiming the alleged plot to murder Nijjar was orchestrated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The media report further alleged that PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were informed about the plan.

Nonetheless, the same report acknowledged that the Canadian government had no direct evidence to support these claims against PM Modi. Issuing a statement, the Canadian government distanced itself from these allegations, mentioning that there was no substantiating evidence.

The statement underlined that on October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the government of India.

It added that the government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. It remarked that any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.

Earlier, India furiously rejected the Canadian daily’s report as ludicrous, terming it detrimental to diplomatic ties that have been frosty since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first accused India of involvement in Nijjar’s killing last year.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they do not normally comment on media reports, but such ludicrous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. He added that smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.

Diplomatic ties between India and Canada weakened when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accused Indian government agents of involvement in criminal activities on Canadian soil, including murder, extortion, and intimidation. As the diplomatic rift intensified, both the countries expelled top envoys in response.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023. Earlier in 2024, Canadian authorities arrested and charged four Indian nationals for the murder.

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