Parliament Diary

President Kovind delivered the last Joint Address of his tenure in Parliament today. He outlined the major policy achievements and objectives of the government in his speech. 

Some highlights: 

• During the pandemic, for 19 months, 80 crore people were provided free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana with an outlay of Rs 2.6 lakh crore. In view of the current situation, the scheme has been extended till March 2022.
• As a result of the Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection Program, nearly 6,000 patents and more than 20,000 trademarks have been applied for in this financial year.
• In 2021, more than 26,000 compliance requirements have been reduced by different departments of Centre and States.

Read all the highlights here.

Later, the government announced its legislative business for the session. 15 new Bills are listed for introduction, including the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Emigration Bill, 2022, and the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, 2022. 

The discussion on the President’s Address will begin on Wednesday in Lok Sabha. It is expected to conclude next Monday, Feb 7. In Rajya Sabha, the discussion is expected to go on until the 7th with the Prime Minister’s reply on Feb 8.