Parliament Diary

Rajya Sabha functioned in the first half for Question Hour and Zero Hour after Members of the Opposition staged a walkout.

During Question Hour, the Health Minister provided an update on the Omicron variant of COVID-19. He informed the House that no cases have been detected in India so far. He added that the government is taking precautions to contain its spread.

To questions on banning misleading advertisements for cryptocurrency trading, the Finance Minister clarified that the government is taking steps to caution the public through RBI and SEBI. “The guidelines of the Advertising Standards Council of India are being studied and the regulations they have so that we can take a decision on how to handle it, if necessary," the Minister said.

A Member made a Zero Hour intervention on improving the status of Anganwadi workers. The Member highlighted that despite the extra burden of work, their salaries have not been sufficiently increased to compensate them and are often delayed. This is linked to the fact that these workers are considered honorary and hence are not eligible to avail minimum wages. A Private Member Resolution was earlier taken up in the 2020 Budget Session to change the nomenclature of compensation of Anganwadi workers from “honorarium” to “salary.”

In Lok Sabha the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 was introduced. The Bill amends the 1954 and 1958 Acts which regulate the salaries and conditions of service of the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court, respectively. 

The report of the Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports on “Reforms in Content and Design of School Textbooks” and the report of the Committee of Railways on “Passenger Reservation System of Indian Railways” were tabled in the House.