Highlights for Day 39 of Narendra Modi government Development Work

Highlights for Day 39 of Narendra Modi government Development Work

 Click here to see Narendra Modi 100 Days Agenda

Lok Sabha speaker to meet leaders ahead of budget session

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan today will meet leaders of political parties in the Lok Sabha for smooth functioning of the house during the budget session beginning on July 7. The session, which will last over a month, is significant as the Narendra Modi government will present its first budget on July 10. The rail budget will be presented on July 8 followed by the economic survey on July 9.

During the session, the speaker is likely to take a decision on the issue of Leader of Opposition as the Congress is demanding that its leader in the house be appointed in the role. The Congress, the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, has 44 MPs but the numbers are not on its side. A party must have at least one-tenth of the total strength of the Lok Sabha -- a house of 545 members -- to be eligible for the post.

Food Minister asks states to rise above politics to control prices

Calling hoarding an anti-national activity, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday asked state governments to rise above politics to control prices by effectively enforcing the Essential Commodities Act. The current price rise is a temporary phenomenon created by hoarders, he said. "Controlling inflation is a national issue. In a federal set up, it is the responsibility of both the Centre and states to check prices. There should be no confrontation between the Centre and states. We should not score political point on this issue," he said. The Essential Commodities Act is in place. The issue is how effectively the law is being enforced, he added. Paswan also asked state governments to enforce the Act effectively against hoarders and black marketers to boost supply and check prices. "We should come up with a concrete plan against hoarders who are doing a anti-national activity against the interest of consumers," he said at a conference of state food and consumer affairs ministers on food inflation. The Centre has taken several steps like raising the minimum export price of onion and potato to check price rise, but the long-term solution lies in developing a nationalised market, the Food Minister said. A nationalised market will allow farmers to sell their produces freely. At present, farmers have to pay different fees and taxes to sell their produces in the APMC mandis 

Iraq crisis: 116 Indians to reach home on Saturday, efforts on to rescue others in captivity

: As many as 116 Indians including 46 nurses from Kerala will reach India on Saturday morning, reassured the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday evening. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said that an Air India aircraft has flown from New Delhi and is expected to reach Erbil, Iraq, late on Friday. Assuring that the government was putting in all efforts in ensuring the safety of Indian nationals, MEA said that a joint secretary level officer will co-ordinate with authorities in Iraq for the safety of Indians there. The Air India flight that will carry the 46 nurses and 70 others is expected to reach Kochi on Saturday morning. It will then head back to New Delhi to de-board more passengers if needed, said Akbaruddin. Even as process is underway to bring back as many as 116 Indians from the war-torn country, 39 Indian nationals continue to be held captive in Mosul. The MEA said that the resources that went into freeing the nurses would be used in the case of others too. "People are still in captivity and we are aware of the captors," said Akbaruddin. Without divulging any information on the efforts that went into the freeing of these 46 nurses, MEA said, "Anything we say may possibly impact other elements. So I won't say who we worked with and how we worked."

--Written by Aadil Mir-- With additional inputs from agencies

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