ParliamentPresident’s Address 2014-2018: A Status ReportZarka Shabir- January 31, 2019The budget session of Parliament every year starts with the President’s Address to both Houses.  In this speech, the President highlights the government’s achievements and legislative activities in the last year, and announces its agenda for the upcoming year.   The address is followed by a motion of thanks that is moved in each House by ruling party MPs.  This is followed by a discussion on the address and concludes with the Prime Minister replying to the points raised during the discussion.Today, the Budget Session 2019 commenced with the President, Mr. Ram Nath Kovind addressing a joint sitting of Parliament.  In his speech, he highlighted some of the objectives that the government has realised in the past year.  The President also highlighted the progress made by the government under various development schemes such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, and the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.Given that today’s address comes at the end of this government’s term, we examine the status of some key policy initiatives announced by the current government, that have been highlighted in speeches made in the past five years.Policy priority stated in President’s Addresses 2014-2018Current StatusEconomy and FinanceDespite a global economic downturn, the Indian economy has remained on a high growth trajectory.Growth Rate:The GDP is estimated to grow at 7.2% in 2018-19.[i]In the last five years, GDP growth rate stayed within 7% and 8% per year, with a dip to 6.7% in 2017-18, the year of demonetisation.[ii],[iii]Inflation:A target of 4% for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation was notified by the Ministry of Finance for the period 2016-2021.[iv]CPI stayed within this band for most of the period between 2014 and 2018.Foreign Exchange Reservesstood at USD 397 billion on January 2019, as compared to USD 313 billion in May, 2014.[v],[vi]Measures to deal with corruption, black money and counterfeit currency will be introducedDemonetisation:On November 8, 2016, the Government announced the demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes.[vii]During the period from November 2016 to October 2017, undisclosed income of over Rs 24,800 crore was detected.[viii]The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018was passed in July, 2018.  The Bill seeks to confiscate properties of economic offenders who have left the country to avoid facing criminal prosecution.[ix]ThePrevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013amends the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.  Under the 1988 Act, taking of a bribe by a public official was an offence.  The Bill also makes the giving of a bribe an offence.[x]To promote the concept of cooperative federalism through One Nation-One Tax and One Nation-One Market, the government introduced the Goods and Services TaxGoods and Services Tax was introduced across the country from July 1, 2017.[xi]AgricultureAgriculture is the main source of livelihood for a majority of people.  For holistic development of the agricultural sector, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana was launched in 2016Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY):PMFBY was launched with the aim of providing insurance coverage and financial support to farmers in the event of crop failure.  The number of farmers enrolled under the scheme declined from 5.7 crore in 2016-17 to 5.2 crore in 2017-18.[xii]Employment and EntrepreneurshipThe government has continuously worked for reforms of labour laws.  Minimum wages have increased by more than 40%Over the last three years, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has introduced three draft Codes to simplify labour laws.  These are: (i) the draftLabour Code on Industrial Relations, (ii) the draftCode on Social Securityand (iii) the draftCode on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions.60Additionally, in 2017, theCode on Wages Bill,2017was introduced in the Lok Sabha.In 2017, the central governmentincreased minimum wagesby 40% through a gazette notification.  Minimum wages (per day) for non-agricultural workers increased from Rs 250 to Rs 350 for unskilled workers and Rs 523 for skilled workers.[xiii],[xiv],[xv]InfrastructureCities are the engines of economic growth.  The Smart City programme was initiated to build modern amenities and infrastructure.Smart Citiesand theAtal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)have an outlay of Rs 48,000 crore and Rs 50,000 crore for the period 2015-2020, respectively.[xvi]As of January 19, 2018, 100 smart cities have been selected.  As of 2018, the total proposed investment in these cities is Rs 2,05,018 crore.[xvii],[xviii]All rural habitations will be connected with all-weather roads. So far, 73,000 kilometres of roads have been laid in rural areas.ThePradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)aims to connect all eligible unconnected habitations in rural areas with all-weather roads by March 2019.[xix],[xx]As of January 29, 2019, of the target of 1.52 lakh habitations to be covered since the inception of the scheme, 1.46 lakh (96%) habitations have been connected.[xxi]Housing is a fundamental right.  All households shall have a dwelling unit under the Mission Housing for All by 2022.Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was launched in 2015.The Yojana has two components: rural and urban.Under PMAY-Urban, 5,33,000 have been completed in 2018-19.  Under PMAY-Rural, 14,21,850 have been built in 2018-19.[xxii],[xxiii]Health and SanitationPoor sanitation weakens the economic wherewithal of a poor household.  The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to ensure health and sanitation.Swachh Bharat Mission: Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched on October 2, 2014 to achieve a clean and open defecation free India.  It has two components: SBM Urban and SBM Rural.[xxiv],[xxv]Under SBM Urban, as of January 29, 2019, 24,130 individual household toilets have been constructed.[xxvi]Under SBM Gramin, as of January 30, 2019, 919 lakh individual household toilets have been constructed (98.81% of target).[xxvii],[xxviii]The government is committed to providing affordable and accessible healthcare to all its citizens, particularly the vulnerable groups.Ayushmaan Bharat: In the General Budget 2018-19, the Government announced two major initiatives in health sector as a part of the Ayushman Bharat program.  These were: Health and Wellness Centres and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY).[xxix]Ayushmaan Bharat aims to create 1,50,000 health and wellness centres providing comprehensive primary healthcare. Rs 1200 crore has been allocated for this purpose.[xxx]PMJAY will cover over ten crore poor and vulnerable families.[xxxi]It will provide coverage of up to five lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.  For the year 2018-19, Rs 3,125 crore has been allocated for this scheme.[xxxii]Source: President’s Addresses 2014-2018; PRS.For important highlights from the President’s address in 2019, please seehere.  For a deeper analysis of the status of implementation of the announcements made in the President’s addresses from 2014 to 2018, please seehere.[i]“Press Note on First Advance Estimates of National Income: 2018-19”, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Press Information Bureau,http://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/press_release/Presss%20note%20for%20first%20advance%20estimates%202018-19.pdf.[ii]“Second Advance Estimates of National Income, 2017-18”, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Press Information Bureau,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=176847[iii]“Second Advance Estimates of National Income, 2016-17”, Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, Press Information Bureau,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=158734[iv]Overview-Monetary Policy, Reserve Bank of India,https://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FS_Overview.aspx?fn=2752.[v]“Foreign Exchange Reserves,”  Reserve Bank of India, January 25, 2019,https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/WSSView.aspx?Id=22729.[vi]RBI Database,https://dbie.rbi.org.in/DBIE/dbie.rbi?site=home.[vii]Table No.  160, Handbook of Statistics on the Indian Economy, Reserve Bank of India, https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/AnnualPublications.aspx?head =Handbook%20of%20Statistics%20on%20Indian%20Economy[viii]Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  1319, Ministry of Finance, December 22, 2017,http://164.100.47.194/Loksabha/Questions/QResult15.aspx?qref=59329&lsno=16.[ix]“The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, 2018”, PRS Legislative Research, March 16, 2018,http://www.prsindia.org/sites/default/files/bill_files/Fugitive%20Economic%20Offenders%20Bill%20-%20Bill%20Summary.pdf.[x]“The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill”, PRS Legislative Research, February 12, 2014,http://www.prsindia.org/sites/default/files/bill_files/Bill_Summary-_Prevention_of_Corruption_1.pdf.[xi]“GST roll-out – Complete transformation of the Indirect Taxation Landscape; Some minute details of how it happened, Ministry of Finance”, Press Information Bureau, June 30, 2017,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=167023.[xii]Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 17, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, December 11, 2018,http://164.100.47.190/loksabhaquestions/annex/16/AS17.pdf.[xiii]“Year End Review, Ministry of Labour and Employment”, December 18, 2017,http://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1512998.[xiv]Rate of Minimum Wages, Ministry of Labour and Employment, March 1 2017,https://labour.gov.in/sites/default/files/MX-M452N_20170518_132440.pdf.[xv]Gazette Number 173, Ministry of Labour and Employment, January 19, 2017, Gazette of India,http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2017/173724.pdf.[xvi]“Union Cabinet approves Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and Smart Cities Mission to drive economic growth and foster inclusive urban development”, Press Information Bureau, April 29, 2015,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=119925.[xvii]“Shillong (Meghalaya) gets selected as the 100th Smart City”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Press Information Bureau, June 20, 2018,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=180063[xviii]“Year Ender- Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs-2018”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Press Information Bureau, December 31, 2018,http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1557895.[xix]PMGSY Guidelines, Ministry of Rural Development, last accessed on October 23, 2018.http://pmgsy.nic.in/.[xx]“Implementation of PMGSY”, Ministry of Rural Development, Press Information Bureau, December 27, 2018,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=186837.[xxi]Online Management, Monitoring and Accounting System (OMMAS), Pradhan Mantri, Gram Sadak Yojana, last accessed on October 23, 2018,http://omms.nic.in/Home/CitizenPage/#.[xxii]High Level Physical Progress Report, PMAYG, Ministry of Rural Development, last accessed on January 25, 2019,https://rhreporting.nic.in/netiay/PhysicalProgressReport/physicalprogressreport.aspx[xxiii]“Year Ender-6-PMAY-Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, 2018”, Press Information Bureau, December 27, 2018,http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1557462.[xxiv]“Swachh Bharat Mission needs to become a Jan Andolan with participation from every stakeholder: Hardeep Puri, 1,789 Cities have been declared ODF conference on PPP model for waste to energy projects”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Press Information Bureau, November 30, 2017,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=173995.[xxv]“PM launches Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan”, Prime Minister’s Office, Press Information Bureau, October 2, 2014,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=110247.[xxvi]“Individual Household Latrine Application”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, last accessed on January 30, 2019,http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/ihhl/RPTApplicationSummary.aspx.[xxvii]“Individual Household Latrine Application”, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, last accessed on January 30, 2019,http://swachhbharaturban.gov.in/ihhl/RPTApplicationSummary.aspx.[xxviii]Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, last accessed on January 30, 2019,https://sbm.gov.in/sbmdashboard/Default.aspx.[xxix]“Ayushman Bharat for a new India -2022, announced”, Ministry of Finance, Press Information Bureau, February 1, 2018,shttp://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=176049[xxx]About NHA, Ayushmaan Bharat, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,https://www.pmjay.gov.in/about-nha.[xxxi]“Ayushman Bharat –Pradhan Mantri Jan AarogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) to be launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Ranchi, Jharkahnd on September 23, 2018”, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Press Information Bureau, September 22, 2018,http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=183624.[xxxii]National Health Accounts, estimates for 2014-15 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,https://mohfw.gov.in/newshighlights/national-health-accounts-estimates-india-2014-15.ParliamentFirst no-confidence motion of the 17th Lok Sabha discussed todayNiranjana Menon- August 8, 2023Discussion on the first no-confidence motion of the 17thLok Sabha began today.  No-confidence motions and confidence motions are trust votes, used to test or demonstrate the support of Lok Sabha for the government in power.  Article 75(3) of the Constitution states that the government is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha.  This means that the government must always enjoy the support of a majority of the members of Lok Sabha.  Trust votes are used to examine this support.  The government resigns if a majority of members support a no-confidence motion, or reject a confidence motion.So far, 28 no-confidence motions (including the one being discussed today) and 11 confidence motions have beendiscussed.  Over the years, the number of such motions has reduced.  The mid-1960s and mid-1970s saw more no-confidence motions, whereas the 1990s saw more confidence motions.Figure1: Trust votes in ParliamentNote: *Term shorter than 5 years; **6-year term.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.The no-confidence motion being discussed today wasmovedon July 26, 2023.  A motion of no-confidence is moved with the support of at least 50 members.   The Speaker has the discretion to allot time for discussion of the motion.  TheRules of Procedurestate that the motion must be discussed within 10 days of being introduced.  This year, the no-confidence motion wasdiscussed13 calendar days after introduction.  Since the introduction of the no-confidence motion on July 26, 12 Bills have been introduced and 18 Bills have been passed by Lok Sabha.  In the past, on four occasions, the discussion on no-confidence motions began seven days after their introduction.  On these occasions, Bills and other important issues were debated before the discussion on the no-confidence motion began.Figure2: Members rise in support of the motion of no-confidence in Lok SabhaSource: Sansad TV, Lok Sabha, July 26, 2023; PRS.Figure3: Number of days from introduction to discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: Number of days implies calendar days.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.On average, no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been discussed for 13 hours over three days.  Discussions have lasted longer than 20 hours on four instances, most recently in 2003.  Today’s no-confidence motion was allotted 12 hours discussion time by theBusiness Advisory Committee.Following the discussion, the motion is put to vote.  26 out of 27 no-confidence motions (excluding the one being discussed today) have been voted upon and rejected.  This means that no government has ever had to resign following a vote of no-confidence.   On one occasion, in 1979, the discussion on a no-confidence motion against the Morarji Desai government remained inconclusive.  He resigned before the motion was put to vote.  50% of all no-confidence motions (14 out of 28) were discussed between 1965 and 1975.  Of these, 12 were against governments headed by Indira Gandhi.Figure4: Duration of discussion on no-confidence motionsNote: This graph excludes the no confidence motion moved on July 26, 2023.Source: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.In comparison, confidence motions have a more varied history.  The first motion, brought in 1979 to demonstrate confidence in Charan Singh’s government, was not discussed at all.  The Prime Minister resigned before the discussion could take place.  Since then, 11 confidence motions have been discussed in Lok Sabha, with nine occurring in the 1990s.  During this period, several coalition governments were formed, and Prime Ministers sought to prove their majority throughconfidence motions.   These motions have been discussed, on average, for 12 hours over two days.Figure5: Duration of discussion of confidence motionsSource: Statistical Handbook 2021, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs; PRS.Of the 11 confidence motions discussed in Lok Sabha, seven were accepted.  On three instances, governments had to resign as they could not prove that they had the support of the majority.  On one instance in 1996, the motion was not put to vote.  Following an eleven-hour discussion on this confidence motion, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced his intention to resign on the floor of the House.  He resigned 16 days into his term.Vajpayee became Prime Minister again in 1999, and faced another confidence motion.   This time, it was put to vote.   The motion was defeated by a margin of one vote.  This has been the closest result on a trust vote in the history of Lok Sabha.  The next closest result was when a motion of no-confidence against P V Narasimha Rao’s government was defeated by 14 votes in 1993.  In most cases, results have been in favour of the government by a large margin.«12345678910»