States and State LegislaturesTelangana Government’s Response to COVID-19Akhil N.R.- May 1, 2020As of April 30, Telangana has 1,012 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (9thhighest in the country).  Of these, 367 have been cured, and 26 have died.  In this blog, we summarise some of the key decisions taken by the Government of Telangana for containing the spread of COVID-19 in the state and relief measures taken during the lockdown.Movement RestrictionsFor mitigating the spread of COVID-19 in the state, the Government of Telangana took the following measures for restricting the movement of people in the state.Closure of commercial establishments:On March 14, the government ordered for theclosureof cinema halls, amusement parks, swimming pools, gyms and museums until March 21 which was later extended toMarch 31.Lockdown:To further restrict the movement of people, the state and central governments announced lockdown in the state and country.  The lockdown included: (i) closing down state borders, (ii) suspension of public transport services, (iii) prohibiting congregation of more than five people.  The entities providing essential commodities and services were exempted from these restrictions.Starting from April 20, the central governmentallowedcertain activities in less-affected districts of the country.  However, on April 19, the state governmentdecidednot to allow any relaxation in Telangana until May 7.Health MeasuresTelangana Epidemic Diseases (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020:On March 21, the governmentissuedthe Telangana Epidemic Diseases (COVID-19) Regulations, 2020.  The regulations are valid for one year.  Key features of the regulations include:(i) All government and private hospitals should have dedicated COVID-19 corners,(ii) People who had travelled through the affected areas should be home quarantined for 14 days,(iii) Procedures to be followed in the containment zones among others.Private Hospitals:On March 22, for increasing the availability of healthcare facilities in the state, the governmentissuedan order prohibiting private hospitals from performing any elective surgeries.  The hospitals were also instructed to have separate counters for respiratory infections.Increasing the health workforce in the state:On March 30, the government issued notification for the recruitment of medical professionals on ashort term basis.Prohibition on spitting in public places:On April 6, the Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare departmentbannedspitting of paan, any chewable tobacco or non-tobacco product, and sputum in public places.Welfare measuresTo mitigate the hardships faced by the people, the government took various welfare measures. Some of them are summarized below:Relief assistance:On March 23, the governmentannouncedthe following measures:12 kg of rice will be provided for free to all food security cardholders.One-time support of Rs 1,500 will be provided to all food security card holding families for buying essential commodities such as groceries and vegetables.Factories:On March 24, the governmentdirectedthe management of factories to pay the wages to all workers during the lockdown period.Migrant Workers:On March 30, the governmentdecidedto provide 12 kg of rice or atta and one time of support of Rs 500 to all migrant workers residing in the state.Regulation of school fees:On April 21, the governmentorderedall private schools not to increase any fees during the academic year of 2020-21.  The schools will charge only tuition fees on a monthly basis.Deferment of collection of rent:On April 23, the governmentnotifiedthat house owners should defer the rent collection for three months.  Further, the owners should collect the deferred amount in instalments after three months.Administrative MeasuresDeferment of salaries:The governmentannounced75% deferment of salaries of all the state legislators,  chairperson of all corporations and elected representatives of all local bodies.  The government employees will have salary deferment from 10% to 60%.  Employees of thePolice Department, Medical and Health Department, andsanitation workersemployed in all Municipal Corporations and Municipalities are exempted from deferment of salary.Chief Minister's Special Incentives:The government granted special incentives to certain categories of employees as follows:Medical and Health Department:The employees of the Department of Medical and Health were given an additional 10% of their gross salary as an incentive forMarchandApril,Sanitation personnel:The sanitation employees of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation were given 7,500 rupees and the sanitation personnel of other local bodies were provided 5,000 rupees as incentives forMarchandApril,Police:The police personnel were awarded an additional 10% of their gross salary as an incentive forApril.For more information on the spread of COVID-19 and the central and state government response to the pandemic, please seehere.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»
States and State LegislaturesTelangana Government’s Response to COVID-19Akhil N.R.- May 1, 2020