ParliamentMonsoon Session of Parliament: What did the MPs ask the government?Anurag Vaishnav,Mridhula Raghavan- September 19, 2020Between the last time Parliament met in March 2020 and the ongoing Monsoon session (a period of nearly six months), thegovernment issued 941 notificationsacross sectors in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  It also announced aRs 20 lakh crore economic packageto improve the state of the economy and provide relief to those affected by the nationwide lockdown.  In addition, the government also proposed long-term policy changes during this period in sectors such as agriculture, economy, and education.One of the key roles of a Member of Parliament (MP) is to hold the government accountable for its policies and actions.   Parliamentary questions are one of the key instruments MPs use to exercise this role.  Questions help MPs seek information from the government on matters of public importance and on the status of implementation of its policies and programmes.However, in view of the prevailing extraordinary situation due to COVID-19,both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have suspended their Question Hour, which would have allowed MPs to seek oral responses from Ministers and ask follow-up questions.  However, unstarred questions are admitted, for whichwritten answers are provided.This post provides an overview of the government’s response to some of the key questions raised by MPs during the first five days (September 14, 2020, to September 18, 2020) of the session.Unstarred questions in the Monsoon sessionA total of 1,950 unstarred questions have been asked in the first five days of the Monsoon session of the Parliament (1,150 questions in Lok Sabha and 800 questions in Rajya Sabha).  The Ministries in focus for the questions were: Health (154 questions), Agriculture (127 questions), Education (104 questions), Finance (96 questions), and Railways (80 questions).Questions ranged from the impact of the lockdown to strategy for vaccine procurement, to the status of the programmes announced to alleviate COVID related issues.  Besides COVID-19, there were questions around India-China trade, locust attacks, and custodial deaths.On COVID-19 testing and vaccine strategyTesting data and Health infrastructure:In response to a question, the government informed that India is conducting nearly 10-11 lakh tests every day and so far, a total of6.05 crore samples have been tested for COVID-19.  Nearly40% of the confirmed cases are persons between the age of 26-44.To improve health capacity, as of Sep 15, a total of 15,360 COVID treatment facilities have been created with:13,20,881 dedicated isolation bed (without oxygen support)2,32,516 oxygen supported isolation beds63,194 ICU beds (including 32,409 ventilator beds)Vaccine development:The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has granted permission for conduct of clinical trials in the country to the following: (i) Bharat Biotech International Ltd. and Cadila Healthcare (these are in phase 1 and phase 2 of trials), and (ii) Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd (for vaccine developed by University of Oxford/AstraZeneca - this is in Phase 3, or advanced phase, of the trials).The government is also exploring thepossibility of cooperation with Russiafor advancing the COVID-19 vaccine in India.Health insurance:The Ministry noted that data on the number of healthcare workers who are infected by COVID-19 or who have lost lives during COVID duty is not maintained at the central level.  As per data from the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Insurance Package, atotal of 155 medical staff, including 64 doctors, have died due to COVID-19.  The scheme provides an insurance cover of Rs 50 lakh (including loss of life) to healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have come in direct contact of COVID-19 patients and who may be at risk of being impacted by this.Under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme, atotal of 4.03 lakh hospitalisations have been registered (and authorised) towards the treatment of COVID-19.  Under Ayushman Bharat, the government provides health cover of five lakh rupees per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care to around 10.7 crore vulnerable families.Impact on other health services:In light of COVID-19, that there has been a19.4% drop in Hepatitis-B birth doses administered and a 31% drop in vaccination sessionsheld in health facilities and outreach sessions from April-June 2020 as compared to the same period last year.  Similarly, there has been adrop of 23.9% in institutional deliveryin the April-June 2020 quarter as compared to the same period last year.Impact of COVID-19 on Indian economyTrade:Responding to aquestion on the impact of COVID on exports, the government provided the following data:Overall exports declined by 25.4% during April-June 2020 (compared to the same period in 2019).   However, data for August 2020 shows a recovery in exports with the decline reducing to 12.7% (compared to August 2019).The export of goodsfrom Special Economic Zones (SEZs)was Rs 81,481 crore in the April-June 2020, 37% lower than the corresponding period in 2019 (Rs 1,30,129 crore).India-China trade:Members also raised questions on theimpact of COVID and the border issue with Ladakh on Indo-China trade.  The government held that it has taken steps to balance the trade with China by increasing exports and reducing import dependence. The trade deficit with China during April-June 2020 was USD 5.5 billion as compared to USD 13.1 billion during the same period last year.Table 1: Trade deficit with China (in billion dollars)Year2016-172017-182018-192019-20April - June 2019April - June 2020Export10.1713.3316.7516.614.165.53Import61.2876.3870.3165.2617.2611.01Total Trade71.4589.7187.0781.8721.4216.55Trade Deficit-51.11-63.04-53.56-48.64-13.1-5.48Sources: Unstarred Question No. 647, Lok Sabha, answered on September 16, 2020; PRS.With regard to theimport of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients(bulk drugs), bulk drugs account for nearly 63% of total pharmaceutical imports in India as per government data.  Of these, 68% of the bulk drugs imported by India in 2019-20 were from China.Civil aviation:The government informed that the revenue of Indian carriers was down by nearly 86% during April-June 2020, as compared to the same period last year.Table 2: Impact of COVID-19 on the civil aviation sectorIndicatorPreviouslyNow% ChangeRevenue relatedApril-June 2019April-June 2020Revenue of Indian carriersRs 25,517 croreRs 3,651 crore-85.7%Revenue of Air IndiaRs 7,066 croreRs 1,531 crore-78.3%Revenue of Airport OperatorsRs 5,745 croreRs 894 crore-84.4%Employment relatedMarch 31, 2020July 31, 2020Employment at airlines74,88769,589-7.1%Employment at airports67,76064,514-4.8%Employment at ground handling agencies37,72029,254-22.4%Employment at Cargo operators9,5558,538-10.6%Traffic relatedMarch-July 2019March-July 2020Total domestic traffic5,85,30,0381,20,84,952-79.4%Total international traffic93,45,46911,55,590-87.6%Sources: Unstarred Question No. 872, Lok Sabha, answered on September 17, 2020; PRS.Vande Bharat Mission:The Vande Bharat Mission was launched on May 7, 2020 to facilitate the return of Indian nationals stranded in various countries.  As of September 10, 2020, a total of13,74,237 Indians have returned to Indiaand the totalcost incurred for this effort was Rs 22.5 crore.  Of these, about 3 lakh people were working outside India.  The government stated that SWADES (Skilled Workers Arrival Database for Employment Support) initiative has been launched to conduct a skill mapping exercise of the returning citizens under the Vande Bharat Mission.Metro rail:Due to the lockdown, metro services in different cities came to a halt. This has led to aloss of Rs 1,609 crore for the Delhi Metro.  The loss incurred due to the halting of the other metros was: Rs 170 crore for Bengaluru Metro, Rs 90 crore for Lucknow Metro, Rs 80 crore for Chennai Metro, and Rs 34 crore for Kochi Metro.On Shramik special trains and Vande Bharat MissionRailways revenue:As of August 2020, thetotal revenue of Railwayswas Rs 41,844 crore, which is a decline of 42% over the corresponding period last year.  Of this, Rs 39,648 crore (95%) was freight revenue. During April to August 2020, the passenger traffic was 1.3% of the traffic in the corresponding period last year, and the freight traffic was 86.7% of the traffic seen in the corresponding period last year.  The total amount of refund made to passengers due to cancellation of trains booked till April 14, 2020 (for the journey period between March 22, 2020 and August 12, 2020) was Rs 3,371 crore.Special trains:Several members asked questions about the Shramik special trains, the number of migrant labourers who returned to their home states, and the loss of revenue to railways due to restrictions on travel and movement.  The governmentresponded that 4,621 shramik special trains were runfrom May 1 to August 31, 2020, which transported 63 lakh passengers across the country. Based on the data provided by states,97 persons passed awaywhile travelling on Shramik special trains (as of September 9, 2020). A total fare ofRs 433 crore was collected from the state governmentsfor running these special trains.The government also started other special trains (15 pairs of Rajdhani Express and special trains for examinations such as JEE and NEET).  Theaverage occupancy in these trains (from May 12 to August 31, 2020) was around 82%.On Migrant labourers, relief measures and MGNREGSAtotal of 1.05 crore migrant workers have returnedto their home state till now (maximum to Uttar Pradesh, followed by Bihar, West Bengal, and Rajasthan).  State-wise details are listed in the table below.Table 3: Number of migrant workers who have returned to home-state (as of September 14, 2020)StateWorkers who have returned to the stateUttar Pradesh32,49,638Bihar15,00,612West Bengal13,84,693Rajasthan13,08,130Madhya Pradesh7,53,581Jharkhand5,30,047Punjab5,15,642Assam4,26,441Kerala3,11,124Maharashtra1,82,990Tamil Nadu72,145Sources: Unstarred Question No. 197, Lok Sabha, answered on September 14, 2020; PRS.Responding to a question onwhether free grains under theAatmaNirbhar Scheme had reached the migrant workers, thegovernment statedthat no data on the number of migrants/stranded migrant persons across the country was available with the Department of Food Distribution and that the responsibility of identification of beneficiaries under this scheme was entrusted with states.  The government informed that states have indicated about 2.8 crore migrant worker beneficiaries.  As of August 31, 2020, food grains have been distributed to 2.67 crore of theidentifiedbeneficiaries for the months of June and July 2020.MGNREGS:On whether the migrant labourers have been provided jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), thegovernment saidthat there is no provision to register a job cardholder categorized as a migrant labourer in the card in the scheme.  It stated that a total of 86.82 lakh new job cards have been issued this year so far, against a total of 64.96 lakh cards issued during the same period last year.  The employment provided under the scheme was nearly 100% higher for the months of June and July 2020, as compared to the corresponding months in 2019.  Thetotal demand (from April 2020 to September 12, 2020) for employment under the scheme was 22.5 crore persons, a 39% increase from 16.2 crore persons for 2019-20 (during the same period).EPF withdrawal:In March 2020, as part of the relief package, the governmentincreased the withdrawal limit from the Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) accounts.  In areas declared to be affected by an epidemic or pandemic, members are permitted to withdraw three months’ salary or 75% of the amount lying in the member’s PF account, whichever is lesser. Thegovernment statedthat a total of Rs 39,403 crore has been withdrawn from EPF from March 25, 2020 to August 31, 2020.  The withdrawal was highest in the states of Maharashtra (Rs 7,838 crore), Karnataka (Rs 5,744 crore), and Tamil Nadu (Rs 4,985 crore).Other questionsLocust attack:Several members sought to know whether the locust attacks caused damage to crops and whether the government has provided any compensation to the affected farmers.   TheMinistry of Agriculture respondedthat the locust incursions were reported in the 10 states of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.  The Rajasthan government has reported crop damage of 33% or more in nearly 3,400-hectare area.  Haryana has reported below 33% crop damage in 6,166-hectare area.  No damage was reported in Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, and Bihar.  On compensation, the government stated that pest attack has been notified as a natural disaster and states could provide relief under the State Disaster Response Fund.   However, no state government has reported any data yet on the distribution of relief to affected farmers.Functioning of virtual courts:The Ministry of Law and Justice informed that11,93,046 hearings were done by video conferencingbetween March 24, 2020 and July 15, 2020 by district and subordinate courts across India.  Further, it stated that to handle challenges related to COVID-19, the government has allocated nearly Rs 30 crore for providing video conferencing equipment and facilitating help desk counters for e-filing in various court complexesCustodial deaths:The government informed thata total of 1,697 persons diedunder police/ judicial custody, and a total of 112 cases were registered as encounter deaths (from April 2019 to March 2020).  State-wise details are noted below in Table 4 for select states (they comprise 75% of the total custodial and encounter deaths in 2019-20).  On whether the government is considering a legislation to prevent the torture of individuals by police and public officials, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed that police and public order are state subjects andthere is no proposal to bring a legislation in this regard.Table 4: Custodial deaths and Encounter deaths across select states (April 2019-March 2020)StateCustodial deathsEncounter deathsUttar Pradesh40326Madhya Pradesh1573West Bengal1221Bihar1105Punjab991Maharashtra943Rajasthan842Haryana771Tamil Nadu693Chhattisgarh5939Sources: Unstarred Question No. 292, Lok Sabha, answered on September 15, 2020; PRSParliamentFirst 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»
ParliamentMonsoon Session of Parliament: What did the MPs ask the government?Anurag Vaishnav,Mridhula Raghavan- September 19, 2020