Tag: Rajya Sabha

Trinamool’s Derek O’Brien speaks on UPSC issue | Transcript

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Sir, before the starting of the Question Hour, hon. Chairman has said that he would permit us to raise the issue of UPSC. He said one minute would be given to each party.

Yes, Sir. We are taking our seats.

Sir, this is not the time to play political blame games. We heard what the Congress speaker said and we also heard what the BJP speaker was saying. Please let us try to depoliticize this very serious issue of young children. I want to make just in two minutes three or four quick points. Number one, there has been a knee-jerk reaction from the Government. We understand the pain of young people who are protesting. But in their hurry, they have come up with a knee-jerk reaction which has compounded the problem.

There are four parts to this, Sir. Let me deal with the second part. When you qualify for the finals, you are allowed to take your papers in the languages of the Eighth Schedule. Let us be practical. You cannot get this done by the 24th. Let us be practical and let us not play politics. This needs to be done in the long-term. The students of regional languages have to be given an opportunity to write those preliminary papers in the regional languages. In CSAT, again, please let us not jump to some conclusions; there needs to be more dialogue. Some people say CSAT is very, very good and some people say CSAT is very, very bad. There needs to be a discussion. We cannot solve this in six days. Now, the Government shot its mouth off, added fuel to the fire and now trying to look for a solution. The third point relates to the interview. That is the third part. Then, there is a fourth part where the students qualify for the IAS or other services; after 18 months, there too, English should be included in the spoken language.

Please for God’s sake, will no one ever make a demand to drop the 300 marks English paper from the Mains? No one is making that demand. So, please don’t pretend that we are making it a fight between English and Hindi. This is all we have to say, Sir. The Government is to give us a clear, reliable and a genuine assurance that they will start a serious dialogue, not do politics and this will come up in the Winter Session of Parliament.

 

Derek O’Brien demands a Zero Hour discussion on FDI in Railways/Defense | Transcript

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One more thing only. There is a notice given for suspension of Question Hour. Even for the UPSC issue it was said. Now it is said that there will be an all-party meeting. So, this cannot be a pause, Parliament cannot be used as a pause button only. They have to be serious. Number two, we may differ on other issues with Mr. Yechury, but we have also given a notice for Zero Hour. If you want Question Hour to be run, then bring this up. Parliament ran up to 6.45. At 7 o’ clock when Parliament is running, media agencies are carrying reports and the parliamentarians are getting breaking news. Why come to Parliament, Sir? Sir, when the House is running, the Bill is in the Lok Sabha. We have given a notice for suspension of Question Hour. On UPSC it was the same thing done. All we are saying is that at 12 o’ clock during the Zero Hour. This is a matter which concerns many Members. There is an FDI in Insurance Bill hanging fire here. That is the reality. So, why this backdoor? So, let us discuss at 12 o’ clock. Sir, there is also a notice for that. This happened last time. Just give us an assurance.

Nadimul Haque speaks on the working of Ministry of Power | Transcript

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Mr. Deputy Chairman Sir, I will broadly divide what I have to say today under two heads:

  1. a successful model of financial and operational efficiency in one State
  2. the performance of the Indian power sector and some suggestions

The State of West Bengal, today, is considered a power surplus state. The Ministry of Power’s audit ranked the State of West Bengal 2nd in an All India ranking of Power Distribution Companies.  The State has been awarded a high rating for good operational and financial performance by the Power Finance Corporation.

The West Bengal State Transmission Company Ltd has recently won the IPPAI “Power Award 2013” for the best performing State Load Dispatch Centre in the Eastern Region. The State Transmission Company was also adjudged the Best Performing Transmission Company in India at the Power Line Awards, 2012.

Generation

West Bengal has a total installed capacity of 5579 MW. In addition, The Calcutta Electricity Supply Company Limited has an installed capacity of 1,225 MW. The State has been allocated around 1300 MW from Central Public Undertakings. Power is also available through power swapping arrangements.

On account of expansion of rural electrification and rapid growth of small, medium and cottage industries, it is estimated that the demand for power will increase two fold in the next 10 years. Conscious of the same, the State Government is in the process of setting up new power plants to meet the growing demand. Three projects at Sagardighi and Bandel will be commissioned within the coming year and twelve new projects have been planned in the long term. The State Government, in co-ordination with the NTPC, has taken a proactive role in setting up a critical power plant at Katwa.

Transmission

On the power transmission front, the West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company is a self financed company and does not depend on the State Government for its maintenance and upgradation programmes. The State Electricity Transmission Company had pegged its total Capital Expenditure at 589 crore for the year 2013-14 and at Rs 916 crore for  2014-15.

Major network up-gradation to achieve redundancy and system reliability is being taken up by the State.  Construction of new Sub-Stations and transmission lines of all voltage categories over diverse and often difficult terrain is underway. The capacity of existing sub-stations is being augmented. In addition, 9 new sub-stations are expected to be completed by 2016. The company has formulated a Five Year Rolling Plan and is working towards enhancing capacity by 75% in the next 5 years.

Distribution

Energy distributed in West Bengal has seen a 19.3% increase between 2010-11 and 2013-14. A distribution network augmentation plan for the 12th Plan Period amounting to Rs 11,195 crore is under implementation. The West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited is taking concerted steps towards modernizing the existing power system, reducing technical and commercial losses, prompt disposal of applications for new service connections, participation of consumers in Parisheba Melas for extending better services and fast disposal of public grievances.

Rural Electrification

Rural electrification work is in full swing under various programmes like Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), West Bengal Rural Electrification Programme, Special Backward Regions Grant Fund and with funds from the Sunderbans Development Board & the World Bank.

It is expected that the work of Special Backward Regions Grant Fund in 11 districts would be completed by 2014-15.

95% of BPL households in the State will have electric connections by the end of 2014-15.

The remaining 5% BPL households in 7 districts are expected to be covered within 2015-16.

Electrification work in these 7 districts will be taken up under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana. The Government of West Bengal has still not received funds from the Government of India for this scheme, even though more than 2 years have passed since the commencement of the 12th Plan Period.

Renewable Sources of Energy

The State Government has been proactive in leveraging renewable sources of energy. The West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission has fixed Renewable Purchase Obligations for Distribution Utilities at 4% of their total quantum of distributed electricity during 2013-14 which will increase to 10% of total consumption in 5 years.

New Town-Rajarhat area under jurisdiction of New Town Kolkata Development Authority has been declared as a ‘Solar City’ with the objective of consuming 10% of its electricity from renewable sources and for adopting energy efficiency measures.

The Government is in the process of institutionalizing incentives for promoting renewable energy sources. A 10% deduction shall be available in building plan sanction cost and property tax for buildings that install roof-top solar power plants in the Newtown Kolkata Development Authority Area. Howrah Municipal Corporation and Madhyamgram Municipality are also in the process of implementing a ‘Solar City’ programme.

Significant progress has also been made in generation of electricity from rice husk. Till now 134 MW of power is being generated in the State in different establishments, mostly for captive use.

Electrification of Sagar Islands

The Electrification of Sagar Island in the Sunderbans in underway. Grid Power to Sagar Island has been extended by crossing the Muriganga river through towers and setting up of one substation. This is nothing short of a technological marvel. House hold electrification work at the Island has started with World Bank funding and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

WB’s demand to new Government

Mr Deputy Chairman Sir, through you, I wish to draw the attention of the Government to the fact that West Bengal is mainly dependent on coal for power generation. The quality of coal received from the Central Public Sector mining companies is steadily declining and the percentage of ash often rises to more than 50%.

The price of coal has also increased by 43% from 2011-12. We urge the Central Government to access more coal from its reserves. We also request that efforts towards creating a Coal Regulatory Authority be expedited.

We urge the Minister to act on West Bengal’s demand for increased allocation of hydro power from Bhutan and the Subansiri project in Arunachal Pradesh.

West Bengal is at a disadvantage in harnessing solar energy because of its geographical location and low cost-benefit ratio. We suggest the creation of a new central policy to assist States located in low-radiation areas in leveraging solar energy.

Power-Macro

I would now like to address some larger issues in the Indian power sector. The Compounded Annual Growth in generation of power is around. 7.4%. Most of the capacity enhancement has been in coal based power plants. Our coal production has, however, lagged the increase in generation capacity.

Coal imports have increased from 21 million tonnes to a staggering 171 million tonnes in the last decade. They are expected to rise up to 250 million tonnes in 2016-17. Capacity utilisation in power plants has declined from 78% to 65% in the last 5 years. Power generation is unable to meet the limited from discoms and this is largely due to problems in availability of fuel.

I have already referred to problems in the availability of coal. Without venturing into details of coal mining and production, I would like to offer the new Government a few humble suggestions.

First, that the vacancies in Coal India Limited must be filled at the earliest. The position of the CMD has been lying vacant for the past few months. We need swift action in clearing administrative log jams.

Secondly, the processes of obtaining Environmental and Forest Clearances must be simplified and streamlined.

Thirdly, existing mines should be allowed to increase output by 25% to meet the shortfalls in coal supply.

Fourthly and finally, as we had urged during the discussion on the Railway Budget, the eastern leg of the freight corridor is very important for coal supply and must be expedited.

On the distribution front, the losses of distribution utilities have increased  by 5 times and their debt has increased by 3 times, in the last seven years.

According to the Power Finance Corporation, the combined debt of discoms nationwide is at around 4.7 % of the nation’s GDP and their losses are 0.7% of the GDP. These numbers are alarming. We face a problem of inefficient tariff structures where domestic and agricultural users who account for 47% of total electricity users are cross subsidized anywhere between 25 to 71%.  this is at the cost of industrial and commercial users.

States like Kerala and West Bengal have led the way in covering the cost of power supply without the infusion of subsidies. These models of financial and operational efficiency deserve to be emulated. Our goal must be to allow our distribution companies to be self-sustaining and eliminate cross subsidies completely.

The implementation of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP) has fallen behind targets due to delays in implementation of Information Technology and Data Management reforms, poor metering in distribution transformers, poor metering for bulk users. There is a lack of data on actual extent of losses as no central databases are maintained. It is my hope that the Minister will address these matters swiftly.

I would like to suggest that the coverage of the R-APDRP be expanded to all towns with a population above 30,000 and to peripheral areas of towns currently under the project.

The Planning Commission has recommended that a ratio of 1:1 ratio be maintained for Investments in generation v.  Investment in transmission and distribution. The current ratio is at 2:1. We need increased investment in transmission and distribution, for which we must improve our investment climate and augment domestic investments. I would like to advise the Minister against falling prey to the FDI bandwagon in this regard. Thank You.

Derek O’Brien speaks on the UPSC issue | Transcript

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Sir, this is a serious issue about UPSC. Yes, it is something new. The last time the Minister was here, he made a statement on UPSC. The House advised him to make his next statement in the House for the new position. He continues to give television bytes, but not speaking to the House. So, I request the Government to stop using the media as an intermediary. The Parliament is in session. Whatever they have to say, they should come and speak here.

Debabrata Bandyopadhyay speaks regarding the Indians stranded in Iraq | Transcript

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Sir, the first question I would like to ask is: What is the total number of Indians stranded in Iraq? There are conflicting numbers. It is good that about 4,900 Indians have been assisted to come back, but out of how many? It is important to know that. I shall be extremely happy if the Government could give an answer to this.

Secondly, Sir, there are construction labourers from Murshidabad, Malda, North Dinajpur, Nadia and North 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal in Iraq. In fact, according to the latest information that I have, most of the family members are not in touch with those who have gone abroad. In fact, they are in an absolute misery to know what has happened to them. So, I would like the Government to take measures to bring those 4,900 Indians back.

What will happen to the rest? Many of them do not have their passports with them because the agents keep the passports with them. Many of them do not have money with them, because it is the agents who pay the money to take them there and also to bring them back. So, they are just stranded like beggars in a foreign country. Sir, I would urge, through you, to the Government to bring them back with an appropriate financial help, so that they reach their near and dear ones. We are deeply concerned, particularly, about the construction labourers. They have gone not only to earn their living, that they have done, but they have also done many things for the other country. Iraq Railways would not have run but for the Indian Railway workers. The Iraq Roadways would not have been there but for the Indian construction workers.

So, it is not that they go there only to earn, but they are also contributing to their welfare. So, I would request the Government to take the matter very seriously, which they have done, and bring back all the Indians who want to come back.

Thank you.

Sukhendu Sekhar Roy raises the UPSC language issue | Transcript

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Sir, in fact, I am feeling a pain in my shoulders because I was raising my hand for more than ten minutes. Sir, it was only one hand. Anyway, Sir, I have three points to submit through you. Through you, Sir, I am appealing to the Government to let the House know by when this decision would be taken by the Government. This is my first point. Secondly, I would like to know whether all the Indian languages would get the due importance. Thirdly, I would like to know whether, in the intervening period, the police excesses against the students would be stopped or not.

Derek O’Brien’s speaks on The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2014 | Transcript

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My colleague who spoke on the budget debate of the Trinamool congress made 5 broad points, I do not wish to touch on any of those points today and instead focus our comments, direction and suggestion on the finance bill. The 5 broad points made by us in the budget’s debate was one to seriously consider the recommendation of the finance commission which recommended that there were three debt stressed states of Punjab, Kerala and Bengal. Two, the 2nd point we made is that the debt moratorium for Bengal for fiscal imprudence which has since changed to fiscal prudence.  The third issue we raised was a big issue of black money, fourth was of sharing of taxes between the state and the centre and fifth all our focus there in the speech was about 33% of in India, the poorest of the poor. In the finance bill we will restrict most of our comments to the middle class. A hundred sixty million a few years ago will become as per estimates two hundred and seventy million in one or two years. 270 million equivalent to the population of Brazil and UK put together. This middle class is typically is divided into two broadways, the seekers who earn two lakhs plus and what they call the strivers a little more than that.  And I think in this budget if you really look at it we were trying to put it in a mathematical formula, this is what the formula looks like PC = AJ = 4.1. Now this basically means, first let me dwell on 4.1, Congress a few months ago came up with a 4.1 fiscal deficit no., the current government has stayed with the no.and this has been an opportunity if that no. had not stayed with and this was a great chance to take some of the stress away, some fiscal space provided so that the middle class could be benefitted because the middle class has been suffering double digit inflation in last 6-7 years and in last 2-3 years total absence of job. Maybe the Finance Minister in his wisdom did not want to go with 4.1 because he thought the markets would tank, credit rating agencies would down grade us, corporate would find it very difficult to raise money from abroad.  However, this was a golden opportunity lost because as I said if PC=AJ=4.1, eventual winners were babus of north block.  Now to get to some specific proposals;

First one, Service Tax – Service Tax contributes 60% of the GDP, I will make 5-6 points in the time permitted..so service tax contributes 60% of GDP, 12% approximately of direct tax, very good.  Some people are left out of service tax.  We do not want to grudge those people like

those indulging / pursuing in arts, culture, sports, they are out of the service tax net fine…quiz masters have to pay also what to do…but on a more serious note, Sir, the former Prime Minister, former former Prime Minister had not exempted lawyers.. now I have lots of lawyer friends who wouldn’t like this, but when the previous, that’s why my formula works PC= AJ, lawyers got exempted and again lawyers have been exempted of this service tax so large legal companies are not paying service tax.  Chartered Accountants are paying Service Tax from Oct 2008, so our first clear suggestion is  large law firms,  diagnostic firms, huge diagnostic firms are not paying service tax, please bring them into service tax.

2.  Our 2nd observation, again this is the PC=AJ syndrome which you can also express in a boring way Congress = BJP syndrome.  Lets look at another no. this is for super rich surcharge – Trinamool congress believes  yes someone making over one crore of money and you have levied a surcharge on that one crore 10% surcharge, good, previous Finance Minister did it but this is  where we have an issue, the previous Finance Minister gave us an no. 42800 people across the country are earning a more than one crore so you levy the surcharge.  This time it was continued, Sir, 42800 people there are more people than that in south extension, west andheri who are earning more than one crore. Please seriously look into this no. as this no. can go 4-5 times over than this.  Sir, three quick points on personal tax, as I said we are restricting all our comments today on the finance bill and not giving you some broad ..ahh…macro picture which we finished in the budget.  On Income Tax 2 to 2.5 lakhs you have raised that too and to 80CC exemption 1 to 1.5, so the approximate savings on Income tax in this bracket will be 5000 rupees however if the BJP themselves take a look at the standing committee recommendations of Yashwant Sinhaji there itself the standing committee talks about three lakhs, the first one taking that upto three lakhs and taking the 80cc to two lakhs, we are optimistic  that you did not address it this time, maybe February March, will be when middle class India is looking upto you.  Interest on borrowed capital up from 1.5 to 2 lakhs very welcome, quick point here, tax on debt

oriented funds, Tax on debt oriented funds how did it work before this if you had it for 12 months you did not have to pay capital gains fair enough, now that no. has become not 12 months it has become 36 months ok we like something here, we don’t like something here, what we like is the fact you have taken it upto 36 months for some corporates will be misusing this 12 months to avoid capital gains…if you want to penalize the corporate for doing that you might want to, but you either have two options here, don’t penalize the individual who is using this, so the option maybe if the individuals are allowed to pay this and give them the benefit of capital gains in 12 months or you set a cap.

3. Next point Sir, Corporate Social responsibility we have a quick point here… 2% of corporate social responsibilities, large companies earning more than 500 crores now you are not going to make that 2% tax free , good, what happens and this is a key point, what happens to those companies not meeting your company act, specifications, smaller companies, a company earning 1 crore, 1.5 crores, they want to make a contribution, maybe 5 lakhs 10 lakhs, I think, we are putting them off if we are going to tax that…please consider, go ahead with your 2% tax for the big guys but you know some companies want to give 10 ambulances, 4 pumps, he is making a profit of 10 lakhs or he is not even making a profit, please consider this, do not tax that corporate social responsibility because people will be discouraged to do welfare.

4. On Indirect Taxes, a quick point on indirect taxes, now central excise and service tax, if you want to make an appeal, a pre condition on appeal was not there and now you have a pre condition for an appeal saying that to make that appeal you have to pay 7.5 or 10% upfront cheque. ..this is dangerous, because this is dangerous, this will make income tax officers, there are many honest officers around, this will make them feel a kind of greedy so don’t put that condition.

Sir my last two points, we make these broad comments some specific comments, broad comment on tax and that is tax culture, we would like to leave you with a thought that you

know that there has to be a change in the perception the way we pay our tax otherwise you know taxation today is still seen as a fear psychosis, I know in 1970 if you earned 10 lakhs 9.70 go in tax, today if you earn 10 lakhs only one lakh 25 thousand goes into tax, very good.  But there has to be a tax culture, you need to reward high profile tax payers, you need to reward corporate and you need to make a big shu sha about it, you all are very good in running advertising campaigns, big ones which works successfully I will agree, please look at this tax culture and remove this fear psychology .

The last point Sir, if you are looking at models we will tell you one model to follow because no model is better is the one where the nos work; one state in India tax collection in 2011-12, the tax collection was 22,000 crores, 2011-12 22,000 crores, 2013-14, from 22,000 crores, 2013-14 the figure is 40,000 crores, the increase is a whopping 87%. You ask me which state,87% increase in the state of West Bengal under Mamata Banerjee’s government inspite of the all the media bashing and the fiction lots of great work is happening there including this tax collection, two ways we managed to do it for the state one e-taxation, two better compliance..this is work in a state and I am sure if it is put to work in the centre..thank you…

Vivek Gupta makes a Special Mention on jute industry | Transcript

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Sir, my special mention is with reference to problems faced by jute mills in West Bengal. Our jute industry employs labour workforce of 2.5 lakh belonging to the economically lower strata of the society. The discontent of workers of such nature is alarming. The industry faces difficult situations over the past 3 years, primarily, due to competition from synthetic packaging, cheap jute imports from Nepal and Bangladesh and inconsistent supply of raw jute. The Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA), 1987 supports the survival of the Jute Industry by providing for provisions of compulsory packaging of grains and 20 percent of the sugar production of our 408 Uncorrected/ Not for Publication-25.07.2014 country, procured by FCI, in Jute Bags.

 

However, it is not being followed in true spirit. The large orders from the Government to jute mills two years ago, forced by the synthetic industry, were a target difficult to achieve. This is being used as an excuse to dilute packaging orders. Dilution of Jute packaging has hit the industry hard. They have no orders and are forced to shut the units causing severe social unrest and hardship to mill workers.

 

To prevent such a scenario from deteriorating any further, it is the urgent need of the hour that the Central Government must include potato in the list of items under JPMA to resuscitate the Jute sector. I urge upon the Government to provide training and focus on skill development in this sector along with technology modernisation.

Derek O’Brien speaks on the UPSC issue | Transcript

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Sir, on the Minister`s statement, I have three quick points to make. This country is so great that even though English is my mother tongue, I first learnt to speak in Bengali by choice. Now, I have three quick points.

First to the Minister, through you, Sir, please stop this television beatification of Parliament. If statements on serious issues have to be made, we urge the Minister to make those statements on the floor of Parliament. But the Minister has done this before on some other issue concerning three numbers — I will not get into that — but those statements should be made on the floor of Parliament, not to television studios. He can make it later.

Secondly, my own leader, Mamata Banerjee, has shown the way where when it comes to Railway exams, people were given the opportunity to write those exams in a language they are comfortable in. Sir, this is not an issue of English versus Hindi, certainly not. This is an issue regarding all the languages.

In the campaign of the BJP before the election, we heard a lot about connecting with the youth of India. If you really want to connect with the youth of India, reconnect and do it now, maintain status quo because young people around the country are watching you, are watching us. We need to act on their behalf ; we need to act now.

Derek O’Brien speaks on the corruption in private health care | Transcript

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Sir, it is an open secret that  laboratories, radiology clinics and other institutions offer doctors commissions and kickbacks for the act of referring a patient.  The amount of commission is as high as 30- 50%. This deplorable practice encourages doctors to send patients for unnecessary tests, increases the cost of health care and reduces the quality of outcomes.

The Code of Ethics Regulations laid down by the Medical Council of India, forbids fee splitting or accepting of commissions by doctors. The code has, in recent, years been amended to make stricter rules against doctors receiving benefits in any form from drug and implant makers. However, rarely is action taken against offending doctors and institutions.

While there is a regulation that prohibits doctors from receiving commissions from other doctors or diagnostic laboratories, this regulation does not cover private hospitals. It is a common practice for institutions running high tech and high cost investigations and treatments to offer incentives to doctors who refer patients to them. They are free to pay doctors openly and even treat such payments as business expenses for income tax purposes.

The rampant corruption in Indian private health care has recently sparked a debate in the British Medical Journal as well. However, the MCI and the Ministry of Health have been slow in taking up the issue.  I strongly urge the Government to take urgent steps to declare all commissions in health care illegal and create a strong deterrent against such practices.