Even after facing division while voting, the Lok Sabha on Monday passed the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill 2019 as Home Minister Amit Shah sought a vote on the legislation.

The bill had been passed with 278 members voting in its favour and six against it, speaker Om Birla said. The Bill seeks to amend the NIA Act, 2008. It also seeks to strengthen the powers of NIA in cases involving explosives and the responsibility in cases of human trafficking will be given to the investigation agency.

Highlights:

4:26 pm IST Lok Sabha passes the NIA (Amendment) Bill Lok Sabha passes the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019. The Lok Sabha on Monday took up the discussion on an amendment bill that seeks to strengthen National Investigation Agency (NIA) by empowering it to probe offences committed outside India against Indian citizens or affecting the interests of India.





03:05 pm IST Efforts to develop drought, flood tolerant seeds: Prakash Javadekar Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday said in the Rajya Sabha that there is variable impact of climate change on crop production and efforts are being made to develop drought and flood tolerant seed varieties. The minister said the country is not only self sufficient in foodgrains production but also exports. “The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has conducted studies related to climate change under National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) project, reports news agency PTI.





03:03 pm IST Govt introduces bill to ban commercial surrogacy Commercial surrogacy will soon be banned and only close relatives will be permitted to act as surrogates to infertile couples for “ethical altruistic” reasons. On Monday, the government introduced the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 in the Lok Sabha that also provides for constitution of surrogacy boards at national and state levels, as well as that the intending couples should not abandon such a child under any condition, reports news agency PTI.





02:38 pm IST Anurag Thakur: Total value of SBNs returned from circulation is Rs 15,310 billion Minister of State (Finance), Anurag Thakur in a reply to the question ‘What is the total amount of old currency swap by the Government in 2016-17?’ in Lok Sabha: The total value of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) returned from circulation is Rs.15,310.73 billion. Minister of State (Finance), Anurag Thakur in a reply to the question 'What is the total amount of old currency swap by the Government in 2016-17?' in Lok Sabha: The total value of Specified Bank Notes (SBNs) returned from circulation is Rs.15,310.73 billion. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/fQQdwXq00L — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2019





02:45 pm IST Govt says NIA bill in national interest, Cong calls it attempt to turn India into “police state” The government asserted on Monday that a bill to broaden the NIA’s investigating powers is part of its policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and is in national interest, as Lok Sabha took up a discussion on the proposed legislation. While Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy sought support of all parties for the passage of the National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019, Manish Tewari of the Congress accused the government of trying to turn India into a “police state”, reports news agency PTI.





02:33 pm IST Nitin Gadkari: Not looking to take away states’ rights The government Monday again introduced a bill to amend the Motor Vehicles Act that provides for higher penalties for violations and protection of good samaritans, among other provisions. Amid concerns raised by some members over certain provisions in the bill, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said the central government is not looking to take away the rights of states and urged the House to pass the legislation which would help in saving more lives, reports news agency PTI.





02:03 pm IST WB chief secy asked to convene meeting of committee monitoring central schemes Speaker Om Birla informed Lok Sabha on Monday that he has asked the chief secretary of West Bengal to convene a meeting of a committee which monitors implementation of central schemes in states, reports news agency PTI.





01:21 pm IST Centre targeting West Bengal govt, alleges TMC leader Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay Monday alleged that the Centre was targeting the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government and has issued ten advisories in as many days. Registering strong protest, he said such steps are hurting the democratic system and also urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla not to allow same questions to be asked again and again in the House. “Why the West Bengal government is being targeted?,” he asked in the Lok Sabha while stating that the Centre has issued ten advisories in ten days, reports news agency PTI.





01:50 pm IST Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank: Engineering students are being trained Responding to supplementaries during Question Hour, HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank also said that engineering students are being trained so that they can be a part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government, reports news agency PTI.





01:49 pm IST AICTE not to allow low employment potential disciplines from 2020-21 The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) will not allow new conventional disciplines with low employment potential from the academic year 2020-21 and will permit only emerging fields like Artificial Intelligence and Block chain, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday, reports news agency PTI.





01:47 pm IST BJP MP Satyanarayan Jatiya on the issue of linking small rivers with major rivers BJP MP Satyanarayan Jatiya and AIADMK member A.K. Selvaraj suggested taking up the issue of linking small rivers with major rivers on priority to address the problem of persistent floods in one area and drought in another. With more regions witnessing a steep fall in underground water, the situation has turned alarming. BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav spoke about the poor quality of water in many districts in Uttar Pradesh and the health risks it posed due to its high nitrate, iron and fluoride content, reports news agency IANS.





01:37 pm IST MPs in Rajya Sabha want discussion on inter-linking of rivers Amid the intensifying water crisis in the country, MPs in the Rajya Sabha during “zero hour” on Monday raised the issue of inter-linking of rivers to deal with the disparities in availability of water, reports news agency IANS.





01:23 pm IST Rajya Sabha adjourned till 2 pm After the Question Hour, Rajya Sabha has been adjourned till 2 pm.





1:21 pm IST Infra developing in 15 identified tourism circuits: Government to Lok Sabha The Tourism Ministry is developing public infrastructure like tourist parks and tourism clusters in 15 identified circuits across the country, Lok Sabha was informed on Monday. Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel said during Question Hour that the initiative has been taken under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, reports news agency PTI.





1:20 pm IST Rajya Sabha BJP member suggests one nation, one electricity tariff A BJP Rajya Sabha member on Monday suggested uniform electricity tariffs across the country to ensure affordable power for all. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Swait Malik of the BJP highlighted that power tariffs varies across states, reports news agency PTI.





1:19 pm IST National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 taken up in Lok Sabha Lok Sabha takes up The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for consideration and passing.





1:17 pm IST Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in Lok Sabha The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019 introduced in Lok Sabha.





01:00 pm IST Demand to raise royalty on coal in Rajya Sabha Demands to raise royalty on coal, roll back of steep hike in airfares between Kerala and Gulf region and government intervention to help release fishermen captured by Pakistan were among issues raised during the Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha on Monday. Amar Patnaik (BJD) said the rate of royalty paid to state governments on coal produced in states was last changed in April 2012 and as per rule was due to be revised in April 2015 but was not done, reports news agency PTI.





12:59 pm IST 86% Ujjwala beneficiaries return to take 2nd refill Nearly 86 per cent beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), under which free LPG connection is provided, have returned to buy the second cylinder, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in Lok Sabha on Monday. Pradhan also said during the last five years, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have commissioned more than 9,000 LPG distributorships to make LPG easily available and accessible to customers, reports news agency PTI.





12:41 pm IST G Kishan Reddy introduces NIA Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha National Investigation Agency (NIA) Amendment Bill introduced by Home Minister (MoS) G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha. National Investigation Agency (NIA) Amendment Bill introduced by Home Minister (MoS) G Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/uaf1eldFb0 — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2019





12:38 pm IST TMC MP Sudipto Sen: Why is Bengal being targeted? TMC MP Sudipto Sen in Lok Sabha said, “ Why government at the Centre sending advisories to Bengal?”





12:26 pm IST Congress MP Ripun Bora gives Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha Congress MP and Assam Congress Committee President Ripun Bora has given Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over flood situation in Assam. Congress MP and Assam Congress Committee President Ripun Bora has given Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over flood situation in Assam. pic.twitter.com/SUzMFfQuiq — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2019





11:13 am IST TMC MP Saugata Roy gives Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha TMC MP Saugata Roy has given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over ‘case of death due to negligence in metro in Kolkata’, reports news agency ANI.





10:54 am IST Congress MPs from Assam protest at Parliament Assam Congress MPs protest in Parliament over flood situation in the state and demand Assam floods to be declared a National Problem, reports news agency ANI. Congress MPs from Assam protesting at parliament against grim flood situation in the state. ( HT Photo/ Sonu Mehta )





10:51 am IST Congress gives Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha Congress party has given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over ‘pension of disabled Army personnel’ Congress party has given Adjournment Motion Notice in Lok Sabha over 'pension of disabled Army personnel' pic.twitter.com/BHmb1FiLUk — ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2019





10:49 am IST Assam Congress president gives Zero Hour notice over floods in state Assam Congress Committee President Ripun Bora has given a Zero Hour Notice in Rajya Sabha over flood situation in the state. The Zero Hour denotes the time immediately following the Question Hour in both the Houses of Parliament. During this hour, parliamentarians can raise matters of great importance without the mandatory prior ten days notice, reoprts news agency ANI.



