July 18, 2016
Updated: July 18, 2016 10:33 IST
The monsoon session of parliament begins on July 18, 2016. While going through the questions asked during the budget session, and the responses from Ministers, one cannot stop thinking that nothing has changed in between, or is it? While the top issues like the Pathankot terror attack has now been relegated to a footnote, things like the Vijay Mallya saga continue to play out. Meanwhile, Narendra Modi has inducted several junior Ministers in his team, while elevating Prakash Javadekar to Cabinet rank. Ministers including Smriti Irani and Jayant Sinha have been moved to other departments, while five Ministers of State have been summarily asked to go.
Here are some select questions from the budget session of Parliament. Click on the date to read the full compilation.
Govt. to use Aadhaar to deliver benefits to unorganised workers
The government is working on a plan to offer benefits like insurance and pension to over 40 crore unorganised workers in India using Aadhaar, Jan Dhan accounts and the existing platform without going for smart cards.
“In view of the near-universal coverage of Aadhaar, the government is now working on a policy on delivery of various public services using Aadhaar, Jan Dhan yojana accounts (JDY) and the existing platform without the issuance of new ’Unorganised Workers Identification Number’ (U-WIN Card),” Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
The latest on the ever-controversial Aadhaar is that LPG consumers without the card had been denied subsidy. Stating that they were acting as per the directive of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, distributors say consumers should provide Aadhaar details before September 30 for subsidy could be credited.