Budget session 2022: Missing the 100 per cent productivity landmark by only 10 minutes, the Rajya Sabha clocked 99.80 per cent business during the Budget session that concluded on Thursday (April 7), setting a record for the third-best performing session during the last 14 sessions since the Monsoon Session (243rd Session) of 2017.
The Upper House spent 37.50 per cent of the functional time on debates, 23 per cent on Bills, while passing 11 of them, besides the introduction of one, an official statement from the Rajya Sabha stated.
"As against the scheduled sitting time of 127 hours 54 minutes, the House functioned for 127 hours 44 minutes. The productivity of the House would have been 100 per cent but for the loss of these 10 minutes. While the functional time of 9 hours 26 minutes was lost due to disruptions and forced adjournments, the House gained 9 hours 16 minutes with Members sitting beyond the scheduled hours," said the statement.
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"The productivity of the House of 99.80 per cent during this Budget Session is the third-best since the Monsoon Session of 2017. Productivity of 100 per cent or more was recorded during the Monsoon Session (249th) of 2019 and the Monsoon Session (252nd) of 2020," added the Rajya Sabha secretariat.
As against the scheduled 29 sittings, the Rajya Sabha held 27 sittings, including 10, during the first part of the Budget Session and 17 during the second part that concluded on Thursday, said the statement, adding "two sittings were accounted for the Holi and Ram Navami holidays."
This Budget session had begun on a positive note without disruptions and forced adjournments during the first 12 full sittings, which was the best in the last three years, it said, mentioning "the House witnessed forced adjournments on six days, all during the second part of the session".
The Rajya Sabha members, the statement said, sat beyond the scheduled hours on 11 days.
"In all, 21 of the 27 sittings were free of forced adjournments," it added. The Members discussed four ministries of Railways, Development of North-Eastern Region, Tribal Affairs and Labour and Employment for a total time of 22 hours 34 minutes, said the statement.
"Of the total functional time, 37 per cent was spent on debates on Motion of Thanks to the President for his address to both the Houses of the Parliament, Union Budget for 2022-23 while 23 per cent of the time was spent on the Bills and 10 per cent on raising issues of public importance through Zero Hour and Special Mentions," added the secretariat.
During the Budget Session, Rajya Sabha passed 11 Bills, including the six Appropriation and Finance Bills that were returned. One Bill, the Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022 was introduced in the House on Thursday.
The statement further mentioned that 135 Starred Questions, accounting for 37.50 per cent of the total 360 listed were orally answered in the House and members raised issues of public importance through 248 Zero Hour and 168 Special Mentions.
"During the second part of the Budget Session, the eight Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committees of Rajya Sabha held a total of 16 meetings for a total duration of 19 hours 30 minutes. The average attendance in these meetings has been 50.10 per cent with the Committees on Home Affairs, Education and Health and Family Welfare reporting average attendance of over 60 per cent. The average duration of these 16 meetings has been one hour and 13 minutes. These Committees submitted 36 Reports during the second part of the Session including 30 on the Demands for Grants of various ministries and departments," said the statement.
(With agencies inputs)
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