It’s all about business: All you need to know about Budget session 2018 beginning today

The Budget session 2018 is all set to start from Monday. The highlight of the session will be the presentation of the Union Budget 2018 by finance minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Jan 29: The Winter session of Parliament, which started on December 15 last year and ended on January 5 this year, was a "mixed" one. Along with a couple of 'non-controversial' bills being passed in Parliament (the much-talked about Triple talaq bill being passed only in the Lok Sabha and yet to be passed in the Rajya Sabha), most part of the session saw disruptions and adjournments as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition parties squabbled over several issues.

Now, the all-important Budget session 2018 is all set to start from Monday. The highlight of the session will be the presentation of the Union Budget 2018 by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday (February 1).

Will the BJP government present a pro-people budget?

There is a lot of buzz surrounding the budget. The upcoming budget will be the last full budget of the Narendra Modi government. The budget in 2019 will only be a vote-on-account. The voters are expecting various largesses and reliefs from the kitty of the finance minister.

The Budget session of Parliament will be held from January 29 to April 6. The first phase will be held from January 29 to February 9 and the second phase from March 5 to April 6.

The upcoming session will provide a total of 31 sittings of Parliament (eight sittings in the first phase and 23 sittings in the second phase) spread over a period of 68 days.

Budget session is all about business

The session will mainly be devoted to financial business relating to Union budget for 2018-19 and discussion on the motion of thanks on President's address, but essential legislative and other businesses will also be taken up, informed the Union minister of parliamentary affairs, Ananth Kumar.

Kumar added that the Economic Survey of India will be presented in Parliament on Monday (January 29) and the Union budget will be presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1.

Budget session and bills

The Modi government is trying to pass as many bills as possible this session too, provided opposition parties support them in the Rajya Sabha.

While 28 bills will be tabled in the Lok Sabha, 39 bills are listed for the Rajya Sabha for the forthcoming session of Parliament.

The Lok Sabha will discuss on long pending issues including the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 and the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016, to name a few.

In the Upper House, the Triple talaq bill passed in the Lower House during the Winter session of Parliament will be in focus.

Issues and bills to hog the limelight in Parliament during the Budget session:

Lok Sabha:

Bills referred to Joint Committee:

· The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Second Bill, 2015

· The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

· The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2017

Bill returned to Lok Sabha:

· The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Third Amendment) Bill, 2017(as passed by Lok Sabha, as reported by Select Committee of Rajya Sabha and returned with amendments to Lok Sabha)

Bills referred to Standing Committees:

· The Codes of Wages, 2017

· The Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The National Medical Commission Bill, 2017

Bills not referred to Standing Committee:

· The High Court's (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016

· The Constitution (Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2016

· The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill, 2017

· The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Representation of People (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The National Council for Teacher Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018

· The New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2018

Bills on which reports presented by Standing Committee:

· The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2014

· The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2014

· The Lokpal and Lokayuktas and Other Related Law (Amendment) Bill, 2014

· The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2015

· The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016

· The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016

· The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2016

· The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2016

· The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The National Sports University Bill, 2017

Rajys Sabha:

Bill, as reported by Joint Committee:

· The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 1987

Bills as passed by the Lok Sabha:

· The Whistle Blowers Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2015

· The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015

· The Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016

· The National Commission for Backward Classes (Repeal) Bill, 2017

· The State Bank (Repeal and Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Central Road Fund (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Requisition Acquisition of Immovable Property (Amendment) Bill, 2017

· The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017

Bills not referred to Standing Committee:

· The Tamil Nadu Legislative Council (Repeal) Bill, 2012

· The Readjustment of Representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies (Third) Bill, 2013

· The Delhi Rent (Repeal) Bill, 2013

Bill, as passed by the Lok Sabha and as reported by Select Committee:

· The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2017

Bill referred to Select Committee and report presented:

· The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013

Bills on which report presented by Standing Committee:

· The Constitution (79th Amendment) Bill, 1992 (small family norms for legislators)

· The Delhi Rent (Amendment) Bill, 1997

· The Provisions of the Municipalities (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Bill, 2001

· The Seeds Bill, 2004

· The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2005

· The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2005

· The Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy Pharmacy Bill, 2005

· The Private Detective Agencies (Regulation) Bill, 2007

· The Pesticides Management Bill, 2008

· The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2008

· The Mines (Amendment) Bill, 2011

· The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2011

· The National Commission for Human Resources for Health Bill, 2011

· The Armed Forces Tribunal (Amendment) Bill, 2012

· The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2012

· The Building and Other Construction Workers Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2013

· The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Bill, 2013

· The Rajasthan Legislative Council Bill, 2013

· The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2013

· The Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill,2013

· The Assam Legislative Council Bill, 2013

· The Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2013

· The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Un-authorized Occupants) Bill, 2014

· The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2015

Message from Modi

Ahead of the session, the PM during the all-party meeting on Sunday urged all political parties to collectively strive to create a constructive atmosphere during the Budget session.

Modi stated that the ruling BJP government gives huge importance to the issues raised by all political parties. Modi asked all political parties to prevent tokenism in different standing committees of Parliament and asked all to play a more constructive role to give concrete solutions to issues of national importance.

Speaker wants a peaceful and effective session

On Sunday, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said that efforts will be made to accommodate all the issues in the upcoming Budget session.

Interacting with the media after the all-party meeting, Mahajan said, "Several issues were discussed and we will try to accommodate all of them. Today, everyone said they will cooperate, so I hope the Budget session goes on smoothly."

Experts say while important bills are coming up for discussion in Parliament during the lengthy session, all eyes are focused on the budget 2018, which is likely to decide the fate of the Modi government in the mother of all elections--Lok Sabha elections 2019.

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