Parliament passes 3 key labour reform bills amid boycott by oppn parties

 Parliament on Wednesday approved three key labour reform bills that will remove impediments for winding up of companies and allow firing of staff without government permission in firms with up to 300 workers.

Amid boycott by opposition parties including Congress and Left over suspension of eight MPs, Rajya Sabha passed by voice vote the three remaining labour codes on industrial relations, social security and occupational safety.

The three codes were passed by Lok Sabha on Tuesday and these will now be sent to the President for his assent.

Replying to the debate on the three labour reforms bills, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said,"The purpose of labour reforms is to provide a transparent system to suit the changed business environment."

The minister also told the House that as many as 16 states have already increased the threshold for closure, lay off and retrenchment in firms with up to 300 workers without government permission.

He maintained that is not good for employment generation to keep the threshold low at 100 because it discourages employers to recruit more workers than this and they deliberately keep their workers' strength below it.

The minister was of the view that the increase in threshold would result in job creation and encourage employers to hire.

He said these bills would safeguard the interest of workers and provide universal social security to workers by expanding the ambit of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation and Employees' State Corporation of India.

He also said that there would a social security fund to cover around 40 crore unorganised sector workers.

Over 29 labour laws have been merged into four codes and one (Code on Wages Bill, 2019) of them has already been passed, according to the minister.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, will consolidate and amend the laws regulating the occupational safety, health and working conditions of persons employed in an establishment and related matters.

The Industrial Relations Code, 2020, seeks to consolidate and amend laws relating to trade unions, conditions of employment in industrial establishments or undertaking, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes.

The Code on Social Security, 2020, will amend and consolidate laws relating to social security with the goal to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organised sector or the unorganised sector.

The Code on Wages 2019 was passed by Parliament last year. The passage of the remaining three codes by Parliament completes government efforts to reform labour laws in the country.

LIVE: Parliament adopts motion to do away with Question Hour amid pandemic

 The Parliament monsoon session is being held today amid continuing spike in Covid cases in the country.

The session will provide a total of 18 sittings spread over a period of 18 days (all the days including Saturdays and Sundays of the ensuing session will be working days) and a total of 47 items have been identified for being taken up during the Monsoon Session 2020.

Ahead of the session, PM Narendra Modi thanked all MPs for choosing path of duty even during coronavirus crisis. 

"The monsoon session begins today, there is corona and there is responsibility. All parliamentarians have chosen the path of responsibility, I thank all of them for doing so," Modi said.

Speaker Om Birla read out the obituary references in memory of the departed lawmakers that included former President Pranab Mukherjee, who passed away on August 31 after undergoing treatment for nearly three weeks.

The Lok Sabha observed a 2-minute silence to honour the parliamentarians, following which the Speaker adjourned the house for an hour.

The issues of ongoing LAC standoff, handling of the coronavirus pandemic and economic slowdown are likely to dominate the Monsoon session of Parliament

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

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02:00 PM 

Payment of fine does not mean I have accepted SC verdict: Bhushan on contempt case

Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan said on Monday that paying of the token fine of Re 1 imposed on him by the Supreme Court in a contempt case does not mean that he has accepted the verdict and would file a review petition against the judgement.

 

Bhushan, who deposited the fine with the apex court Registry over his two tweets seen as contempt of court, said that he has received contributions from several corners of the country for paying the fine, and a "truth fund" will be created out of such contributions to provide legal aid to those who are prosecuted for dissenting opinions.

 

"Just because I'm paying the fine does not mean I have accepted the verdict. We are filing a review plea today. We have filed a writ petition that there must be an appeal procedure created for conviction under contempt," Bhushan told the media before submitting the fine.

01:49 PM 

S&P projects GDP contraction at 9% due to Covid-19

S&P Global Ratings on Monday slashed its growth forecast for India to (-) 9 per cent in the current fiscal, from (-) 5 per cent estimated earlier, saying that rising Covid-19 cases would keep private spending and investment lower for longer.

 

"One factor holding back private economic activity is the continued escalation of the Covid-19," S&P Global Ratings Asia-Pacific Economist Vishrut Rana said.

 

Rising COVID-19 cases in India will keep private spending and investment lower for longer. S&P Global Ratings now expects the country's economy to contract by 9 per cent in the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2021, the US-based rating agency said in a statement.

01:42 PM 

Watch: Farooq Abdullah leaves Parliament after attending first day of Monsoon Session

01:36 PM 

Protests continue against Ker Minister Jaleel; 2 held for obstructing his convoy

Two Yuva Morcha activists were arrested for obstructing the convoy of Kerala Minister K T Jaleel with another car as part of their protest after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recently recorded his statement over alleged FCRA violations.

 

Yuva Morcha activists Pravin (24), Vipin Raj (25) were arrested late on Sunday night for allegedly driving a car into the convoy, comprising the Higher Education Minister's car and his escort vehicle, while they were passing through Parippally on the National Highway near here.

 

01:24 PM 

Lok Sabha adjourned till 3 pm tomorrow

01:18 PM 

Amazon to hire 100,000 to keep up with online shopping surge

Amazon on Monday said it will be hiring another 100,000 people to keep up with a surge of online orders.

 

The company said the new hires will help pack, ship or sort orders, working in part-time and full-time roles. Amazon said the jobs are not related to its typical holiday hiring.

01:00 PM 

Lok Sabha adopts motion to do away with Question Hour, private members' business

Lok Sabha on Monday adopted a motion to do away with Question Hour and private members' business during the Monsoon session, which is being held amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Criticising the move, the opposition led by the Congress said that Question Hour is the "golden hour of the House".

 

Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said the argument and rationale that has been put forth by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi is far from convincing.

12:53 PM 

India seeks Rs 1.67 trillion in additional budgetary spending for current fiscal year

India's government said it is seeking parliamentary approval to spend Rs 1.67 trillion ($22.8 billion) for the current fiscal year.

 

India's federal government sought an additional Rs 466.02 billion to transfer to states and 100 billion rupees more for its food subsidy scheme, the government said in a statement on Monday.

 

12:43 PM 

BJD to support NDA nominee for RS Deputy Chair's post

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced his party's support to NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh for the post of Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

 

The announcement came after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar again called up his Odisha counterpart on Monday seeking support for Janata Dal (United) leader Harivansh during the elections to the post, slated for later in the day.

12:32 PM 

Japan’s Yoshihide Suga wins ruling LDP leadership poll to become PM

Parliament LIVE: Amit Shah calls Delhi riots a conspiracy, defends police

Parliament Budget Session LIVE Updates: The government "pays tribute" to all those who died in the violence in Delhi in February, said home minister Amit Shah in Parliamenton Wednesday.
There was no violence after February 25, said Shah in Lok Sabha as he defended the government and the Delhi Police.
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The Opposition, during the Parliament debate, asked for Shah's resignation but the treasury side said he had been "pro-active" in containing the violence.
More than 40 people died in the riots that began over a new citizenship law which makes it easier for non-Muslims from some neighbouring Muslim-dominated countries to gain Indian citizenship.
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08:20 PM
Delhi riots were pre-planned, culprits will not be spared: Shah
"We did not take the riots casually. Prima facie, I believe that the riots were pre-planned. I assured families of the riot victims that the culprits will not be spared no matter which religion, caste or political party they belong to" :Home Minister Amit Shah
08:05 PM
Govt wants to avoid serious discussion on Delhi riots: Congress
"It is very clear that the government is not serious. It wants to avoid a serious discussion on the worst communal riots in Delhi's history. It is a very sad depiction of our democracy and our Parliament that we have not given a message to assure the people of Delhi and the country": MP Anand Sharma of INC

08:04 PM
Lok Sabha adjourned till Friday 11 am
07:25 PM
Fake social media accounts created to incite hate: Shah
Around 60 social media accounts were created on 22nd February and were closed down on 26th February. Police will find those behind them. Social media was used to incite hate: Shah
07:22 PM
Key takeaways from Amit Shah's speech
> Analysing CCTV footage using face identification software

> Will not discriminate on basis of religion or clothes

> NSA Ajit Doval visited riot-affected areas on my request to raise morale of Delhi police

> I didn't attend events in Delhi during US President Trump's visit as I was sitting with Delhi police to control violence

> We wanted discussion on Delhi violence after Holi to avoid communal flare up during festival time
Read more here
07:19 PM
Those who died in riots were Indians: Shah
'52 Indians died in Delhi riots — I won't give a split based on religion': Amit Shah.
07:18 PM
Spread of riots on such a big scale is not possible without conspiracy: Shah
"The spread of riots on such a big scale in such a short time is not possible without a conspiracy. We have registered a case of conspiracy to probe this angle. Three people have been arrested for financing the violence in North East Delhi," the Home Minister said
07:13 PM
Those who caused violence will not escape, analysing CCTV footage for identification: Shah on Delhi riots
Analysing CCTV footage using face identification software to identify the miscreants, it (the software) does not discriminate on basis of religion or clothes. All those who caused the violence will not be able to escape the law: Amit Shah
07:10 PM
49 cases of Arms Act registered, 153 arms recovered: Shah
We are ensuring that no action is taken against any innocent person. 49 cases of Arms Act have been registered & 153 arms have been recovered. Over 650 meeting of peace committee have taken place since February 25: Amit Shah
07:08 PM
Total 2,647 people have been detained or arrested for violence in Delhi: HM Amit Shah

Economic Survey calls for $1.4 trillion infra spending during FY2020-2025

To spur economic growth and achieve $5 trillion economy, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion on the infrastructure sector during FY2020-2025, the Economic Survey tabled in Parliamentsaid on Friday.
Investment in infrastructure is necessary for the economy, as power shortages, inadequate transport and poor connectivity affects overall growth performance, as per the Economic Survey 2019-20, tabled in Parliament by Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
"To achieve GDP of $5 trillion by 2024–2025, India needs to spend about $1.4 trillion (Rs 100 trillion) over these years on infrastructure so that lack of infrastructure does not become a constraint to the growth of Indian economy.
"NIP is expected to enable well prepared infrastructure projects that will create jobs, improve ease of living and provide equitable access for infrastructure for all thereby making growth more inclusive", the Survey said.
As per the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), Central Government (39 per cent) and State Government (39 per cent) are expected to have equal share of funding of the projects followed by the private sector (22 per cent).
Projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore are under implementation.
The Economic Survey noted that, road transport is the dominant mode of transportation. In 2017-2018 the share of transport sector in the Gross Value Added (GVA) was about 4.77 per cent of which the share of road transport is 3.06 per cent, followed by Railways (0.75 per cent), air transport (0.15 per cent) and water transport (0.06 per cent).
Total investment in the roads and highways sector has gone up more than 3 times in five year period of 2014-15 to 2018-19, it said.
The Survey marked that during the year 2018-19, Indian Railways carried 120 crore tones of freight and 840 crore passenger making it the world's largest passenger carrier and fourth largest freight carrier.
Taking a comprehensive view of Civil Aviation, the Survey observed that India has 136 commercially managed airports by Airport Authority of India and 6 under Public Private Partnerships for operation, maintenance and development of airports.
A total 43 airports have been operationalised since the scheme for operationalizing unserved airports was taken up.
To ease the strain on existing airport capacities, 100 more airports are to be made operational by FY 2023-24, the Survey said adding to continue with the high growth trajectory the government has been providing a congenial environment so that Indian carriers double their fleet from about 680 aircraft at the close of 2019 to 1200 by FY 2023-24.
About shipping sector, the Economic Survey stated that around 95 per cent of India's trade by volume and 68 per cent in terms of value is transported by sea. As on September 30, 2019 India had a fleet strength of 1,419 ships.
The major ports in the country have an installed capacity of 1514.09 million tonne per annum (MTPA) as on March 2019 and handled traffic of 699.09 MT during 2018-19.
The Survey said the Ministry of Shipping is striving to improve operational efficiencies through mechanisation, digitisation and process simplification. The average turnaround time in 2018 improved to 59.51 hours as against 64.43 hours in 2017-18.
The Survey said universal electrification progress has been made in generation and transmission of electricity. The installed capacity has increased from 3,56,100 MW in March 2019, to 3,64,960 MW as on October 31 2019.
The Survey underlined that access to electricity is necessary for making growth inclusive and for promoting ease of living.
Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) was launched on September 25, 2017 with an outlay of Rs 16,320 crore to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile connectivity by 31-03-2019.
The Survey observed that except for few households in Left Wing Extremism affected Bastar Region of Chhattisgarh, all the states have reported electrification of all households on the SAUBHAGYA portal.
On Mining sector it said there has been a notable turnaround in mineral production because of policy reforms and production of major minerals during the year 2018-19 has recorded a growth of 25 per cent when compared to last year in terms of value.
While giving a overview of the construction sector the Survey said it accounts for 8.24 per cent of GDP which includes housing and employs about 12 per cent of the work force.
The Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana–Urban (PMAY-U) launched in June 2015, the Survey said, is one of the largest housing schemes of the world covering entire urban India and is being implemented through four verticals.
The scheme is moving towards achieving the vision of "pucca" house to every household by 2020, it said adding 32 lakh houses have been completed and delivered.
The Survey noted that since the launch of the Smart City Mission in 100 cities 5,151 projects worth more than Rs 2 trillion are at various stages of implementation and added a total of 1,290 projects worth Rs 22,569 crores have been completed and are operational.

Companies Act amended to include penal provisions for CSR norm violations

Parliament on Tuesday cleared amendments to the companies law that will tighten norms pertaining to CSR spending for corporates, strengthen enforcement provisions and help unclog National Company Law Tribunal.
Rajya Sabha passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote on Tuesday and the legislation would replace the ordinance issued by the corporate affairs ministry.

"We are trying to bring in ease of doing business, bring in a robust framework through which the Companies Act can be implemented. We are also trying to rationalise and re-categorise minor offences for civil defaults," Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Upper House.
She also said the bill aims to strengthen provisions that enable the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) to ensure speedy and more effective enforcement.
The bill was passed by Lok Sabha on July 26.
Replying to the discussion on the bill, Sitharaman, who is also the Finance Minister, said the government has brought in all the provisions of the ordinance besides adding new amendments.
The ordinance is to lapse on Wednesday, she added.
About Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms, the minister said companies used to comply with the requirement fully or partly and then explain and get away with it.
Now, there would be a provision wherein the unspent CSR amount would be transferred to an escrow account for three financial years. Subsequently, if the amount remain unspent then the same would be moved to funds specified in Scheduled VII of the Companies Act.
Under the Act, certain class of profitable companies are required to shell out at least two per cent of their three-year annual average net profit towards CSR activities.
"It is a very interesting step which we have taken keeping the spirit of the legislative intent of Companies Act, 2013. Actually, CSR is applicable to all those companies which have Rs 5 crore profit or Rs 1,000 crore turnover or Rs 500 crore networth.
"So CSR, does not apply to everybody but you have to fall in this category. Therefore, those companies will now have to be state as to where they have to spend the money," Sitharaman said.
Stating that the bill provides for better clarity related to CSR, she said if a company is unable to spend the earmarked amount for CSR activities within a particular financial year, it shall transfer the same to an CSR or an escrow account to be spend within the next three fiscal years.
"Any amount remaining unutilised in such CSR account shall thereafter to be transferred to any fund specified in Schedule VII," Sitharaman said, adding that "money will come to the ground, money will be available for actual spending".
The minister said that Section 135 of the Act was being amended to provide for specific penal provision in case of non-compliance of CSR provisions.
According to her, the Act is undergoing major changes with number of amendments and wondered whether the earlier Act was passed in a hurried manner. The law was passed during the UPA regime.
She said that the amended bill will de-clog the National Company Law Tribunal by shifting routine matters out of it.
To crack down on shell companies, the minister said it has been made mandatory to have physical address and register to ensure such companies exist on ground.
She said that four lakh companies have so far been de-registered as they did not file financial results for two years and did not even apply for dormant status.
The Corporate Affairs Minister expressed concern over individuals breaching the ceiling on directorship and said the bill provides for disqualification in case of violation of permissible limit.
Responding to a member's concern over small companies facing problem in appointing company secretaries, Sitharaman assured the government is considering relaxing the provisions concerned and would hold consultations with all stakeholders to work out a solution.
She also assured that there is no conflict between National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) and chartered accountants' apex body ICAI.
The bill empowers Registrar of Companies (RoC) to initiate action for removal of a company's name from official records if it is not carrying on any business or operation in accordance with the company law.
Among other things, the bill provides for re-categorisation of 16 minor offences as purely civil defaults and transferring of functions with regard to dealing with applications for change of financial year to central government.
It also provides for shifting of powers for conversion from public to private companies from NCLT to the central government, as well as more clarity with respect to certain powers of the NFRA.

27 economic offenders fled India in past 5 yrs: Govt informs Parliament

Twenty-seven defaulting businessmen and economic offenders have fled the country in the last five years, Parliament was informed on Friday.
Interpol has been approached to issue red corner notices (RCNs) against 20 persons out of these 27, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

He further said Interpol has already issued RCN against eight persons who have fled the country and extradition requests have been sent in the case of six.
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As per the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), applications under Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, have been filed against seven persons out of these 27, the minister said.
Shukla informed the House that Westminster Magistrates' Court in London has recommended extradition of Vijay Mallya from the Uk to India.
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The government, he said, has also advised the public sector banks to obtain a certified copy of the passport of promoters/directors and other authorised signatories of companies availing loan facilities of more than Rs 50 crore. 

Parliament winter session starts Dec 11, Oppn and govt expected to clash

Parliament’s winter session will be held from December 11 To January 8, news agency PTI reported on Wednesday.
Parliament will meet in the middle of assembly elections in five states and as the Opposition seeks to pin down the Narendra Modi government on issues like Rafale fighter jet deal and alleged interference with the Reserve Bank of India’s work.
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met on Tuesday night at his residence to decide on the Parliament session’s date, PTI report.
The winter session of Parliament usually starts in November. However, it will be the second year in a row when it will begin in December.