JOURNALS OF THE RAJYA SABHA (TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY THIRD SESSION) MONDAY, THE 24TH NOVEMBER, 2014 (The Rajya Sabha met in the Parliament House at 11-00 a.m.) 11-00 a.m. 1. National Anthem National Anthem was played. 11-01 a.m. 2. Oath or Affirmation Shri Meghraj Jain (Madhya Pradesh) made and subscribed oath and took his seat in the House. 11-02 a.m. 3. Obituary References The Chairman made references to the passing away of — 1. Shri B.K.S. Iyengar, Renowned Yoga Exponent; 2. Shri Lekhraj Bachani (ex-Member); 3. Sardar Jagdev Singh Talwandi (ex-Member); 4. Shri S. S. Rajendran (ex-Member); and 5. Shri Murli Deora (sitting Member). The House observed silence, all Members standing, as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed. (As a mark of respect to the memory of Shri Murli Deora, a sitting Member, the House adjourned at 11-14 a.m. till 11-00 a.m. on Tuesday, the 25th November, 2014) _______ 1 RAJYA SABHA TUESDAY, THE 25TH NOVEMBER, 2014 (The Rajya Sabha met in the Parliament House at 11-00 a.m.) 11-00 a.m. 1. Obituary Reference The Chairman made a reference to the passing away of Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, President of the Republic of Zambia. The House observed silence, all Members standing, as a mark of respect to the memory of the departed. 11-02 a.m. 2. References to the Victims of Floods in Jammu & Kashmir and other parts of the country during September, 2014 and Cyclone ‘Hudhud’ which struck Andhra Pradesh and Odisha The Chairman made a reference to the massive floods and landslides in Jammu & Kashmir in September, 2014, in which 280 persons lost their lives, and lakhs of people were rendered homeless and also to the heavy monsoon rains and floods in several other parts of the country leading to loss of more than 800 lives and destruction of crops, infrastructure and property, particularly in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. A reference was also made to cyclone ‗Hudhud‖ and subsequent heavy rains and floods which struck the States of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on the 12th of October, 2014, in which 64 persons lost their lives, more than 40 others were injured, more than 20 lakh families were affected, lakhs of livestock were killed and lakhs of hectares of agriculture crops, property and infrastructure were severely damaged. The House observed silence, all Members standing, as a mark of respect to the memory of those, who lost their lives in these tragedies. 11-05 a.m. 3. Felicitations by the Chair (i) Felicitations to the Indian sports contingent for their performance at Asian Games (2014), Incheon, South Korea The Chairman, on behalf of the whole House and on his behalf, offered felicitations to the Indian sports contingent for its inspiring performance in various disciplines in the 17th Asian Games, 2014 held at Incheon, South Korea, with 11 gold, 10 silver and 36 Bronze Medals. 2 25TH NOVEMBER, 2014 (ii) Felicitations to the Scientists and Technicians of ISRO for the successful Mars Mission The Chairman, on behalf of the whole House and on his behalf, offered felicitations to the scientists, engineers and all others who were associated with the successful placement of India‘s Mangalyaan (spacecraft to Mars) in the Orbit of Mars on the 24th of September, 2014, making India the first nation to achieve this feat in its maiden attempt. (iii) Felicitations to Shri Kailash Satyarthi for winning Nobel Peace Prize, 2014 The Chairman, on behalf of the whole House and on his behalf, offered felicitations to Shri Kailash Satyarthi, an Advocate of Child rights, on being conferred the Nobel Peace Prize, 2014 for struggle against the suppression and exploitation of children for financial gains and development of a successful model for the education and rehabilitation of exploited children. 11-08 a.m. 4. Papers Laid on the Table Secretary-General, laid on the Table, a Statement (in English and Hindi) showing the following Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament during the Two Hundred and Thirty-second Session of the Rajya Sabha and assented to by the President :–– 1. The National Institute of Design Bill, 2014. 2. The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2014. 3. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014. 4. The Appropriation (Railways) No.2 Bill, 2014. 5. The Appropriation (Railways) No.3 Bill, 2014. 6. The Appropriation (No. 2) Bill, 2014. 7. The Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2014. 8. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2014. 9. The Delhi Appropriation (No.2) Bill, 2014. 10. The Securities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2014. Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs and Minister of State in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs) laid on the Table a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Ordinances, under sub-clause (a) of clause (2) of article 123 of the Constitution:— 3 RAJYA SABHA (i) The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 (No.5 of 2014), promulgated by the President on the 21st of October, 2014; and (ii) The Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2014 (No.6 of 2014), promulgated by the President on the 24th of October, 2014. 11-10 a.m. 5. Report of the Committee on Rules Prof. P. J. Kurien presented a copy (in English and Hindi) of the Thirteenth Report of the Committee on Rules. 11-11 a.m. 6. Report of the Public Accounts Committee Shri Shantaram Naik laid on the Table, a copy each (in English and Hindi) of the following Reports of the Public Accounts Committee (2014-15):— (i) First Report on ‗Non-compliance by Ministries/Departments in timely submission of Action Taken Notes on the non-selected Audit Paragraphs of the C&AG of India‘; (ii) Second Report on ‗IT Applications in Income Tax Department‘ relating to the Ministry of Finance; (iii) Third Report on ‗Environment Management in Indian Railways - Stations, Trains and Tracks‘ relating to the Ministry of Railways; (iv) Fourth Report on ‗Rail Link to Kashmir‘ relating to the Ministry of Railways; (v) Fifth Report on ‗Civil Engineering Workshops in Indian Railways‘, Delay in building the new rail bridge over River Sone‘ and ‗Signal and Telecommunication‘ relating to the Ministry of Railways; and (vi) Sixth Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/ Recommendations contained in the Seventy-ninth Report (Fifteenth Lok Sabha) on ‗Service Tax on Banking and Other Financial Services‘ relating to the Ministry of Finance. 4 25TH NOVEMBER, 2014 11-12 a.m. 7. Resignations by Members The Chairman made the following announcement in the House:— ―I have to inform Members that I had received letters from Shri Birender Singh and Shri Ranbir Singh Parjapati, Members, representing the State of Haryana, resigning their seats in the Rajya Sabha. I had accepted their resignations with effect from the 28th of August and the 1st of November, 2014, respectively.‖ 8. Recommendations of the Business Advisory Committee The Chairman informed the Members that the Business Advisory Committee in its meeting held on the 24th November, 2014 has allotted time for Government Legislative and other Business, as follows:- BUSINESS TIME ALLOTTED 1. Consideration and passing of the following Bills:- (a) Labour Laws (Exemption from Three hours Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by Certain Establishments) Amendment Bill, 2011. (b) The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Two hours Bill, 2013. (To be discussed (c) The Merchant Shipping (Second together) Amendment) Bill, 2013. 2. Consideration and passing of the Two hours Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014, as passed by Lok Sabha 3. Consideration and passing of the One hour Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014, after it is passed by Lok Sabha 5 RAJYA SABHA 4. Consideration and adoption of the Motions One hour regarding the Thirteenth Report of the Committee on Rules 11-13 a.m. 9. Motion for Appointment to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, moved the following Motion:— ―That Shri V. P. Singh Badnore and Shri Rangasayee Ramakrishna, Members, Rajya Sabha, be appointed to the Select Committee on Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, to fill the vacancies caused by resignations of Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda and Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi from the membership of the Select Committee.‖ The Motion was adopted. 11-14 a.m. 10. Motion for Extension of time for presentation of the Report of the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 Dr. Chandan Mitra moved the following Motion:— ―That the time appointed for presentation of Report of the Select Committee on the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, be extended upto 12th December, 2014 to present its report to the House‖. The following Members spoke :— 1. Shri P. Rajeeve 2. Shri Arun Jaitley (Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Leader of the House) 3. Shri Sitaram Yechury 4. Shri Anand Sharma. 11-50 a.m. Thereafter, the Motion was adopted. 6 25TH NOVEMBER, 2014 11-51 a.m. 11. Motion for Election to the Council established under section 31(1) of the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 A motion for election of one member to the Council established under sub-section (1) of Section 31 of the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 was moved and adopted. *11-55 a.m. (The House adjourned at 11-55 a.m. and re-assembled at 12-00 noon) 12-00 noon.