Parliament Diary

Marking the start of the Budget Session, President Kovind delivered the annual President's Address in Parliament today. He outlined the major policy achievements and objectives of the government in his speech. 

Some highlights: 

• Initiatives such as the Emergency Credit Guarantee Scheme of Rs. 3 lakh crore, a special scheme of Rs 20,000 crore for distressed MSMEs, and Fund of Funds have been implemented to benefit small scale industries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
   
• More than 7 crore women entrepreneurs have become a part of nearly 66 lakh self-help groups under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana. These groups have been provided loans worth Rs 3.4 lakh crore since 2014.
   
• During COVID-19, Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan was launched in six states and 50 crore man-days of employment were provided to returning migrant labourers in their villages.

Read all the highlights here.

The chart shows the length of the President's Address over the years in terms of word count. 

The Committee report on the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was also tabled in Parliament earlier today. The bill expands the definition of children and increases the upper limit of the maintenance amount to be provided to parents. The Bill also regulates private care-homes for senior citizens, and institutions providing home-care services.