The Rajya Sabha during the first half of the Budget Session had 99 percent productivity for the two weeks till the House was adjourned at the end of the session on February 12.

"I am happy to inform you that this part of the session has been quite productive with the House clocking 99 percent productivity," Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said before adjourning the proceedings till March 8.

"The productivity of the House during this week has been 113 percent compared to the productivity of 82 percent during the first week as against the total scheduled time of 45 hours 4 minutes, net of only 30 minutes has been lost due to disruptions. The members sat extra to compensate the time lost to disruptions."

During this session, important bills like Major Port Bill were tabled, and Discussion of Motion of Thanks and Budget discussion took place. The House also debated for 15 hours on the Motion of Thanks on the Presidential address to the joint session of Parliament at the start of the Budget Session.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to that debate on Monday, 100 members spoke on these two subjects. "As against the total loss of 4 hours 24 minutes during the first week, the members sat for an extra 3 hours 54 minutes during the second week," Naidu said.

The House broke for a three-week recess on Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's reply to a discussion on the Budget for the financial year beginning April 1.

During the recess, the Parliamentary Committees will examine the budget allocation for various ministries. Parliament will meet on March 8 for the second part of the Budget session. Besides discussion on the Budget.

The House bid farewell to the Leader of Opposition, Ghulam Nabi Azad, besides Mir Mohammad Fayaz, Shamsher Singh Manhas and Nazir Ahmed Laway.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman in the farewell speech said about Azad, "He has been a voice of sanity in the nation's public life for the last few decades, having made significant contribution both in the Government and in the Opposition. He has served as a member of this august House for as many as 28 years and is one of the veterans of this House."

On February 9, PM Modi got emotional while bidding farewell to Azad from the House as his term ended.

First Published:Feb 13, 2021 11:22 AM IST