FM Sitharaman tables Appropriation (No 2) Bill 2024 in Rajya Sabha

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday introduced the Appropriation (No 2) Bill 2024 in the Rajya Sabha which authorises certain sums out of the Consolidated Fund of India for services in 2024-25.

Sitharamam also introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Appropriation (No.3) Bill, 2024 in the Upper House.

The Lok Sabha passed the two legislations last week.

Initiating the discussion on the bills, Digvijaya Singh of Congress stated that the focus of the government should be on reducing the disparity between rich and poor, tackling price rise and generating employment.

Attacking the government, he said that for the last decade the government has just worked for the benefit of big corporations. He stated that household savings have come down in the country signalling that poverty is on the rise.

He said that while price increase is there, earnings remain at the same level as was the case 10 years ago.

"The number of billionaires has risen the most during the Modi government. Poor have become poorer, the rich have become richer," Singh stated.

He also advocated levying a 2 per cent wealth tax on the top 300 rich families in the country.

Singh also asked the Finance Minister to make all cancer treatment drugs and machines involved in the treatment free from customs duty.

He also sought doing away with the 18 per cent GST on health insurance.

Derek O'Brien of TMC also asked the Finance Minister to roll back 18 per cent GST on health insurance and life insurance.

"This was a provision introduced in 2017. Our humble appeal to the FM through you. No one saw this maybe from 2017 to 2024. In the last two weeks it has been brought up in Parliament. The Chief Minister of West Bengal has written a letter. Yesterday there were 350 MPs from 20 parties, we all are together in this," he stated.

A senior cabinet minister has also written a letter to the Finance Minister in this regard, O'Brien said.

He charged that for the MGNREGA scheme the Centre has not paid even a single rupee to the West Bengal government.

O'Brien commenced his speech by lauding wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

"Medal or no medal, we salute you. You are our hero Vinesh Phogat. Thank you for what you have done for India," the TMC leader stated in the Upper House.

V Vijaysai Reddy of YSRCP asked the government to make pension tax free.

He also pointed out that the interest on small saving schemes like PPF remain low thereby encouraging people to invest in risky stock markets.

"The PPF rate has been stuck at 7.1 per cent for the last four years. April to June 2020 the PPF rate was reduced during the Covid period and the low interest regime set in then. Since then there has been no increase in the PPF rate. Having the PPF rate at 7.1 per cent today is disincentivising the people from saving the money and forcing them to invest in risky stock markets," Reddy said.

Bhubaneswar Kalita of BJP cited various developmental works taken up by the union government, especially in the North East region.