New Delhi: The second part of the Budget session of Parliament will resume from today following Covid-19 protocols. The Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha will resume their normal sittings and the proceedings of the House will start at 11 am and go on till 6 pm. 


The Rajya Sabha will get an additional 19 hours to work in the second half as compared to the earlier schedule. In the first phase of the budget session, the proceedings of the House started at 10 am and continued till 3 pm. 


The second half of the Budget session comes after the massive victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in four states.


Covid Protocols To Continue


Members of Parliament will continue to follow the social distancing norms in the seating arrangements by utilising both the chambers and visitors' galleries. The first half of the session was held between February 1 and February 11.


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Going by the seating arrangement, Rajya Sabha has a total strength presently of 237 members with eight vacancies out of a total of 245 MPs. There will be 139 (+3) MPs sitting in the chamber while 98 others will be accommodated in the gallery at a given time, according to the news agency ANI.


Similarly, Lok Sabha has a total accommodation of 538 members, out of which 282, including the Prime Minister, can sit in the chamber while the rest 258 can sit in the galleries at a given time.


According to the official guidelines, only sitting members of the two Houses of Parliament can visit the Central Hall which will be out of bounds for the former MPs and visitors.


Moreover, limited entry for staff of MPs and ministers will also continue to be followed in line with the protocol seen in the previous sessions which were enforced after the outbreak of the pandemic.


Arrangements have also been made for the Covid-19 vaccinations, including the precaution doses in the Parliament annexe building.


Jammu & Kashmir Budget


Finance minister Nirmala Sithraman will present the budget of Jammu and Kashmir. Parliamentary committees will present reports on the demands for grants related to the Budget.


"Finance Minister to present a statement of estimated receipts and expenditure of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for the year 2022-23," a statement was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.


Two new bills introduced in the first part include -The Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Rajya Sabha and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in Lok Sabha. The government had identified 14 bills and six financial items to be taken up during the session.


The discussion after the presentation of the Budget in the first phase has been completed. The government will try to get all the new bills introduced in the Parliament and get them passed in the second part of the Budget.


The second part of the Budget session will conclude on April 8.