One of the longest lunar eclipses on June 15

One of the longest total lunar eclipses will occur on the night of June 15 and be visible everywhere in India.

The celestial event, the first lunar eclipse this year, will be best visible almost near the zenith, according to Director (Research and Academics), M P Birla planetarium D P Duari.

It can be seen in Kolkata sky from 12:52 am to 2:32 am, making it one of the longest in recent times.

After the totality, the partial eclipse will end around 3:52 am, in the early hours of June 16.

Other than India, it will be visible from the eastern half of Africa, the Middle East, central Asia and western Australia.

Observers throughout Europe will miss the early stages of the eclipse because it will occur before moonrise.

The next lunar eclipse, also to be visible from India, will be a total one on December 10 this year but will last only 25 minutes, Duari said. He said that on January 31, 2018, Kolkata will be able to view another total lunar eclipse.

UN international year of the cooperatives

The Conference of Cooperative Ministers of States and Union Territories was organised in New Delhi on 2011 April 20 unanimously resolved to take immediate steps for revitalising the cooperative sector which is facing the challenge of tough competition on the one hand and government issues on the other.
The Conference has been organised in the backdrop of United Nations Declaration to observe 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives.
The Conference was attended by the State Cooperation Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, J&K, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Orissa, Puducherry, Rajasthan, and Tripura.
The Conference noted the valuable contributions made by Cooperatives in different sectors of Indian economy particularly in rural credit, agriculture input and production, agro-processing, storage, marketing, consumer, fertilizer, dairy, fishery, housing etc. The widespread coverage and diversified business activities of cooperatives have made numerous success stories and provided immense possibilities and ample opportunities for the people, particularly those from the weaker sections in the hither to unserviced areas.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar  addressing the Conference emphasized that unless the cooperatives develop their internal strengths in the form of professional management, enlightened and active membership, inspiring leadership and innovative vision, it will be difficult for the cooperatives to grow in the current economic scenario.
He was also of the view that the cooperatives should be considered essentially as an economic enterprises which should be member driven institutions. The Minister apprised the State Ministers that the Government of India has initiated various measures to reform the cooperatives to make them vibrant, viable and democratic institutions with active participation of members to enable them to face the challenges of competitive global economy.
Minster of State Shri Arun Yadav highlighted the emerging issues, significant for improving the performance of the cooperative sector.  He emphasized the need to restore the democratic character of cooperatives both in management and in business process as the cooperatives are essentially people’s movement.  He requested the State Ministers to pursue the cooperative reform agenda vigorously.
Agriculture Secretary, Shri P.K. Basu apprised the Conference about the challenges being faced by the cooperatives and emphasized the need for restoring people’s confidence in Cooperative sector.  Besides, the issue of good governance in cooperatives also needs to get its due importance.
The cooperatives need to devise a system of cooperative corporate governance for ensuring quality service to their members. He urged the  Ministers to recognize the importance of cooperatives and explore their full potential to achieve its goals.
The steps taken by Union Government to reform the cooperative sector were supported by the State Ministers of Cooperation, who assured that the State Governments would take necessary action to make the cooperatives in their State become economically viable to serve their members more effectively.
The Conference expressed their concern on the present challenges and constraints being faced by cooperatives mainly on account of competitive and dynamic market environment. Besides, it was also felt that cooperatives have inherent weaknesses which have also affected their functioning.
A unanimous view emerged for continuous support from Government to the cooperatives to make them autonomous and member driven institutions through appropriate legal and policy reforms.
The Conference unanimously resolved to take action in the following areas to strengthen the cooperative movement in the country: –
(i) Government of India and the States may take steps for early passage of the Constitution (111th Amendment) Bill, 2009.
(ii) States may initiate measures for bringing in legal, institutional and systemic reforms on the lines of recommendations made by High Powered Committee on Cooperatives.
(iii) States may take steps to accelerate the pace of implementation of revival package for short term cooperative credit structure for having robust cooperative credit institutions in the State for enhancing credit flow to the farmers.
(iv) Government of India and the States will constitute appropriate institutional mechanism to facilitate revival and rehabilitation of sick cooperatives.
(v) To strengthen and revitalize the cooperative sector, Government of India, States, cooperative institutions and other stake holders will work in close collaboration to take various measures and initiatives in the International Year of Cooperatives, 2012.
(vi)The States will create conducive environment for facilitating growth of micro-finance institutions and joint liability groups for expanding the outreach of institutional credit to farmers.
(vii) Ministry of Finance may be requested to consider grant of exemption from income tax in respect of cooperative societies.
The Conference concluded with a pledge to restore the credibility and dignity of cooperatives so that the cooperatives become autonomous, self reliant, democratic, and accountable to members and fulfil the expectations of its members and other stakeholders.

QUESTION HOUR IN LOK SABHA

Generally, the first hour of a sitting of Lok Sabha is devoted to Questions and that hour is called the Question Hour. It has a special significance in the proceedings of Parliament.

Asking of questions is an inherent and unfettered parliamentary right of members. It is during the Question Hour that the members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and Governmental activity. Government policies in national as well as international spheres come into sharp focus as the members try to elicit pertinent information during the Question Hour.

The Government is, as it were, put on its trial during the Question Hour and every Minister whose turn it is to answer questions has to stand up and answer for his or his administration's acts of omission and commission. Through the Question Hour the Government is able to quickly feel the pulse of the nation and adapt its policies and actions accordingly. It is through questions in Parliament that the Government remains in  touch with the people in as much as members are enabled thereby to ventilate the grievances of the public in matters concerning the administration. Questions enable Ministries to gauge the popular reaction to their policy and administration. Questions bring to the notice of the Ministers many an abuse which otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Sometimes questions may lead to the appointment of a commission, a court of enquiry or even legislation when matters raised are grave enough to agitate the public mind and are of wide public importance.

The Question Hour is an interesting part of the Parliamentary proceedings. Although a question mainly seeks information and tries to elicit facts on a particular subject, there are many a time lively and quicksilver repartees between the Members asking the questions and the Ministers answering them. These repartees are sometimes coupled with flashes of wit and humour. That is why the public galleries and the press galleries are packed to capacity during the Question Hour.

Telecasting of Question Hour

With a view to familiarising the public at large about the manner in which the proceedings of the Houses of Parliament are conducted in the Question Hour and how their representatives raise various issues of national/international importance, proceedings of the Question Hour are being  telecast since 2 December 1991. Earlier the pre-recorded proceedings of the Question Hour were telecast by Doordarshan on the following day in the morning. From 7 December 1994, the proceedings of the Question Hour of both the Houses are being telecast live on alternate weeks throughout the country on the national channel of Doordarshan from 1100 hrs. to 1200 hrs. All India Radio is also broadcasting the proceedings of the Question Hour of both the Houses from 2200 hrs. to 2300 hrs. in the same night on their national hook up. It has been arranged in such a manner that during the telecast of the Question Hour of one House by Doordarshan, the Question Hour of the Other House is broadcast by All India Radio. In addition, the proceedings of the Question Hour and the entire post-lunch proceedings of Lok Sabha are being telecast live on a separate terrestrial channel through a Low Power Transmitter (LPT) with a reach of 10-15 kms, installed in Parliament House. The entire proceedings of Rajya Sabha are also being telecast live daily since 7 December 1994 through a separate LPT.

Types of Questions

Questions are of four types:-

Starred, Unstarred, Short Notice Questions and Questions addressed to private Members :

A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark. When a question is answered orally, supplementary questions can be asked thereon. Only 20 questions can be listed for oral answer on a day.

An Unstarred Question is one which is not called for oral answer in the House and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. To such a question, a written answer is deemed to have been laid on the Table after the Question Hour by the Minister to whom it is addressed. It is printed in the official report of the sitting of the House for which it is put down. Only 230 questions can be listed for written answer on a day. In addition to this, 25 more questions can also be included in the Unstarred List relating to the States under Presidential Rule and the total number of questions in the list of Unstarred Questions for a day may not exceed 255 in relaxation of normal limit of 230 questions.

A Short Notice Question is one which relates to a matter of urgent public importance and can be asked with shorter notice than the period of notice prescribed for an ordinary question. Like a starred question, it is answered orally followed by supplementary questions.

The Question to a Private Member is addressed to the Member himself/herself and it is asked when the subjectmatter of it pertains to any Bill,  Resolution or any matter relating to the Business of the House for which that Member is responsible. For such Questions, the same procedure is followed as in the case of Questions addressed to a Minister with such variations as the Speaker may consider necessary or convenient.

Notices of Questions

A member gives notice in writing addressed to the Secretary-General, Lok Sabha, intimating his intention to ask a question. Besides the text  of the question, the notice states clearly the official designation of the Minister to whom the question is addressed as also the date on which the question is desired to be placed on the list of questions for answer as also the order of preference, if any, for its being placed on the list of questions when a member tables more than one notice of questions for the same day.

The normal period of notice of a question is not more than twenty-one and not less than ten clear days. A short notice question can be asked with a notice shorter than ten days, but the member has to state briefly the reasons for asking the question at short notice.

Procedure in Lok Sabha Secretariat

On receipt of the notice of a question it is scrutinised to see that the designation of the Minister and date of answer have been correctly mentioned in the notice. A preliminary ballot of identical questions is held and the member who obtains priority is deemed to have tabled the question. A ballot is then held in respect of notices received in this Secretariat at the same time to determine their inter se priority. Separate ballots are held for starred and unstarred questions. Starred, unstarred and short notice questions are numbered separately and entered in separate diaries on computer software.

The next stage is to examine the question as to whether or not it is admissible under the rules and past precedents. A question is primarily  asked for the purpose of obtaining information on a matter of public importance. Questions that contain arguments, inferences or defamatory statements or otherwise refer to the character or conduct of any person except in his official or public capacity, are not admitted.  Questions which are in substance repetitions of those that have been answered previously or in regard to which information is available in accessible documents or in ordinary works of reference are also not admitted. Besides, if the subject matter of a question is pending for judgement before any court of law or any other tribunal or body set up under law or is under consideration before a Parliamentary Committee, the same is not permitted to be asked. Questions making discourteous references to foreign countries with whom India has friendly relations are disallowed. Similarly, questions raising larger issues of policy are not allowed for it is not possible to enunciate policies within the limited compass of an answer to a question. Questions containing more than 150 words or relating to a matter which is not primarily the concern of the Government of India are not admitted. Questions going into minor details of administration and day-to-day working of the Government/Organisations are also not admitted.

Keeping the above rules and precedents in view, a question is admitted or disallowed. Typed copies of the admitted and edited questions are  then made out on a standard form. An advance copy of the admitted question is informally collected by the Ministry/Department concerned so  that they may on their side initiate the action for collection of information asked for in the question to prepare a reply.

A Short Notice Question which is of wide public importance is first referred to the Ministry concerned if necessary for furnishing factual information in the matter and also for indicating whether the Minister concerned accepts the short notice and, if so, what date will be convenient to him to answer the question. If the Minister accepts the short notice and the matter sought to be raised is considered by the Speaker, urgent, the Short Notice Question is admitted and printed in a separate list on the light pink paper in order to distinguish from lists of ordinary questions. The Short Notice Question is taken up after the Question Hour.

Allotment of Days for Questions

Immediately on the fixation of the dates of sittings of a session of Lok Sabha, allotment is made of the days available for the answering of questions relating to the various Ministries of Government of India. For this purpose the various Ministries are divided into five Groups and fixed days are allotted to groups of Ministries during the week. There is no Question Hour on Saturday, if a sitting is fixed for that day. Separate lists are prepared for starred and unstarred questions which have been admitted. Admitted questions are entered in the List of Questions for the day for oral or written answers as the case may be, in the order of priority obtained in ballot with the orders of the Speaker. Not more than five questions are admitted in the name of a member for each sitting of which not more than one is put down for oral answer. While compiling the list of unstarred questions, care is taken to see that one question of each member is included in the list of questions of that date. The remaining unstarred questions are thereafter put in the list according to inter se priority obtained in the ballot. A serial number is allotted to each question. Normally not more than twenty questions are placed on the list of questions for oral answers and not more than two hundred and thirty questions are placed on the list of questions for written answers on any one day. The Ministries are supplied with the lists of finally admitted questions at least 5 days before the date fixed for asking the questions.

Mode of Asking Questions

The member whose question has been admitted and which is included in the list of questions for oral answers for a particular day, rises in his/her seat when the turn of his/her question comes and asks his/her question by reading out its number on the list of questions. The Minister concerned answers the question. Thereafter the member who had asked the question can ask only two supplementary questions. After him/her the second member whose name is clubbed on the question is allowed to ask one supplementary question. Thereafter, the Speaker allows one supplementary each to members who are able to catch his eye. The number of such members depends on the importance of the question. Then the next question is taken up. The replies to questions not reached for oral answer during the Question Hour are deemed to have been laid on the Table of Lok Sabha.   

At the end of the Question Hour, i.e. after the questions for oral answer have been answered, Short Notice Question, if any, for that day is taken up and disposed of in the same way as the questions for oral answers.

Half-an-Hour Discussion

Where answer to a question whether Starred or Unstarred needs elucidation on a matter of fact, any member can table a notice for raising Half-an-Hour Discussion thereon. If the notice is admitted and gets priority in ballot such a discussion may be allowed by the Speaker. Normally, such discussions are held on three days in a week, viz., Monday, Wednesday and Friday except in Budget Session when such discussion is normally not held till the financial business is completed. The discussion is usually held from 17.30 to 18.00 hrs. During the  discussion, the member who has given notice makes a short statement and not more than four other members, who have given advance notice before 11.00 hours on the day on which discussion is to be held are permitted to ask a question each for further elucidating any matter of fact. Thereafter, the Minister concerned replies.

OUR PARLIAMENT

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses-Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.

The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952, the Second Lok Sabha in April, 1957, the Third Lok Sabha in April, 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March, 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March, 1971, the Sixth Lok Sabha in March, 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January, 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December, 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June, 1991, the Eleventh Lok Sabha in May, 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March, 1998, the Thirteenth Lok Sabha in October, 1999, the Fourteenth Lok Sabha in May, 2004 and the Fifteenth Lok Sabha in May, 2009.

LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha, as the name itself signifies, is the body of representatives of the people. Its members are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the adult population who are eligible to vote. The minimum qualifying age for membership of the House is 25 years. The present membership of Lok Sabha is 545. The number is divided among the different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 42

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 2

(3) Assam 14

(4) Bihar 40

(5) Chhattisgarh 11

(6) Goa 2

(7) Gujarat 26

(8) Haryana 10

(9) Himachal Pradesh 4

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 6

(11) Jharkhand 14

(12) Karnataka 28

(13) Kerala 20

(14) Madhya Pradesh 29

(15) Maharashtra 48

(16) Manipur 2

(17) Meghalaya 2

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 21

(21) Punjab 13

(22) Rajasthan 25

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 39

(25) Tripura 2

(26) Uttarakhand 5

(27) Uttar Pradesh 80

(28) West Bengal 42

(29) Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1

(30) Chandigarh 1

(31) Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1

(32) Daman & Diu 1

(33) NCT of Delhi 7

(34) Lakshadweep 1

(35) Pondicherry 1

(36) Anglo-Indians (if nominated 2 by the President under Article 331 of the Constitution)

RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha can be under 30 years of age.

Twelve of Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President from persons who have earned distinction in the fields of literature, art, science and social service.

Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. It is not subject to dissolution but one-third of its members retire every two years. Rajya Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on April 3, 1952 and it held its first sitting on May 13, that year.

There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha, distributed among different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 18

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 1

(3) Assam 7

(4) Bihar 16

(5) Chhattisgarh 5

(6) Goa 1

(7) Gujarat 11

(8) Haryana 5

(9) Himachal Pradesh 3

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 4

(11) Jharkhand 6

(12) Karnataka 12

(13) Kerala 9

(14) Madhya Pradesh 11

(15) Maharashtra 19

(16) Manipur 1

(17) Meghalaya 1

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 10

(21) Punjab 7

(22) Rajasthan 10

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 18

(25) Tripura 1

(26) Uttarakhand 3

(27) Uttar Pradesh 31

(28) West Bengal 16

(29) NCT of Delhi 3

(30) Pondicherry 1

(31) Nominated by the President under 12 Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution

Presiding Officers

Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its Presiding Officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by the  Deputy Speaker who is also elected by Lok Sabha. The conduct of business in Lok Sabha is the responsibility of the Speaker.

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.

Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The main function of both the Houses is to pass laws. Every Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented to by the President before it becomes law. The subjects over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Broadly speaking, Union subjects are those important subjects which for reasons of convenience, efficiency and security are administered on all-India basis. The principal Union subjects are Defence, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Transport and Communications, Currency and Coinage, Banking, Customs and Excise Duties. There are numerous other subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.

Under this category mention may be made of economic and social planning, social security and insurance, labour welfare, price control and vital statistics.

Besides passing laws, Parliament can by means of resolutions, motions for adjournment, discussions and questions addressed by members to Ministers exercise control over the administration of the country and safeguard people's liberties.

Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

(1) Members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the eligible voters. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

(2) The normal life of every Lok Sabha is 5 years only while Rajya Sabha is a permanent body.

(3) Lok Sabha is the House to which the Council of Ministers is responsible under the Constitution. Money Bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Also it is Lok Sabha which grants the money for running the administration of the country.

(4) Rajya Sabha has special powers to declare that it is necessary and expedient in the national interest that Parliament may make laws with respect to a matter in the State List or to create by law one or more all-India services common to the Union and the States.