Need for consensus on Women Reservation Bill:Rijiju

The government has said that Women's Reservation Bill needs consensus among all political parties before bringing it into the Parliament for amendment in the Constitution. In a written reply in Lok Sabha, Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday said, gender justice is an important commitment of the government. He said in the past, three bills were introduced in the Parliament on this subject which lapsed due to one or the other reason.

The Centre has said India is on its way to achieve population stabilization. In a written answer in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said the Total Fertility Rate has declined to two in 2019-20 as per the fifth National Family Health Survey, adding, it is below the replacement level.

Various steps have been taken by the Government from time to time to strengthen the security of the country. Towards this, the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was created in December, 2019.  The CDS has been mandated to carry out integration and jointness in the Armed Forces including creation of Integrated Theatre Commands. The CDS has also been made permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee. A separate Department of Military Affairs (DMA) has been created to look after the matters related to Army, Air Force and Navy and jointness amongst the three services. Further, modernisation, upgradation and sustenance of military equipment and weapons is taken up from time to time, to equip the Armed Forces with modern weapon systems / equipment under various procurement provisions (DAP & DPM). Also in emergencies, special procurement powers to enhance the operational capability are given to Service Headquarters. This information was given by MoS Defence Ajay Bhatt in a written reply to Rattan Lal Kataria in Lok Sabha.

The country has recorded a total of  5,554 crore digital payment transactions in the Financial Year 2020-21. Replying to a question, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar in the Rajya Sabha said that 421 crore transactions through BHIM-UPI application, in October this year alone. He said, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA), Digital Payment Awareness Camps, Centre for Financial Literacy project, Financial Literacy Training Programmes, and Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System are some of initiatives to promote digital payments in rural areas in the country.