The Monsoon Session of Parliament begins next week. The dates were announced 45 days ago. Unusual. Normally, schedules for Parliament sessions are put out 18-20 days in advance. The reason for the early announcement of dates for this Monsoon Session, by a skittish NDA government, is simple: Avoid a Special Session of Parliament and delay a discussion in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha where hard questions on Pahalgam, Poonch, and Rajouri have to be answered. In the forthcoming session, in what format will this discussion be held? This government has shied away from allowing even one discussion proposed by the Opposition (under any rule) since December 2023. A dubious record. What can we look forward to in the upcoming 21-day session?
For Narendra Modi and his team, there is no running away from answering 21 hours of questions in each House this session. A total of 42 hours. Question Hour, for 60 minutes a day, puts Union ministers in the hot seat. They are obliged to reply, either orally on the floor of the House (starred questions), or in writing (unstarred questions). On average, nine questions are answered orally on the floor of Parliament every day, and over 400 questions receive written replies daily.
With notices for discussions on important subjects not being accepted for the past one-and-a-half years, Question Hour is one of the few tools still available in our parliamentary democracy to hold this government accountable. Here are 12 questions asked in the Budget Session of Parliament, 2025. Each answer from the government tells a story.
Atal Pension Yojana: The reply to Mallikarjun Kharge’s (INC) question on the Atal Pension Yojana revealed that over 1.11 crore accounts have been closed since the scheme’s inception. From 1 October 2022, the scheme’s rules were revised and income tax payers were made ineligible to be enrolled in the scheme.
PM Internship scheme: Prakash Chik Baraik’s (AITC) question revealed that in Phase I of the scheme, only 28,141 applicants had accepted internships out of the 1.27 lakh opportunities published. A meagre 22 per cent.
UDAN scheme: In reply to a question by Priyanka Chaturvedi (Shiv Sena-UBT), the government stated that 619 routes were operationalised under UDAN, of which 48 per cent are non-operational now. 114 routes had been discontinued before the completion of three years.
Samagra Shiksha scheme: John Brittas’s (CPM) question was on the integrated scheme for school education. The answer showed that Rs 2,152 crore was allocated for Tamil Nadu, Rs 1,746 crore allocated for West Bengal, and Rs 329 crore for Kerala. No funds were released to any of the three states.
Vacancies in Kendriya Vidyalayas: In response to Ramji Lal Suman’s (SP) question, the Union government replied that as of December 2024, there were 8,977 vacancies in Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, of which 7,414 (83 per cent) were for teaching posts.
Manual scavengers: K Gopinath’s (INC) question on manual scavenging revealed that 430 deaths occurred due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks between 2019 and April 2025. Consider this: Manual scavenging has been banned in India since 2013.
Cyberattacks: Sanjeev Arora (AAP) sought details on cyberattacks that target India’s critical sectors (banking, healthcare, energy, and others). The government gave a composite figure which showed that between 2020 and 2024, there have been over 75.86 lakh cybersecurity incidents. A 76 per cent increase in 2024 compared to 2020.
Digital frauds: In an answer to Neeraj Dangi’s (INC) question, the government answered that from 2022 to 2023, the number of digital payment frauds had increased by 334 per cent. In rupee value, the rise was 425 per cent (from Rs 277 crore in 2022 to Rs 1,457 in 2023).
PM Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM): The PM-KUSUM scheme was launched to provide energy and water security to farmers. Bajrang Manohar Sonwane’s (NCP-SP) question revealed that out of the 10,000 megawatts (MW) sanctioned for renewable energy-based power plants, 431 MW has been installed; that is, only 4.3 per cent.
Loan write-offs: Amra Ram (CPM) asked a question on loan write-offs by scheduled commercial banks. The answer stated that between 2014 and 2023, loans worth more than Rs 16 lakh crore were written off, out of which 57 per cent were of large industries and services.
Malnutrition: Rajeev Rai (SP) and Hanuman Beniwal (RLP) asked about children suffering from malnutrition. The answer stated that two out of five children up to five years of age who are enrolled in Anganwadis and registered on the poshan tracker of the Ministry of Women & Child Development are stunted in India.
Indebtedness of farmers: Your columnist (AITC) questioned the government on the increasing debt burden of farmers. In response, government data revealed that the average amount of outstanding loan per agricultural household was Rs 74,000. The highest levels of debt were in Andhra Pradesh (Rs 2.46 lakh), followed by Kerala (Rs 2.42 lakh), Punjab (Rs 2.03 lakh), Haryana (Rs 1.83 lakh), and Telangana (Rs 1.52 lakh).
The writer is MP and leader, All India Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party. Additional research: Ayashman Dey, Dheemunt Jain
