New Delhi

The 252nd session of the Rajya Sabha ended on Wednesday with the passage of four bills, including three for labour codes that were passed as one bill.

The external affairs minister said India's relationship with Africa is based on four key pillars - development partnership, trade, people-to-people contact and cooperation in defence and security sector.

The case pertains to Mirchi's Mumbai properties, which have been called "proceeds of crime". According to the officials, the financial probe agency had already identified Mirchi's 30 properties in London, Dubai and Mumbai worth Rs 1,000 crore.

The guidelines by an expect committee, set up for revising the academic calendar in view of COVID-19 pandemic, have been accepted by the UGC and accordingly universities have been recommended a six-day teaching learning schedule every week.

The Congress was the first to walkout from the House and was later joined by the members of AAP, TMC and Left parties.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar congratulated farmers and state governments for record foodgrain production of 296.65 MT in the 2019-20 crop year.

Amid concerns raised by various Opposition members about The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the legislation was not against any religion or NGO.

Nityanand Rai added that 40 Nepali, 40 UK, 23 Kenya, 21 Malaysia, 18 Canada and 18 Singapore citizens were also given Indian citizenship during the same period.

Harsh Vardhan also said the ICMR has been conducting largescale sequencing of nationally representative strains and detailed results on mutations will be available in early October.

The minister was responding to a query by BJP MP Mahesh Poddar in the Upper House over the disposal of biomedical waste during the coronavirus crisis in the country.

Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur said that the government follows a policy of closure of centre public sector enterprises (CPSEs) in terms of the approved revised guidelines dated June 14, 2018 issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DP...

Santosh Gangwar also told the House that around one crore migrant workers returned to their native places during the lockdown.

Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said a series of measures have been put in place to check the spread of the coronavirus infection in the armed forces which included a campaign on preventive measures.

The Bill mandates that a default on repayments from March 25, the day when a nationwide lockdown began to curb the spread of coronavirus, would not be considered for initiating insolvency proceedings for at least six months.

Participating in the debate on Supplementary Demands for Grants 2020-21, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

The meeting also deliberated on arrangements being made to maintain the current level of troops and weapons in all forward areas in eastern Ladakh and other sensitive high-altitude sectors in the harsh winter months.