As the Winter Session of the Parliament entered its fourth day, Members of Parliament from opposition parties staged a protest against the worsening air quality of the capital. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 299 on Thursday morning, which falls under the 'poor' category.
Adjournment motion notices were introduced in the Lok Sabha by Congress MPs Manickam Tagore, Manish Tewari and Vijayakumar alias Vijay Vasanth in order to start a discussion on the intense air pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas.
Inside the house, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the 'Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025' up for debate and discussion in the Lok Sabha.
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Finance Minister Sitharaman introduced the bill as, "To augment the resources for meeting the expenditure on national security and for public health, and to levy a cess for the said purposes on the machines installed or other processes undertaken by which specified goods are manufactured or produced and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."
On Wednesday, a bill was passed in the Lok Sabha to levy more excise duty on tobacco and connected products after the ending of the GST compensation cess, The Hindu reported.