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Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju has called an all-party meeting at 11 am on January 27 to discuss key national issues and legislative business ahead of the Budget Session, according to sources.
The meeting will be held in the main Committee Room of Parliament and will set the agenda for the session, which begins on January 28 and runs until April 2. The Budget Session will commence on January 28 and continue till April 2, with one break. The first phase is scheduled from January 28 to February 13, while the second phase will run from March 9 to April 2. The Budget Session will feature 30 sittings, with the Union Budget 2026-27 being presented on February 1. President Droupadi Murmu will formally open the session, addressing members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Ahead of the budget, the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday took to X to highlight the previously announced customs duty rates. During the previous Budget sessions, in a decisive move to solidify India's position as a global electronics hub and to promote domestic manufacturing of electronic goods, the Union Finance Ministry announced an increase in the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on flat panel displays to 20 per cent. The move was aimed at correcting the inverted duty structure on the goods. The Ministry also reduced the BCD on open cells and key components to 5 per cent. "In line with our 'Make in India' policy, and to rectify inverted duty structure, I propose to increase the BCD on Interactive Flat Panel Display (IFPD) from 10 per cent to 20 per cent and reduce the BCD to 5 per cent on Open Cell and other components," the Finance Minister said in a post on X. To further boost local manufacture of Open Cells for LCD/LED TVs, BCD on parts of Open Cells was fully exempted, building on earlier reductions, it said. The all-party meeting is set to discuss the agenda for the session to ensure a smooth proceeding. In the last two sessions, including the monsoon and winter sessions in 2025, the Opposition parties have sought to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, which is underway across the country. In the last session, certain leaders have called for a discussion on the Delhi blast near Red Fort, air pollution, and other pressing matters. At the end, the government decided to hold special discussions on the song 'Vande Mataram' on its 150th anniversary and on 'Election Reform'. (ANI)
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