Monsoon session to be announced soon; may see mix of virtual & physical participation

The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequential lockdown had halted economic activities and physical movement of the citizens across the country. However, the economic activities have resumed in several parts of the country with the unlock 2.0 relaxations announced by the Centre and majority of the state governments.

In a significant development, the Monsoon Session of the parliament is also likely to be announced soon as the Secretary Generals of both the Houses of Parliament have been asked to make the necessary arrangements for the upcoming session, according to PTI sources. The session is likely to be attended in person by members while following social distancing norms.

Confirming the news, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said, "Monsoon session (of Parliament) will be held for sure. The government will do all the formalities and take all precautions."

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Earlier, reports claimed that the Monsoon Session would be shorter than the usual sessions and would start from mid-August with a hybrid structure, which means a mixture of some attending physically while others through the digital medium. 

According to previous reports, officials were quoted as saying that some of the members may sit in the two houses on designated seats with social distancing and occupying the first floor too, while others may attend the proceedings digitally from the Parliament's library building situated next to the Parliament main building. The members attending from library building would attend through the online platform of the National Informatics Centre (NIC) which has the capacity to accommodate up to 600 visitors. It was also reported that the working hours each day would be reduced and the sittings will be held on alternate days, while the remaining days would be utilised for sanitisation of the parliamentary premises.

India has reported 8,20,916 COVID-19 infections, of which, 2,83,407 are active while 22,123 have died due to the virus. However, what comes as a piece of good news, is the recovery rate of the country is getting better by the day. India has witnessed a total 5,15, 386 recoveries with the recovery rate rising to 62.78%.

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