Both Houses of Parliament will function as per the pre-COVID-19 timings, starting Tuesday. Proceedings in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will begin at 11 am and conclude at 6 pm. The decision was announced in both the Houses on Monday, day 1 of the second part of the Budget session.

What were the timings till now

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha operated under curtailed hours of timing and social distancing norms.

Rajya Sabha functioned from 9 am to 2 pm and Lok Sabha from 4 pm to 9 pm.

The curtailed hours of timing were put in place since the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Pre-COVID-19 timing

In Rajya Sabha, Vandana Chavan, who was on the chair on Monday announced that the House would run from 11 am to 6 pm, starting Tuesday. She cited a written message from Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

In Lok Sabha, Speaker Om Birla announced the same.

Second part of Budget session

The second part of the Budget session began on Monday. On the first day, Rajya Sabha witnessed protests over the fuel price hike and proceedings had to be adjourned multiple times.

In the second part of the Budget session, the treasury bench will focus on passing the Finance Bill and various demands for grants for the year 2021-22. Discussions on the Finance Bill will take place from March 19-22.

Among the bills listed for passage by the government are the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development Bill, Electricity (Amendment) Bill, among others.

The session will conclude on April 8.