Parliament Diary: No devaluation, some depreciation of Rupee
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said there has been no devaluation of the Indian Rupee (INR) and the value of INR is market-determined, with no target or specific level or band. She added that since the commencement of the last quarter of the calendar year 2024, INR, along with other Asian currencies, depreciated against the USD amid uncertainties surrounding the result of the US elections. The US Dollar Index rose 6.5 per cent from October 1, 2024, to January 27, 2025, with all major Asian currencies depreciating against the USD. INR depreciated 2.9% during this period, least among major Asian currencies, barring the Hong Kong dollar. South Korean Won, Indonesian Rupiah and Malaysian Ringgit depreciated by 8.1%, 6.4% and 5.9%, respectively, in this period.
4,558 women went to Haj without mehram
A total of 4,558 female pilgrims undertook the Haj pilgrimage without a mehram (male companion) in 2024 which is an all-time high since the introduction of the ‘Ladies without Mehram’ category in Haj 2018, Minister of Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha, answering a question by BJP MP Kiran Choudhry. The minister added that more than 78,000 out of a total 1,75,025 pilgrims from India registered on the Haj Suvidha app during Haj 2024 and over 8,500 grievances and more than 2,100 SOS calls were addressed through the app. Rijiju said missing baggage cases also reduced drastically during Haj 2024 as a result of the QR code mechanism of baggage identification being introduced through the app.
5,372 workers died from 2019-2022
Sharing information received from states, Minister of State for Labour Shobha Karandlaje said in Lok Sabha that 5,372 fatal injuries happened in India under the Factories Act between 2018 and 2022. Under the Factories Act, 1948, in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, there were 1,154, 1,127, 1,050, 988 and 1,053 fatal injuries, respectively.
Tax collection up after cut in corporate tax
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Lok Sabha that direct tax collections have increased after the reduction of corporate tax rates with effect from assessment year 2020-21, except in FY 2020-21 which was a Covid year. Net direct tax collection (in crore) rose through the years —from Rs 10,50,681 in 2019-2020 to Rs 14,12,422 in 2021-22 to Rs 16,14,572 in 2024-25 (up to December 31, 2024). The net Foreign Investment Inflows have also increased from $44,417 (in million) in FY 2019-20 to $53,105 (in million) in FY 2023-24.
