Parliament passes the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021
Parliament has passed the National Institutes of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management Bill, 2021. The Bill was unanimously passed by the Loksabha today, which was earlier cleared by the Rajya Sabha on 15th March this year.
Briefing the media after the passage of the Bill in Parliament, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries Shri Pashupati Kumar Paras said this is a historic day as with the passing of this bill, our two educational institutes, National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM)Kundali (Haryana) and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology(IIFPT)Thanjabur (Tamil Nadu) under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries became Institutions of National Importance (INI).
Shri Parasexpressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shri Pralhad Joshi and all the Members of Parliament and senior officials of the Ministry for this landmark step, which will provide these Institutes Greater Autonomy, so that they can start new and innovative courses, as well as help them to attract excellent faculty and students. He said, Global standards can also be adopted in academic and research work.
The Minister said, these institutes will have curricular provision related to food processing areas e.g. cold chain technology, food bio nanotechnology which can help in filling the technological gap. He said, now they can open new centres anywhere in the country and abroad. Along with this, giving them the status of Institute of National Importance (INI) will also pave the way for the creation of skilled manpower.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor of NIFTEM, Dr ChindiVasudevappa said that hereafter all efforts will be made to upgrade infrastructure, Human Resources and lab facilities at par with IITs and IIMs. He said, our students can be trained internationally in Food Science and Technology, being the only stand-alone University.
Government will take an aggressive stand on legislative work
◾Strategy made in the meeting led by PM
◾Preparation to pass all the bills related to the ordinance in two weeks
Amid the ongoing stalemate in the monsoon session, the government has now decided to take an aggressive approach to settle the legislative business. In the meeting of top ministers led by PM Narendra Modi on Monday, a strategy has been made to pass all the six bills related to the ordinance in the next nine meetings of the session. Apart from this, the government will also get some important bills passed, bypassing the uproar of the opposition.
The first half-hour meeting of PM with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Leader in Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal, BJP President JP Nadda was held before the proceedings started. Sources said that in this meeting, the PM criticized the attitude of the opposition and directed them to give priority to the disposal of legislative business. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister has also been directed to ensure the presence of MPs in the remaining meetings of the session. Apart from the six bills related to the ordinance, the PM has also directed to identify other bills of importance and prepare for their passage.
Glimpses of strategy seen in Lok Sabha
The first glimpse of the strategy made in the meeting was seen in the Lok Sabha on Monday. Two bills were passed on Monday amid uproar by the opposition in the House. Apart from this, a bill related to the ordinance was also introduced. The government plans to get all the bills related to the ordinance passed in the Lok Sabha this week, so that the consent of the Rajya Sabha can be taken by next week.
The process of contacting the opposition will continue in the meeting, a strategy has also been made to keep in constant touch with the opposition, propose discussion on various issues in front of it. Apart from this, it has also been decided to separately contact the opposition parties who have kept themselves away from the uproar. Through this, the government wants to send a message that only a few parties in the opposition, especially the Congress, are not interested in running the proceedings. It is noteworthy that some parties like BJD, YSR Congress, TRS have so far kept distance from the opposition parties who created ruckus.
PM will give message in parliamentary party meeting
BJP Parliamentary Party meeting will be held on Tuesday. In the meeting, the PM will give a message to the MPs regarding the strategy of the government. In the meeting, all the MPs will be asked to be present in the house at all costs.
However, the Chief Whip and other Whips of both the Houses have been asked to approach the MPs on Monday itself for giving directions in this regard.
