NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence will meet on Friday at 11 AM to hear oral evidence from representatives of the Ministry of Defence regarding the review of Sainik Schools, the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), and the Rashtriya Military Schools.
The meeting will take place in the Committee Room of the Parliament House Annexe. Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi is also a member of this committee.
Last month, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committees for 2024-2025 were constituted, with Congress members chairing four committees, including External Affairs.
Each committee is a combination of members from both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.
The Congress has been given the chairmanship of four key panels. The committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports will be headed by Digvijaya Singh. The committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing will be led by former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The committee on Rural and Panchayati Raj will be led by Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, and Shashi Tharoor will head the External Affairs committee.
BJP’s Radha Mohan Singh heads the committee on Defence, while Bhartruhari Mahtab leads the committee on Finance. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur and Rajiv Pratap Rudy were given the chairmanships of the committees on Coal, Mines and Steel, and Water Resources, respectively.
BJP member Nishikant Dubey was made the chairman of the committee on Communications and Information Technology.
Dr Radha Mohan Das Agrawal of the BJP heads the Committee on Home Affairs. The committee on Commerce will be headed by TMC’s Dola Sen. The committee on Health and Family Welfare will be led by Prof. Ram Gopal Yadav of the Samajwadi Party.
Tiruchi Siva of the DMK is the head of the panel on Industry. This committee is tasked with overseeing and providing legislative oversight on issues related to commerce, trade policies, and economic development concerning India’s commerce sector. The committee plays a vital role in reviewing policy matters and ensuring that the commerce sector contributes effectively to the nation’s economy.
The Committee on Communications and IT has members including SP’s Jaya Bachchan, SS-UBT’s Priyanka Chaturvedi, BJD’s Sushmit Patra, and INC’s KTS Tulsi from the Upper House, as well as BJP MPs Anil Baluni, Kangana Ranaut, and Poonam Madam, along with TMC’s Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha.
Major BJP allies, such as the TDP and Janata Dal (United), along with its partners in poll-bound Maharashtra–the Shiv Sena and the NCP–will head one committee each: the committee on Energy (headed by Shiv Sena’s Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne), Housing and Urban Affairs (TDP’s Magenta Sreenivasulu Reddy), and Petroleum and Natural Gas (NCP’s Sunil Tatkare). JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha is heading the committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture, while TDP’s Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy will chair the committee on Housing and Urban Affairs.(ANI)