New Delhi [India]: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is currently leading an Indian Parliamentary Delegation to G20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P20) being organized in Rome from October 7 to 8, held a bilateral meeting with the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom Sir Lindsay Hoyle today. Speaking on the occasion, Birla said that every country has its own sovereignty which other countries should respect. No country should raise the internal affairs of other countries in its Parliament unless those matters affect the interests of that country. Both leaders agreed that the Members of their Parliaments must exchange views through parliamentary diplomacy and try to find out how democratic institutions can be strengthened in the interest of the people. Earlier today, Birla made an Intervention at the First Working Session on “Response to the Social and Employment Crisis caused by the Pandemic.” Speaking on the occasion, he underlined that in order to deal with global disasters in future, we need to treat the whole world as one ‘family’ and formulate an integrated and coordinated strategy to deal with global issues and Parliaments need to work together towards this goal. He emphasized that our priority should be to formulate developmental policies that ensure the welfare of all sections of society. He added that such development policies need to be extensively deliberated and discussed on multilateral platforms with the objective of preparing a suitable and sustainable global roadmap founded on the principles of social and economic justice. Birla said that COVID-19 has adversely affected several sectors of India’s economy. He added that in order to effectively deal with the pandemic, India has focused its efforts simultaneously on saving lives and livelihoods. He informed that the Parliament of India discharged its democratic duties even at the height of the pandemic and passed several legislations, including four historic labour laws, with the objective of enhancing employment generation and ensuring wage security, social security and job security for its citizens. He further informed that the Government of India gave special emphasis on reviving the national economy and a special package of $420 Billion to strengthen the country’s economy is currently being implemented. Observing that the government’s goal is to build a self-reliant India which will not only fulfil its own needs but also become an important part of the global supply chain, Birla said that to increase jobs in rural areas, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been further expanded and that more than 150 million people in rural areas are being provided employment. Further, to revitalize the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Sector, an allocation of 15,700 crore rupees has been made for this sector during the current year. He also spoke about the environment of good governance and transparency provided by the Government of India and said that India is now among the top 100 countries in the Ease of Doing Business. He expressed confidence that India will soon be the top investment destination in the world. Birla also noted that ambitious schemes like National Infrastructure Pipeline have been launched to strengthen the economic base of the Country which will not only boost economic growth but will also generate employment. He also informed the delegates that for the first time 430 million people in India have been directly added to the banking system. He further mentioned that under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, free of cost medical facilities have been provided to 165 million citizens. During the day, Lok Sabha Speaker also held bilateral meetings with Presiding Officers of Parliaments of the Netherlands and Germany.
