The Evening Wrap: Budget session of Parliament from July 22

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, on July 6, said that the Budget session of Parliament will be held from July 22 to August 12. Mr. Rijiju added that the Union Budget 2024-25 will be presented on July 23. Mr. Rijiju in his X (formerly Twitter) post said “Hon’ble President of India, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024 from 22nd July, 2024 to 12 August, 2024 (Subject to exigencies of Parliamentary Business). Union Budget, 2024-25 will be presented in Lok Sabha on 23 July, 2024.” After the general elections 2024, a special session of Parliament was held from June 24. The new Members of Parliament took oath and President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint session of Parliament on June 27. This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Murmu’s assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps. NEET-UG counselling likely to begin by month-end The counselling for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024, is expected to start by the end of this month, official sources said. The counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July. However, the counselling authorities had not notified any date or schedule. The sources said the process of issuing permission letters to some medical colleges was still underway and additional seats were likely to be added. “The date of counselling will be announced once the exercise gets over to ensure seats of the new colleges can be taken up in the first round itself,” an official source said. They said the counselling process might begin later this month. Amid growing clamour for cancellation of the controversy-ridden National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024, over alleged malpractice, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court on Friday that scrapping it without any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality would be counterproductive as it could “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates. Modi, Starmer agree to expedite India-U.K. free trade agreement Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 6 spoke to newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the two leaders agreed to work towards an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-U.K. free trade agreement, a statement said. Mr. Modi congratulated him on assuming charge and a remarkable victory of his Labour Party in the election. The statement said both the leaders recalled the historic relations between India and the U.K. and reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the countries. Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the U.K., they agreed to continue to promote the close people-to-people ties. Mr. Modi also extended an invitation to Mr. Starmer for an early visit to India as the two leaders agreed to remain in touch, the statement said. In a post on X, Mr. Modi said that he congratulated Mr. Starmer on being elected as the Prime Minister of the UK. “We remain committed to deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and robust India-UK economic ties for the progress and prosperity of our peoples and global good,” the post said. Implementation of NRC can be done under strict supervision of Supreme Court: Kuki group An apex body of the Kuki-Zo community on July 6 said it would not oppose the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur if it was carried out under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The condition set by the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) followed demands for an Assam-like NRC by Meitei and Naga organisations to “check infiltration” from across Manipur’s border with civil war-torn Myanmar. Assam underwent a major exercise to update the NRC of 1951. The exercise has remained in limbo since the complete draft was published in August 2019, leaving out 19.06 lakh of some 3.3 crore applicants from the list of citizens. The KIM said its members would not dispute any genuine effort to identify non-citizens and take necessary action according to the “constitutional rules and principles”, provided the NRC is carried out under the strict supervision of the Supreme Court and in due consultation with tribal organisations. “Subsequently, any illegal immigrant found, whether a Kuki, Naga or Meitei, may be thoroughly dealt with as per the established laws of the country,” KIM leader Janghaolun Haokip said in a statement. “The unwarranted and brutal hostilities against our people by the Meiteis must end, and only then a procedural conduct of NRC in Kuki-Zo inhabited regions can be justifiable and viable,” he said, stressing the need for the constitutional protection of the Kuki-Zo people by creating a Union Territory for them. “The Meitei State leadership responsible for the oppression and persecution of our people, causing the loss of 186 precious lives, the arson and destruction of more than 7,000 houses, and rendering more than 41,000 Kuki-Zo people homeless, has no legitimate say and authority over the future of our people,” Mr. Haokip said. In Brief: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he is scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda. “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Mr. Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.” The move was one of Mr. Starmer’s first acts in office, though it was widely expected. He had said during his campaign that he would ditch the plan that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but never taken flight. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 06 July 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [View in browser]( [More newsletters]( Budget session of Parliament from July 22 Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, on July 6, said that the [Budget session of Parliament will be held from July 22 to August 12](. Mr. Rijiju added that the Union Budget 2024-25 will be presented on July 23. Mr. Rijiju in his X (formerly Twitter) post said “Hon’ble President of India, on the recommendation of Government of India, has approved the proposal for summoning of both the Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session, 2024 from 22nd July, 2024 to 12 August, 2024 (Subject to exigencies of Parliamentary Business). Union Budget, 2024-25 will be presented in Lok Sabha on 23 July, 2024.” After the general elections 2024, a special session of Parliament was held from June 24. The new Members of Parliament took oath and President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint session of Parliament on June 27. This will be the first budget presented by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its third term amid high anticipation following President Murmu’s assertion that it will be marked by many historic steps. NEET-UG counselling likely to begin by month-end The counselling for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024, is [expected to start by the end of this month]( official sources said. The counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July. However, the counselling authorities had not notified any date or schedule. The sources said the process of issuing permission letters to some medical colleges was still underway and additional seats were likely to be added. “The date of counselling will be announced once the exercise gets over to ensure seats of the new colleges can be taken up in the first round itself,” an official source said. They said the counselling process might begin later this month. Amid growing clamour for cancellation of the controversy-ridden National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024, over alleged malpractice, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court on Friday that scrapping it without any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality would be counterproductive as it could “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates. Modi, Starmer agree to expedite India-U.K. free trade agreement Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 6 [spoke to newly-elected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer]( as the two leaders agreed to work towards an early conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-U.K. free trade agreement, a statement said. Mr. Modi congratulated him on assuming charge and a remarkable victory of his Labour Party in the election. The statement said both the leaders recalled the historic relations between India and the U.K. and reaffirmed their commitment to deepen and advance the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the countries. Appreciating the positive contributions of the Indian community in the social, economic and political development of the U.K., they agreed to continue to promote the close people-to-people ties. Mr. Modi also extended an invitation to Mr. Starmer for an early visit to India as the two leaders agreed to remain in touch, the statement said. In a post on X, Mr. Modi said that he congratulated Mr. Starmer on being elected as the Prime Minister of the UK. “We remain committed to deepening Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and robust India-UK economic ties for the progress and prosperity of our peoples and global good,” the post said. Implementation of NRC can be done under strict supervision of Supreme Court: Kuki group An apex body of the Kuki-Zo community on July 6 said it would not oppose the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Manipur [if it was carried out under the supervision of the Supreme Court](. The condition set by the Kuki Inpi Manipur (KIM) followed demands for an Assam-like NRC by Meitei and Naga organisations to “check infiltration” from across Manipur’s border with civil war-torn Myanmar. Assam underwent a major exercise to update the NRC of 1951. The exercise has remained in limbo since the complete draft was published in August 2019, leaving out 19.06 lakh of some 3.3 crore applicants from the list of citizens. The KIM said its members would not dispute any genuine effort to identify non-citizens and take necessary action according to the “constitutional rules and principles”, provided the NRC is carried out under the strict supervision of the Supreme Court and in due consultation with tribal organisations. “Subsequently, any illegal immigrant found, whether a Kuki, Naga or Meitei, may be thoroughly dealt with as per the established laws of the country,” KIM leader Janghaolun Haokip said in a statement. “The unwarranted and brutal hostilities against our people by the Meiteis must end, and only then a procedural conduct of NRC in Kuki-Zo inhabited regions can be justifiable and viable,” he said, stressing the need for the constitutional protection of the Kuki-Zo people by creating a Union Territory for them. “The Meitei State leadership responsible for the oppression and persecution of our people, causing the loss of 186 precious lives, the arson and destruction of more than 7,000 houses, and rendering more than 41,000 Kuki-Zo people homeless, has no legitimate say and authority over the future of our people,” Mr. Haokip said. In Brief: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he is [scrapping a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda](. “The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started,” Mr. Starmer said in his first news conference. “It’s never acted as a deterrent. Almost the opposite.” The move was one of Mr. Starmer’s first acts in office, though it was widely expected. He had said during his campaign that he would ditch the plan that has cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but never taken flight. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Today’s Top Picks [[T.N. BSP leader Armstrong murder: CM Stalin expresses condolences; 8 arrested, supporters stage road roko in Chennai] T.N. 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