THE Government on Wednesday said there has been a significant improvement in tackling online gambling and betting activities, with more than 1,000 betting and gambling websites banned in 2024. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, told the Lok Sabha that both state governments and the Centre have to work together to deal with such activities. Responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour, the minister asserted that whenever any instances of violations come to the notice of the central government, action is taken within the Constitutional framework. Various members raised concerns about online gambling activities and violent online games adversely impacting young people.

 

According to Vaishnaw, 1,097 betting and gambling websites were banned in 2024 and with coordination among various agencies handling cyber-related crimes, there has been a significant improvement in dealing with such activities. Railway tracks throughout the country are kept vacant for a few hours every day for maintenance keeping in mind the safety of train travel, Vaishnaw said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. 7,971 stone pelting cases on trains including Vande Bharat reported since 2023; 4,549 people arrested: Govt: RAILWAY Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that 7,971 incidents of stone pelting on trains, including Vande Bharat, have been reported from 2023 till February 2025, with 4,549 people arrested in these cases. In the Lok Sabha, Dharmapuri Arvind, a BJP MP, raised the issue of stone pelting on trains and asked if the Government has sought a fact-finding report to track down the primary reason behind such incidents. “During the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 (up to February), 7,971 incidents of stone pelting on trains including Vande Bharat trains have been reported. “Each case is registered under legal provisions followed by proper enquiry of offenders and their prosecution.

 

In response to such incidents, 4,549 persons involved in stone pelting have been arrested,” Vaishnaw said in his reply. House needs to deliberate on freebies: Dhankhar: VICE President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Wednesday opined that there should be a structured discussion on freebies and subsidies in the House as there is an urgent need for a national policy to help put all government investments to the larger good. Responding to the demand made by Samajwadi Party’s Ram Gopal Yadav for increasing the funds, which Members of Parliament have at their disposal for developmental projects and schemes in their respective constituencies to Rs 20 crore a year from the current Rs 5 crore during the zero hour, Dhankhar said he would be open to a structured discussion on the issue if the government and the opposition agree. Electoral freebies, such as free electricity and water, subsidised cooking gas, and cash handouts to certain groups like farmers and women, have often been criticised as something that may lead to unsustainable financial burdens on the government, distort public resources, and undermine long-term development goals.

 

“On placatory mechanisms, on appeasement, which is often known as freebies, this House needs to deliberate. I will be open to a structured discussion after consulting the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition,” he said. The country can grow only if money is available for capital expenditure, he said. Capital expenditure or capex is expenditure for creating assets such as infrastructure that yield long-term returns for the economy. In contrast, freebies are revenue expenditures that do not contribute to the creation or acquisition of fixed assets. “Electoral process is such that these have become electoral allurements and thereafter the governments that came in the saddle, found themselves very uncomfortable, so uncomfortable that they wanted to revisit their thoughts,” he said.

 

“There is an urgent need for a national policy so that all investments of the government in any form are used in a structured manner for the larger good.” If the leaders of both sides agree, there can be a discussion, he said adding this is a very serious issue. The comments assume significance as many states faced challenges in funding electoral freebies, particularly due to the financial strain they place on state budgets. States like Punjab have faced financial constraints in meeting poll promises. Dhankhar then touched upon the issue of subsidies. “Subsidies, if required in areas like the farm sector, should be direct. That is the practice in developed countries. I checked with the US mechanism. The US has 1/5th of farm households as our country but the average income of a US farm household is more than the general income of a US household, and that is because the subsidy to the farmer is direct, transparent, without intermediary,” he said. This issue can also be discussed subject to the two sides agreeing, he said. In his zero hour submission, Yadav said MLAs in Uttar Pradesh get Rs 5 crore for constituency development and those in Delhi have Rs 10 crore at their disposal.

 

Five assembly constituencies make for one Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh which makes it a cumulative of Rs 25 crore available with the MLAs annually for their constituencies in comparison to Rs 5 crore provision in the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLAD), he said and went on to site how the cost of construction has risen in the last two decades, making the MPLAD funds inadequate to nurture constituencies. He demanded that MPLAD fund amount be raised to Rs 20 crore, it be exempt from GST and a technical cell be created for estimates and quality inspection of work done. “If this is not possible, then MPLADs should be abolished,” he said. Dhankhar remarked that the constitution does not provide for a uniform mechanism for pay and perks of MPs and MLAs. Some assemblies give members perks and salaries that are much more than what Members of Parliament (MPs) get. “Even the pension variation for a former member of the assembly is on a scale of 1 to 10. If in one state, one is getting one rupee, in the other state the pension will be 10 times,” he said.

 

He said in the Constituent Assembly debates, one of the distinguished members, Sidhwa, reflecting on the power of Parliament to remove the judges, said, “It is very good to arrogate power without examining other elements. But trust me, he reflected, the number of judges will grow, we will not be able to fructify even one.” In order to control these incidents, the Minister said, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in coordination with the Government Railway Police (GRP)/district police and civil administration took several steps such as an awareness programme in inhabited areas adjacent to the railway track to sensitise people towards the menace of stone pelting and its consequences. Guidelines were issued regarding action to be taken to control incidents of stone pelting on moving trains and regular drives against anti-social elements like drunkards, mischievous elements etc. At the identified vulnerable spots. “The train escorting parties have been sensitised to remain more vigilant in the vulnerable sections/spots, where incidents of vandalising on trains are frequently reported,” Vaishnaw said.

 

He said, “State Level Security Committee of Railways (SLSCR) have been constituted for all State and Union territories under the chairmanship of respective Director General of Police/Commissioner of States/Union territories for regular monitoring and review of security arrangements of the Railways.” ‘Gaganyaan astronauts kept out of public glare to ensure no distractions’ The four astronauts selected for Gaganyaan, India’s first human space flight mission, have been kept out of the public glare to ensure that there were no distractions, as they were undergoing certain acclimatisation and training programmes, the government said on Wednesday. Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajit Krishnan and Shubanshu Shukla have been selected for the mission. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Jitendra Singh, told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, “It was a view that giving too much exposure to the media and the public might cause a distraction which may not be in the compatible interest of all.” Rural areas avail over 75 pc cancer treatments under PMJAY: Rural areas in the country have availed over 75 per cent cancer treatments under the Government’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY), Union Health Minister JP Nadda has informed. Nadda stated in the Parliament that the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme has enabled more than 68 lakh cancer treatments worth over Rs 13,000 crore across the country.