Lok Sabha gets Rs 903 crore, Rajya Sabha Rs 413 crore in Budget
New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha has been allocated Rs 903 crore in the Union Budget, more than double the amount given to the Rajya Sabha.
A sizeable allocation -- Rs 558.81 crore of the total Rs 903 crore -- has been assigned to the Lok Sabha Secretariat, which also includes Grants in Aid to the Sansad TV.
Of the Rs 413 crore allocated to Rajya Sabha, Rs 2.52 crore have been assigned for salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
The budget for Rajya Sabha also has a separate allocation of Rs 3 crore for the salaries and allowances of Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and his secretariat. The budget has also allocated Rs 98.84 crore for members.
For Lok Sabha, Rs 1.56 crore has been allocated for salaries and allowances of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and there is no separate provision for the office of the Leader of the Opposition.
There was no Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha for 10 years as no opposition party had the required numbers to be eligible for the post.
The Lok Sabha budget allocated Rs 338.79 crore for members. Lok Sabha has 543 members, while Rajya Sabha has 245.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
