Rajya Sabha records 96 pc productivity in first phase of Budget Session

The Rajya Sabha recorded 96 per cent productivity in the first phase of the budget session that concluded on Tuesday.During the nine scheduled sittings of Rajya Sabha, the House functioned for 38 hours 30 minutes against the scheduled available time of 41 hours and 10 minutes.While the House lost 5 hours 32 minutes on February 3 due to disruptions and forced adjournments, the members sat for 3 hours 56 minutes beyond the scheduled time resulting in a net loss of one hour 36 minutes, an official release said.On the first day, the House was adjourned after the Address of President to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament. It was adjourned the second day after laying of budget papers.During the six effective sittings of the Rajya Sabha, 155 members accounting for 69 per cent of the effective strength of the House spoke.A total of 323 interventions were made during the 6 functional days which comes to 54 per day.Thirteen members of Rajya Sabha who are ministers and Deputy Chairman