The time of the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha has increased compared to past years as in 2004 and 2014 when it was 28 per cent and now it has increased to 36 per cent, said, M Venkaiah Naidu, Chairman of the upper house of the parliament on Tuesday. During his address on the book launch–Connecting, Communicating and Changing: The Vice President of India’s three years in office– Vice President Naidu said, “After I become the chairman of Rajya Sabha, the time of the proceedings of the house has increased compared to the past year. In 2004 and 2014 it was 28 per cent, with the support of all MPs, it has increased to 36 per cent.” Naidu said that he has attended eight sessions after assuming the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. “Since assuming the office of the chairman of the house, I have presided over eight sessions beginning with 244th sessions. The average productivity of the house was found to be 65.50 per cent during this period. The productivity of four of these 8 sessions was good – 73 per cent in 246th session, 104 per cent in 249the session, 99 per cent in 250th sessions, and 76 per cent in 251.” Naidu said that the title of the book– Connecting, Communicating and Changing–primarily defines the contours of his mission and the outcomes. “Before COVID-19 pandemic, I had about 20 public engagements per month. I spoke at over 70 public events since August 2019 and addressed 14 convocations. My target groups have been–the farmers who are my first love, the youth including the students who are the future of the nation the scientists, the administrators, industry leaders and the Indian diaspora while on foreign visits,” he said. “The main objective of connecting and communicating with these targeted groups was to share with them my experiences, concerns, my world view and the way forward for building a new India besides knowing their perspectives. Since March this year, the ‘Mission Connect’ acquired a different dimension after COVID-19. With no travel and physical meetings, the only way to keep connected was through the medium of technology. Change is the only constant thing and we have to adapt to it,” he added.
