The 'Institution of Eminence' status to Reliance's proposed Jio Institute and Chinese firm Alibaba's stake in Paytm were among issues law makers raised in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Through a zero hour mention, K K Ragesh (CPM) said government has granted the status of 'Institution of Eminence' to six institutions of higher education - three each in public and private sector.
One of them is Jio Institute, an institute which is non-existent, he said adding the institute "plans to earn Rs 100 crore as fee" from students annually, which comes to Rs 1 crore per student.
It has been placed on par with the Indian Institutes of Technology at Delhi and Bombay, the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, the Birla Institute of Technology at Pilani, Rajasthan and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
Narendra Jadhav (nominated) raised the issue of Chinese firm Alibaba's stake in Paytm, which he saw as a "grave danger to national security".
With Paytm applying for a non-banking finance company (NBFC) license, the Chinese company is seeking to capture domestic lending market through predatory pricing and dumping, he said, adding Alibaba would get access to private data and expose India to "geopolitical risks".
He saw this as "surreptitious Chinese aggression" and said unfettered access can destroy strong fabric of services sector in India.
Ritabrata Banerjee (TMC) asked the government not to sell Bengal Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd as it has started to make profits.
Instead the central government should extend support to the company, he said.
Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP) raised the issue of compensation for farmers whose land is being acquired for the Jhansi-Khajurao National Highway, saying they were being paid on the basis of 2008 circle rates.
The farmers, he said, should be paid four times the present circle rate and not two times.
Madhusudan Mistry (Cong) sought land rights for non- tribal forest dwellers by reducing the criteria of proof of living in forests.
(PTI)
