Ghulam Nabi Azad

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to intervene during the debate on the Bill in Lok Sabha around 6 PM.

"What we need is an optimal (GST) rate," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while addressing a press conference a day after the Rajya Sabha approved the historic Constitution Amendment Bill, paving way for a complete overhaul of the indirect tax regime in the country.

Sources said the Bill will be brought in the Rajya Sabha early next week with the leaders of Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and the Left parties meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and expressing their approval.

"Spoke to all parties over the past days, everyone is in the mood to further development. Hope Monsoon Session observes high standards of discussions and important decisions are made," Modi said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar met senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma on Friday. The government has also called an all-party meet on Sunday, a day before Parliament session begins, to bring in a consensus on the crucial GST Bill.

Maintaining that Mallya lived a "luxurious life" and had bases in several countries, the Congress leader said Mallya is not a "needle" and moves around with an entourage and expressed surprise how he managed to leave the country despite a CBI "Look Out Notice".

Modi, speaking in the Lok Sabha, used wit and barbs as he responded to the attack by Congress over various initiatives of his government, including 'Make in India' and MNREGA.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "nothing new was discussed at this meeting apart from what was discussed at the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) meeting."

The debate over regulation of generic drugs is far from over. However, the department of pharmaceuticals has decided to revive another long-standing issue regulating the prices of patented drugs, reports CNBC-TV18's Archana Shukla.

The inter-ministerial group that was set up to clear FDI in pharma brownfield projects has come out with stringent guidelines that could impact pharma mergers and acquisitions in India, reports CNBC-TV18's Ronojoy Banerjee.

CNN IBN's Editor-in-chief, Rajdeep Sardesai, tells CNBC-TV18 that though a date cannot be fixed for the cabinet reshuffle, it is likely to be ‘expansive’ in nature.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to finally break his silence amidst criticism that he has been quiet over the Lokpal issue. He will be meeting editors on Wednesday, this, even as he gets ready to reshuffle his team. Sources say it's expected to be a major one.