Monsoon Session: House may consider 25 Bills

Parliament is likely to consider about 25 Bills during the Monsoon Session beginning on July 19. The Centre and the chairpersons of both the House will hold meetings leaders of all parties to finalise the agenda for the sitting.

According to a bulletin issued by the Rajya Sabha secretariat, 25 Bills may come up during the session other than two financial businesses such as the consideration and return of the Appropriation Bill related to Supplementary Demands for Grants for the year 2020-21 and the consideration and return of the Appropriation Bill related to Excess Demands for Grants for the year 2017-18.

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Pending Bills

Two Bills, passed by Lok Sabha, are pending in Rajya Sabha. They are the Marine Aids to Navigation Bill and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill. The first Bill will replace the existing Lighthouse Act, 1927 for incorporating technological advances in the field of aids to marine navigation and to fulfil international obligations with reference to global best practices. Lok Sabha passed the Bill during the Budget session. The second Bill is to amend the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill was passed by Lok Sabha two year ago. A Select Committee of Rajya Sabha examined it and submitted a report in February, 2020. The Bill, to constitute National Surrogacy Board, State Surrogacy Boards and appointment of appropriate authorities for regulation of the practice and process of surrogacy is also likely to come up for discussion during the upcoming session.

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The Tribunal Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Bill, the Bill to amend the service conditions of Chairpersons and Members of various Tribunals and other various Central Acts in order to abolish five Tribunals/Appellate Tribunals is pending in Lok Sabha.

The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill of 2019 is also pending in Lok Sabha. The Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change submitted a report on the Bill during the last budget session. The Bill aims to provide for the regulation of the use and application of Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid (DNA) technology to establish the identity of certain category of persons including the victims, offenders, suspects, under trials, missing persons and unknown deceased persons and to establish National and Regional DNA Data Banks for the maintenance of the national forensic DNA database for identifying such persons.

The Factoring Regulation (Amendment) Bill, examined by the Finance Standing Committee, is also pending before Lok Sabha. The Bill is to enhance the economic and financial sustainability of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector by facilitating MSMEs and to address the liquidity crunch being faced by them and “to permit Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) other than NBFC-Factors (whose principal business is factoring) to undertake factoring business as well, and also to permit Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) entities to act as agents for financiers for filing of registration of charge with the Central Registry as this will lead to operational efficiency.”

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The Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, a report on the Bill submitted by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare in last year, also pending with Lok Sabha. The Bill seeks to establish the National Board, the State Boards and the National Registry for the Regulation and Supervision of assisted reproductive technology banks, for prevention of misuse and for safe and ethical practice of assisted reproductive technology services.

The Maintenance & Welfare of parents & Senior Citizens (Amendment) Bill, aimed at making the existing Act more contemporary as per the changing social-economic needs, is also pending before the Lok Sabha. The Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment had submitted a report on the Bill earlier this year.

New Bills on the table

17 new Bills are also likely to come up during the session. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, to replace Ordinance, provides speedier, cost effective, semi-formal and less disruptive framework for insolvency resolution of corporate debtors in distress.

The Essential Defence Services Bill is to replace an Ordinance of similar name. It empowers the Centre to regulate un-interrupted supply of arms, ammunitions and other goods and services to the Armed Forces in case of strike against the decision to corporatise the Ordinance Factories. The workers had announced strike from July 26 against the decision to split Ordnance Factory Board into seven corporations.

The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas Bill id to replace an Ordinance on the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-NCR. The Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition & Development) Amendment Bill makes provisions for leasing of land and coal mining rights vested under the CBA Act to any company (including private sector company) which has become successful bidder in the auction of coal blocks conducted under the MMDR Act or the CMSP Act by providing for vesting of the land and coal mining rights in the State Government for further leasing to the successful bidder.

The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill is to reform and speed up the disciplinary mechanism of the institutes. The Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill is to amend the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 to decriminalise 12 compoundable offences which deal with procedural and technical violations.

The Cantonment Bill provides for greater democratisation, modernisation and overall improvement in governance structure of Cantonment Boards. The Indian Antarctica Bill paves way for a harmonious policy and regulatory framework for India’s Antarctic activities and to provide national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystem as per the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and to Protocol on the Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

New institutes

By introducing the Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, the Centre seeks to establish a Central University in the Union Territory of Ladakh. The Indian Institute Of Forest Management Bill is to declare the existing Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal a premier and only forestry management educational institute in the country, as institution of national importance and to confer on it the power to grant degrees.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (Amendment) Bill is to amend PFRDA Act to fulfil the announcements in the Union Budgets of 2019 and 2020 regarding the separation of NPS Trust from PFRDA and for ensuring universal pension coverage as well as strengthening PFRDA.

The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill has also found place in the new Bills to be tabled during the Monsoon Session. The Bill is to amend the DICGC Act, 1961 “to enable easy and time-bound access for depositors to their hard-earned money and to further instil confidence in depositors about the safety of their money; and to enable access by depositors to their savings through deposit insurance in time bound manner in case there is suspension of banking business of the insured bank under various provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.”

The Indian Marine Fisheries Bill, according to the Rajya Sabha circular, is to provide for the sustainable development of fisheries resources in the exclusive Economic Zone of India; the responsible harnessing of fisheries in the High Seas by the Indian Fishing Vessel; promotion of livelihoods of small-scale and artisanal fishers and related matters.

The Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines (Amendment) Bill, the Inland Vessels Bill, the Electricity (Amendment) Bill and the Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill are the other three Bills listed for introduction during this session. The Electricity (Amendment) Act is to entail de-licensing of the distribution business and bring in competition, appointment of member from law background in every Commission, strengthening of APTEL, penalty for non compliance of RPO, prescribing rights and duties of consumers. Farmers and workers have been protesting against the provisions of the draft Bill.

The all-party meeting convened by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is likely to take place on July 18. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s meeting with floor leaders of all parties may also take place on the same day. Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu is likely to meet leaders of parties in the Upper House on July 17.

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