Labour Reforms, Surrogacy, Among Others In Agenda For Parliament's Monsoon Session

The Monsoon Session of Parliament which saw delay due to Covid-19 pandemic, kicked off on Monday. The session which will see a total of 18 sittings is scheduled to be held between September 14, 2020 and October 1, 2020 with strict safety protocols in place.

The 18-day session is crucial as the Opposition is expected to grill the government over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the India-China border issue.

The government has removed the Question Hour from the monsoon session this year, citing the coronavirus pandemic. It was decided that questions requiring written answers will be tabled.  Meanwhile, MPs will raise issues of importance in an a 30-minute long Zero Hour. 

Currently, there are 46 Bills pending in the Parliament. Of these, 17 Bills are listed for consideration, and passing while six Bills are listed for withdrawal.  As many as 23 Bills are listed for introduction, consideration, and passing.

Here are the 17 Bills listed for Consideration and Passing in Monsoon Session

1. The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Removes penalty and imprisonment in certain offences and reduces the amount of fine payable in certain offences, among others.
2. The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill, 2020: Establishes Rashtriya Raksha University as an institute of national importance.
3. The National Forensic Science University Bill, 2020: Establishes National Forensic Science University as an institute of national importance.
4. The Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019: Prohibits commercial surrogacy, allows for altruistic surrogacy. Constitutes the National Surrogacy Board and respective State Surrogacy Boards to regulate the practice of surrogacy.
5. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Increases the threshold for terminating a pregnancy from 12 to 20 weeks with the opinion of a registered medical practitioner, and from 20 to 24 weeks with the approval of two registered medical practitioners.
6. The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019: Repeals the Indian Medicine Central Council Act, 1970, and sets up a National Commission to regulate the education and practice of Indian systems of Medicine.
7. The National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2019: Repeals the Homoeopathy Central Council Act, 1973, and sets up the National Commission for Homoeopathy to regulate homoeopathic education and practice.
8. The Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill, 2020: Merges three Ayurveda institutes into one institution by the name of Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda and declares the institution to be an Institute of National Importance.
9. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Declares five Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) set up under Public Private Partnership mode in Surat, Bhopal, Bhagalpur, Agartala, and Raichur as institutions of national importance.
10. The Pesticides Management Bill, 2020: Regulates the manufacture, import, sale, storage, distribution, use, and disposal of pesticides. Replaces the Insecticides Act, 1968.
11. The Code on Social Security, 2019: Subsumes and rationalises the nine central labour laws relating to social security.
12. The Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019: Subsumes and rationalises the Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.
13. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2019: Consolidates 13 laws related to health, safety, and working conditions of workers. Applies to establishments with more than 10 workers, and to all mines and docks.
14. The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020: Replaces the existing 1963 Act to grant enhanced autonomy to the major ports enabling them to effectively respond to market challenges.
15. The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020: Converts DGCA, BCAS, and AAIB into statutory bodies and increases the maximum amount of fine for certain offences to one crore rupees.
16. The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019: Provides for a permanent Tribunal with multiple benches, and a Dispute Resolution Committee for the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes.
17. The Dam Safety Bill, 2019: Provides for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of specified dams across the country.

(Source: PRS Legislative)