The winter session of parliament began today without any business, with 21 more sittings scheduled before 23 December.
Shreya Singh at PRS Legislative Research commented that the most likely bills to be passed this session would be the ones replacing the coal mines and textile undertakings ordinances (see below). “The Finance Minister has also indicated several times in the last few months that he would like to see the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill pass in this session, so that might also be an area of focus for the government.”
Both Houses of Parliament adjourned today after the death of Murli Deora and two other sitting members.
Parliament will consider the following list of business tomorrow, according to PRS.
Lok Sabha tomorrow
- Introduction of The Delhi Special Police Establishment (Amendment) Bill, 2014
- Consideration and passage of The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2014
Rajya Sabha tomorrow
- Withdrawal of The Higher Education and Research Bill, 2011
- Consideration and passage of The Labour Laws (Exemption from Furnishing Returns and Maintaining Registers by certain Establishments) Amendment Bill, 2011
- Consideration and passage of The Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014
An official list of Bills to be introduced and considered in this Session is still awaited.
What’s coming up this winter?
There are 67 Bills currently pending before Parliament. Of these 9 Bills were introduced in the previous Session of Parliament, while 40 of these were introduced in the 15th Lok Sabha, which was the regime of the UPA II Government. 18 other Bills are pending from earlier Lok Sabhas.
Ordinances in need of bills
The government has promulgated two ordinances in the last few months. These were the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Ordinance, 2014 and the Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Laws (Amendment and Validation) Ordinance, 2014.
Bills to replace both these ordinances will have to be brought in this Session of Parliament to ensure that they do not lapse.
Pending bills
11 are related to Health and Family Welfare
This includes the Mental Healthcare Bill, 2013, the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2013, the HIV (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014.
9 Bills related to Labour and Employment
These include the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2014, and the Apprentices (Amendment) Bill, 2014, both of which were introduced in the last session. The Apprentices Bill has already been passed by Lok Sabha. There are also older Bills, such as the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Bill, 2012, and the Building and Other Construction Workers Related Laws Bill, 2013, which are still pending.
Before standing committees:
A number of pending Bills are still being considered by Standing Committees.
These include the Rights of Persons of Disabilities Bill, 2014, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, the Factories (Amendment) Bill, 2014, the Railways (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and the Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (Conditions of Service) Bill, 2014.
Whether the Committee reports on these Bills will come in time for these Bills to be taken up for consideration and passing during the Winter Session remains to be seen.
Insurance FDI
The Insurance (Laws) Amendment Bill, 2008, which allows foreign investors to hold up to 49% of the capital in an Indian insurance company, is currently being considered by a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha. The report is due in the Winter Session of Parliament after which the Bill can be moved for consideration and passing.
Others coming up
Two Bills have been cleared by the Cabinet in the last three months. These are the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2014 and School of Planning and Architecture Bill, 2014.
There are also a number of draft Bills on which Ministries have held pre-legislative consultation. These include the Small Factories (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Bill, 2014, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2014, amendments to the Citizenship Act,1955, and the Road Transport and Safety Bill, 2014.
RS Question Hour rescheduled
Starting with the Winter Session, the Rajya Sabha has decided to shift its Question Hour from 11 am to noon, and has also extended its sitting time by an hour.
This change can be seen in light of the performance of Question Hour in the 2014 Budget Session, where the Question Hour functioned for 87% of its scheduled time in Lok Sabha, but only for 40% of its scheduled time in Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha had tried to address this problem in 2011, when Question Hour was shifted to be held from 2 pm to 3 pm, but this was discontinued within a few days.
Source: Shreya Singh at PRS Legislative Research
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