Trai, FDI bills top govt agenda

A bill to replace a Trai ordinance that cleared legal hurdles to the appointment of retired bureaucrat Nripendra Misra as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tops the legislative agenda of the NDA government during the budget session  beginning Monday.

The NDA government will also revive the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, held up in the Rajya Sabha due to the BJP’s strong opposition to the previous UPA government’s move to increase the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap from 26 per cent to 49 per cent for insurance sector.

This bill along with eight other pending legislation have been listed for discussion and passage in the Upper House.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2014, will replace the ordinance promulgated by the Telecom Ministry since the earlier law barred its chairman and members from taking up any government job at the centre or in states post retirement. A 1967-batch retired IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Misra was Trai chairman and he replaced Pulok Chatterjee to become principal secretary to Modi.

The amended law now prohibits the chairman and members from accepting any government and “commercial employment” for only two years after retirement.

The NDA government proposes to table five more bills, including three to replace ordinances pertaining to the Securities law, Andhra Pradesh reorganisation and prevention of atrocities on SCs and STs.