Modi govt plans 21 new Bills during Parliament’s Monsoon Session

The Narendra Modi government is planning to bring 21 new Bills, including one that intends to replace the contentious Delhi ordinance and another to process digital personal data, during the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament starting next Thursday.

Altogether, the government intends to pass 31 Bills in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during the session that ends on August 11. The proposed legislations also include the Bills seeking withdrawal of the contentious DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill, 2019 and The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Among the new Bills, the most contentious is the Government of NCT of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 aimed at replacing the ordinance that gave the Centre powers over bureaucracy under the Delhi government.

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The entire Opposition, including the Congress, would be up in arms against the Bill, especially in Rajya Sabha where it intends to put the government on the mat, as the BJP or NDA do not have majority on its own and will have to depend on YSR Congress and BJD for a smooth sailing.

Though the Congress too has not publicly announced its stand, sources said it would not support the Bill as it views the ordinance that was brought to overwrite the Supreme judgement in favour of Delhi government.

The government felt that the conclusions drawn by the apex court posed “certain challenges to the smooth administration” of Delhi government, which needed to be addressed through “appropriate legal interventions”, according to the tentative list of Bills the government intends to bring during the Monsoon Session. The list was shared with Parliament.

Another important bill would be the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, which aimed at processing digital personal data in a “manner that recognises both the rights of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes”.

The Bill “employs plain and simple language to facilitate ease of understanding” while establishing a comprehensive legal framework governing digital personal data protection in India.

The government also plans to bring The Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Bill, 2023 to regulate the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. It will also deal with clinical trials of new drugs and clinical investigation of investigational medical devices.

The National Research Foundation Bill, 2023, which was cleared by the Cabinet recently is another prominent Bill in the list.

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 aimed at accommodating “progressive changes” in the last five decades and making the registration of births and deaths people friendly is also likely to come up before the Parliament.

Keeping the Chhattisgarh election in mind, the government is also bringing a Bill to include Mahra, Mahara community in the Scheduled Castes list of the state. A Bill seeking to revise the Scheduled Tribes List of Jammu and Kashmir may also be brought during the session.

Bills like The Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2022, The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, The Multi-State Cooperative Bill, 2022, The Meditation Bill, 2021 and The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023, which were scrutinised by various Parliamentary panels, are also listed by the government for passage.