FCRA Bill among 4 listed for passage in Rajya Sabha; 3 Labour Codes also likely to be tabled

Four bills have been listed for passage in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when Parliament is expected to conclude it's Monsoon Session eight days ahead of schedule even as the government is also expected to bring three labour reform measures for clearance in the Upper House.

The government has listed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill and two Appropriation Bills (No 3 and 4).

The three labour reform measures -- The Industrial Relation Code, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code and Code on Social Security -- are likely to be listed in the supplementary list of business.

Though Lok Sabha passed the three Codes on Tuesday, it could not be listed as the Bill has not been transmitted to Rajya Sabha. Sources said once the procedure is completed, the supplementary list of business would be issued.

The indication of the Bill coming in Rajya Sabha surfaced after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that the Lower House will start it's proceedings only at 6 PM instead of 3 PM, when the House used to start functioning during the Monsoon Session amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

This comes as Rajya Sabha would be required to sit well beyond its scheduled closing at 1 PM. The time for Lok Sabha was set at 6 PM keeping in mind the time needed for passing six Bills and the margin for conducting sanitisation of the Chambers and visitors gallery of both the Houses.

With the Opposition on Tuesday announcing the boycott of the Session demanding revocation of suspension of eight MPs, the discussion of Bills are unlikely to take more time and government floor managers hope that they could wind up the proceedings of the Upper House by 4 PM.

The first Bill to be taken up after Zero Hour would be the one to amend the FCRA Act, allowing government to seek Aadhaar and other details from NGOs seeking foreign funds. It also seeks to prevent NGOs from transferring foreign funds to another organisation, which has permission to collect such donations.

In Lok Sabha, the Opposition has raised concerns the Bill could end up harassing NGOs and used to target them on the basis of religion.

Once this is passed, Bilateral Netting of Qualified Financial Contracts Bill and two Appropriation Bills will be taken up.

Industrial Relations Code, which may come up in the House, is aimed at allowing companies ease in hiring and firing as well as redefining the scope of trade unions, restrict workers' right to strike and increase the treshhold relating to layoffs in industrial establishments.

The Social Security Code is aimed at creating a social security network for all workers, including migrant workers and gig workers. The Occupational Safety Code seeks to set standards on health and other parameters.