Winter Session: Modi government plans to introduce 16 new bills

The Narendra Modi government is planning to bring 16 new bills, including one that intends to bring the trademark regime at par with the famed Madrid System and another to promote plantation in non-forest areas and conserve the forests, during the Winter Session of Parliament starting December 7.

Altogether, the government intends to pass 23 bills in the session that ends on December 29. Besides the 16 new bills, the other proposed legislations likely to come up before Parliament are four those passed by Lok Sabha and pending in Rajya Sabha and three others are pending after Parliamentary Committees submitted its reports.

Bills like the contentious Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which is under scrutiny of a Parliamentary Standing Committee as well as Telecom Bill and Data Protection Bill, which are not cleared by Cabinet as it is still in consultation stage, are unlikely to be placed before Parliament during the Winter Session.

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Four of the new bills are related to revising the list of Scheduled Tribes in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh.

Among the main bills are The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which seeks to incorporate "certain aspects" of Madrid Registration System, including transformation and replacement which is needed to make the processing at par with Madrid System.

The Madrid System is a "convenient and cost-effective solution" for registering and managing trademarks worldwide. It allows filing a single application and pay one set of fees to apply for protection in up to 128 countries.

The bill also amends procedures to provide ease in show cause, hearing, opposition hearing and incorporation of electronic communication by Trade Mark (TM) office.

The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2022 is another important Bill that may come up during the Winter Session and it envisages to remove ambiguity in the applicability of the provisions of Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 and promote plantation in non-forest areas and conserve the forests.

The Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, which the government has been planning to bring to Parliament for some time, has once taken place in the list of new bills. The bill aims to strengthen governance, enhance transparency, increase accountability and reform electoral processes in the multi-state cooperative societies by supplementing existing legislation and incorporating the provisions of 97th Constitution amendment.

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The National Dental Commission Bill, which seeks to set up a National Dental Commission and to repeal the Dentists Act, 1948, and The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission, which seeks to set up a National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC) and to repeal the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947, are also listed.

The Cantonment Bill, 2022, another proposed law that has been listed earlier but not brought before Parliament, is also again in the list. The bill relates to the administration of cantonments with a view to impart greater democratisation, modernisation and efficiency. It also seeks to achieve greater developmental objectives in alignment with municipalities across the country and intends to facilitate 'ease of living' in cantonments.

The Old Grant (Regulation) Bill, 2022, which aims to regulate land given under Governor General Orders of 1836, 1827, 1838, 1849 and 1851, including their transfer, subdivision and change of purpose, and enhance ease of living while ensuring effective protection of government rights over the land, could also come up in the upcoming session.

Another Bill that may see light of the day is The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022. It aims to reduce the regulatory compliance burden to the stakeholders without diluting the core principles of environment protection in coastal areas as well as decriminalise "the offence(s)" under the Act and to expand the scope of the law to bring all coastal aquaculture activities under its ambit.