This list is prepared by Pratyush Pandey, a student of NLU Delhi.

The new government has introduced more than 31 new Bills in the Loksabha, in the ongoing Budget session of the Parliament. While some of the new bills are no doubt commendable, certain bills like curtailing the powers of the Green Tribunals is quite regressive. It is expected that the new government might introduce more Bills in the current session.  Following Bills have been introduced in the current session:

AGRICULTURAL AND CONSUMER GOODS

National Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to constitute a fully autonomous statutory commission to fix the minimum support prices of the agricultural produce, which shall be implemented by the Central Government.

National Agricultural Produce Price Commission Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to constitute a fully autonomous commission to fix the minimum support price of agricultural produce on the basis of cost of cultivation plus 50 % margin on the cost of cultivation.

Consumer Goods (Mandatory Printing of Cost of Production and Maximum Retail Price) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to mandate the printing of cost of production on products based on either indigenous or imported materials with the intention of offering it for sale in the market.

ANIMAL PROTECTION

Cow Protection Authority Act, 2014

This Bill proposes to constitute a National Cow Protection Authority at the national level and State Cow Protection Authority at the State level for protection and development of cow and its progeny which is considered as the basis for the development of country and rural economy.

Ban on Cow Slaughter Act, 2014

This Bill prohibits the slaughter of cows in accordance with Article 48 of the Constitution of India.

CONSTITUTION

Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to provide reservation for economically weaker sections of society in employment and educational institutions without affecting the rights of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.

Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to include the following tribal groups from Jharkhand ‘Bhuian Ghatwal’, ‘Ghatwar’, ‘Kadar’, ‘Khetori’ and ‘Pariyar’ into the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to give the Rajasthani language, the status of official language in India.

Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to give the Khasi language, the status of official language in India.

Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill omits Article 44 of the Indian Constitution and inserts part IVB in the Constitution which deals with Uniform Civil Law.

Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to amend the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution to omit the word ‘sports’ from Entry 33 List II (State List) and insert the words ‘sports and games’ in Entry 25 List III (Concurrent List) so that Union Government can also take all necessary measures including legislative measures to improve the standard of sports in the country.

CRIMINAL LAW

Indian Penal Code (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to amend the punishment for kidnapping or abducting and causing death; and for causing death of rape victim.

Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to amend S.66A of IT Act 2000 to make commercial electronic messages punishable with fine upto Rupees 1 crore.

DEVELOPMENT

Central Himalayan States Development Council Act, 2014

This Bill proposes to establish a Central Himalayan States Development Council to look into and accelerate the process of development in the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.

ENVIRONMENT

Renewable Energy (Promotion and Compulsory Use) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to make compulsory the use of non-polluting and eco-friendly renewable energy sources for all establishments and households. For this purpose, it seeks to establish a National Board to promote and develop these resources.

National Green Tribunal (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to exclude the jurisdiction of tribunal over matters relating to economic welfare or security of citizen and any matter that gravely affects the livelihood of the common man.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to amend the Act to constitute the National River Conservation Authority and the State River Conservation Authorities to lay down parameters for effluent quality for sewage treatment plants and to supervise and control the functions of the Central Board and the State Boards in preventing water pollution caused by sewage; assess the requirement of sewage treatment capacity by National River Conservation Authority and the State River Conservation Authorities so as to facilitate further capacity creation to bridge the gap between the existing capacity and the required capacity; make prior approval of the National River Conservation Authority or the State River Conservation Authority compulsory for granting exemption to a sewerage authority for using a stream or a well for disposal of polluting matters, etc.; and prohibit discharge of sewage and other polluting matters into a stream and providing rigorous penalties for contravention of the provisions of the Act.

Council for Environment Protection Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to provide for the establishment of Councils at the Centre and in every State and Union territory for study, enquiry, research and making recommendations on matters relating to protection of environment and preservation of ecology.

SENIOR CITIZENS

National Minimum Pension (Guarantee) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to provide for payment of minimum pension to every pensioner including those who have worked in unorganised sector and private sector.

Senior Citizens (Provision of Geriatric and Dementia Care) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to set up geriatric care units and day-care centres in all districts for senior citizens; promote geriatric medicine education and training in geriatric care; conduct survey of dementia patients, constitute dementia care units in hospitals and attendance allowance to dementia patients; and make abandonment and disregard of dementia patients by their children an offence.

WELFARE

Sculptors, Artists and Artisans of Rural Areas Welfare Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to mandate it for the Government to provide social security and other financial assistance to sculptors, artists and artisans of rural areas by formulating and implementing appropriate policies for their welfare.

Small and Marginal Farmers (Welfare) Act, 2014

This Bill aims to provide social security to small and marginal farmers in the form of compensation on the occurrence of accidents during the course of agricultural operations.

Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Amendment Act, 2014

The Bills seeks to do away with the condition of three generations to prove domicile as mentioned in the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 and to amend the definition of other traditional forest dweller in the Act to enable the traditional forest dwellers to derive the desired benefits from the Act.

Human Trafficking of Indian Citizens Abroad and Welfare of Overseas Indians Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to provide for making human trafficking a punishable offence; setting up of an Overseas Indians Welfare Fund; and compulsory registration of recruitment agencies, etc. and to provide for punishment to those agencies who carry out the business of recruiting persons for overseas employment without registration.

Abolition of Begging Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to create a committee at the national level to tackle the menace of begging and also to create an environment in the society wherein a life of dignity is assured to persons indulged in begging.

Hindu Marriage (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill proposes to amend the Act to provide for mandatory maintenance to abandoned wife as would enable her to sustain a standard of living commensurate with the husband’s income and property; secure the payment of the amount of maintenance in case of default by the husband by creating a charge on the income and, if necessary, also on the assets of the husband; ensure the right of the abandoned wife to reside at the residence of her husband or at any other residential premises owned by him; and suspend of the right of the husband to dispose of or part with any interest in any property in which the abandoned wife has a right to residence.

MISCELLANOUS

Chit Funds (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to amend the Chit Funds Act, 1982 with a view to reduce the time frame from twelve months to three months for registration of a chit fund under the Act.

Compulsory Teaching of Yoga in Educational Institutions Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to make yoga education compulsory in all educational institutions up to senior secondary level but not minority educational institutions.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to amend the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 to provide for prohibition of playing of loud music while driving a vehicle; compulsory wearing of seat belts while the vehicle is in motion; prohibition of lighting fireworks, etc. on roads, which cause impediment to free flow of traffic; prohibition of unnecessary harassment of persons who help in taking victims of road accidents to hospital; and manufacturers to ensure provision of opening rear door/ emergency exit from inside/outside in motor vehicle for exit of passengers.

Public Sector Banks (Control of Non-Performing Assets) Act, 2014

The Bill seeks to provide for separate mechanism to deal with non-performing assets; constitute a joint mechanism by public sector banks to consider restructuring of loans and advances; provide for periodic reporting of non-performing assets; provide for fixing responsibility of individual bank officers in cases where due diligence is not exercised by them; provide for constitution of Debt Advisory Committee to frame guidelines and principles governing sanctioning of loans and advances and monitoring of underlying projects; and maintain a Central Repository of Information on wilful defaulters for disseminating the same among bankers.

Bihar Reorganisation (Amendment) Act, 2014

This Bill seeks to effectively deal with apportionment of pension between Bihar and Jharkhand in the ratio of population and removes apportionment in the ratio of number of employees.

The full text of the Bills can be accessed here.