Bills

The Lok Sabha on Friday passed a bill to replace the 90-year-old Aircraft Act and further improve the ease of doing business in the aviation space. The Bhartiya Vayuyan Vidheyak Bill 2024 seeks to remove redundancies and replace the Aircraft Act, 1934 -- which has been amended 21 times -- at a time when India is one of the fastest-growing civil aviation markets in the world. Moving the bill for passage in the Lower House, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said the ministry will be setting up an "efficient online mechanism" to address grievances of people, including about the rise in airfares, and ensure a timely response. The ministry is looking at having a balanced approach where there is a level playing field for the airlines and the people are not exploited with higher airfares, he said. The bill includes provisions to regulate the design and manufacturing of aircraft to support the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative for self-reliance. Naidu said the civil aviation ministry

While the ministry has started work on the Budget, it is expected to begin industry consultations

Amendments will enhance checks and balances and empower the legislature to combat corruption, the move has sparked significant concerns within civil society and academia

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday gave assent to the three new criminal justice bills which were cleared by Parliament last week. The three new laws -- the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Act -- will replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872. While replying to a debate on the three bills in Parliament, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said the focus were on delivering justice rather than handing down punishment. The legislation aim at completely overhauling the criminal justice system in the country by giving definition of various offences and their punishments. These have given a clear definition of terrorism, abolished sedition as a crime and introduced a new section titled "offenses against the state".

146 MPs were suspended in the two Houses for unruly behaviour

Three new bills that seek to overhaul the colonial-era criminal laws, making punishments more stringent for crimes such as terrorism, lynching, and offences endangering national security, were approved by Parliament on Thursday. The bills were passed in the Rajya Sabha by voice vote. The Lok Sabha had approved these on Wednesday. The bills that repeal and replace the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act will usher in a new era in the criminal justice system, Home Minister Amit Shah said while replying to a debate in the Upper House of Parliament. The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha (Second) Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya (Second) Bills will now go to the president for her assent, upon which these will become laws. Just like in the Lok Sabha, the legislations were passed in the Rajya Sabha in the absence of most opposition MPs, who were suspended for unruly behaviour while pressing for a discussion on the December

The government has decided to withdraw the three bills that aim to replace existing criminal laws and introduce them afresh following various recommendations made by a parliamentary panel. The three redrafted bills are expected to introduced in Parliament on Tuesday. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 11 along with Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam bills. The three bills seek to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, 1898, the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively. Home Minister Amit Shah, in three identical signed statements submitted to Parliament, said the decision was taken after the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs made recommendations suggesting changes in the three bills following a series of discussions with domain experts and various stakeholders. He said in the statement for withdrawal that to make comprehensive amendments to the Indian Pen

The Supreme Court on Wednesday noted that Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has taken decisions on eight bills and asked him to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan along with the minister concerned to discuss the bills, saying let us hope that some political sagacity takes over. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud took note of the submissions of Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the office of the governor, that out of eight Bills, seven have been reserved for consideration by the President, while one has been assented by Khan. The top court, meanwhile, permitted the state government to amend its plea to seek issuance of guidelines for the governors on grant or decline of assent to the bills passed by the assembly in a time-bound manner. We will record that the governor will discuss the matter with both the chief minister and the minister in charge and related to the Bill..., the bench said. Let us hope that some political sagacity takes over the state an

Of the nine pending Bills, two are aimed at increasing reservations in government jobs and educational institution admissions and have been passed by the state Legislative Assembly

Overall, the average retirement account balance decreased slightly from the previous quarter

The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the delay on the part of Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi in granting assent to several Bills passed by the state Assembly, asking as to why should governors wait for parties to move the top court with their grievances. Posing tough questions, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked what was the governor doing for three years, noting that the Bills were pending since January 2020. Observing that the issue was whether there was a delay in the discharge of the constitutional functions entrusted to the office of the governors, the court also said it would deal with the question whether a governor can sit over the Bills without sending them either back to the Assembly or to the President. The top court made the observations as it deferred the hearing on the Tamil Nadu government's plea alleging delay by Governor Ravi to December 1 after Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Office of the Governor, sought a postponement. The

The Tamil Nadu government accused Raj Bhavan of 'sitting on' 12 bills and causing deliberate delays

With a chapter on Open Internet, the new bill would aim to ensure that internet-based services are provided in a non-discriminatory manner

A think-tank working for police reforms on Wednesday claimed that most of the "regressive" provisions in colonial-era criminal laws have been retained in the three new bills pending before Parliament to replace the IPC, the CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act. The Indian Police Foundation (IPF) has submitted a memorandum to the parliamentary committee on Home, urging for fundamental changes in the Indian criminal justice system while enacting the three proposed laws -- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) -- currently under consideration in Parliament. The BNS, the BNSS and the BS seek to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively. "While expectations were raised that the new legislations would present a unique opportunity to fix a broken criminal justice system, the IPF is disappointed that most of the regressive provisions in the colonial criminal la

The 17th Lok Sabha has the worst record compared to the previous three Houses in referring legislation to the institution framework

Inter-Services Organisation Bill 2023 hands all disciplinary and administrative powers concerning the personnel serving in or attached to these organisations to heads of Inter-Services Organisations

Enterprise messages include commercial communication like bill payment reminders, one-time passwords, and promotional messages.

The government is likely to discuss a total of 31 bills in the monsoon session of Parliament, including bills that have already been introduced in the lower house

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Appropriation Bills 2022 in the Lok Sabha to seek nod for the payment and appropriation of amounts from the Consolidated Funds of India

More than 50 private member bills, including the one seeking to revert to the old system of voting through ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs), were introduced in Lok Sabha on Friday. The bill to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1951 was introduced by BSP member Danish Ali. The other bills were related to shutdown of internet, loan waiver and prevention of mob lynching. DMK's Thamizhachi Thangapandian introduced a bill to provide for setting up of an effective system to prevent internet shutdown and procedural safeguards to bring greater transparency and accountability for the shutdown. Congress member Dean Kuriakose introduced a bill for setting up of a board for the identification of loans to be waived as a one-time measure in national interest within the country. E T Mohammed Basheer of the IUML introduced a bill to prevent mob lynching and provide adequate punishment for persons committing mob lynching with a view to instill a sense of fear a