Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will consider several crucial bills in the ongoing session between February 23 and May 8. Here are brief introductions to some of the key Bill that are under consideration:
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 seeks to amend the Constitution to introduce the goods and services tax (GST) which will subsume various Central and State taxes including the Central Excise Duty, Service Tax, and VAT. The Bill makes legislation on taxation concurrent, with Centre and State having power to make laws. The Bill seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938 and the General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Act 1972 and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999. It seeks to raise the cap on foreign stake in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. It will also allow entry of foreign reinsurers (insurers of insurance companies) and permits life insurance policy holders to name the beneficiary. The Bill seeks to amend the 2013 LARR Act and will replace an Ordinance. The Bill creates five special categories of land use that exempt from the current requirement of obtaining the consent of 80 per cent of land owners for private projects and other requirements such as Social Impact Assessment. It also alters related laws to bring their compensation, rehabilitation, and resettlement provisions in consonance with the existing Act of 2013. The Bill seeks to allow transfer of a few mandals from the newly formed State of Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. The Bill if passed will replace an Ordinance promulgated in May last year. Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu had indicated that the Centre may take up the issue of introducing amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 during the forthcoming budget session of Parliament. The Bill seeks to bring e-carts and e-rickshaws under the ambit of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.Act, provides for issuing of driving license and registration of e-carts and e-rickshaws. The government in December, 2014, promulgated an ordinance to legalise e-rickshaws which were banned in the National Capital Region by the Delhi High Court. The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2014 was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 10, 2014 by the Minister of Coal, Mr. Piyush Goyal. It seeks to amend the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 and the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The Bill seeks to enable private companies to mine coal for sale in the open market. Introduced in Lok Sabha on February 24, 2015. The Bill seeks to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. An Ordinance is presently in force. The 1957 Act regulates the mining sector and specifies the requirement for obtaining and granting mining leases for mining operations. The Bill adds a new Fourth Schedule to the Act that includes bauxite, iron ore, limestone and manganese ore. It will also create a new category of mining license i.e. the prospecting license-cum-mining lease. The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 was introduced in Lok Sabha on February 27, 2015. It seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 which regulates the acquisition and determination of citizenship and details registration of Overseas Citizens of India and their rights. The Bill provides additional grounds for registering for an Overseas Citizen of India card. It also says the government may shift a Persons of Indian Origin cardholder, who enjoys fewer benefits, to be an Overseas Citizen of India cardholders from a specified date. .
| 1 |  The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 |
| 2 | The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 |
| 3 | The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Bill, 2015 |
| 4 | The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2015 |
| 5 | The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2015. |
| 6 | The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015 |
| 7 | The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 |
| 8 | Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2015 |
| 9 | The Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Amendment Bill The Bill seeks to amend the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. The Act provides for the speedy eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises, including those of government companies and corporations. The Amendment Bill brings more premises under the ambit of the Act and sets time limits for certain actions to be followed while evicting unauthorised occupants. The Amendment will enable the DMRC to evict unauthorised occupants from its premises. |
