The Karnataka Innovation Authority Bill, which aims to help innovators overcome curbs of the established regulatory regimes, and the National Law School of India (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which looks to provide 25% reservation to students of Karnataka, were among the six Bills tabled in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
The proposed authority is expected to enable the setting up of “regulatory sandboxes” wherein innovators will be allowed a small window of exemption for a prescribed period to carry out innovation. The State also gets to observe such innovations and have time to respond with further legislation and amendments, if required.
According to the explanation, Karnataka witnesses development of innovative products and services using technologies, which usually do not fall under the parameters of established regulatory regimes. These innovators are subject to legal hardship, and this curbs innovation. While amendments to the law to address regulatory challenges thrown up by these new products and services takes time, a legal framework to enable innovation needs to be established in the interim, it said.
Reservation
The National Law School of India (Amendment) Bill, 2020 seeks to provide 25% reservation to students of Karnataka (who have studied in any one of the recognised educational institutions for at least 10 years). It cites similar reservation given to local students in eight other law schools in the country, and also a Supreme Court judgment.
The other Bills tabled on Tuesday included the Karnataka Official Language (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the Karnataka Lokayukta (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which aims to enable the Lokayukta to function more effectively, and the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements (Amendment) Bill, 2020, to increase the limit on value of procurement of goods and services from ₹1 lakh to ₹5 lakh.
