Govt to push key Bills in monsoon session

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has set its eyes on the monsoon session of Parliament, to be held in July-August, to push its key reform Bills. The curtailed schedule of the ongoing Budget session, with its predominant agenda of passing the Budget, has left very little space for government managers to follow the original routine.

While the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill is waiting for Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s green signal after the Assembly elections are over, other Bills like amendments to the Insurance Act and the Pension Fund Regulation and Development Act (PFRDA) are still with the Standing Committee on Finance.

Sources in the Standing Committee told Business Standard two bills — the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill of 2008 and the State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks Laws) Amendment Bill of 2009 — were likely to get cleared towards the end of May. This effectively makes the government wait till the monsoon session to push them.

“We are currently working on a host of issues including the Direct Taxes Code Bill and BPL measures. The Committee will take time to clear its other agenda,” said a senior member.

Apart from the two Bills on subsidiary banks and insurance, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had specifically mentioned five other Bills which the government is committed to pass. These are Bills to amend the RDBFI Act of 1993 and SARFAESI Act of 2002, the Life Insurance Corporation (Amendment) Bill, the revised PFRDA Bill, Banking Laws Amendment Bill and the Bill on Factoring and Assignment of Receivables.

Law Minister M Veerappa Moily recently said the Banking Laws Amendment Bill was not fully ready and would not be introduced in the current session.

As things stand today, the Lok Sabha will be busy till the evening of March 17 to pass the demands for grants. On March 18, discussion on the Finance Bill is likely to start. The finance minister is expected to reply on March 23, before the Finance Bill is passed in the Lok Sabha. As the session will come to an end on March 25, the government doesn’t have much time to push its reforms agenda.