Parliament will discuss bills replacing ordinances, take up pending bills and see the introduction of new bills

Parliament will convene for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic with the Monsoon Session all set to begin from September 14. Around 45 bills and two financial items will be discussed during the 18-day session which will end on October 1.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, several precautionary measures including social distancing and reduced Parliament timings are being taken. COVID-19 tests are also mandatory for all members as well as employees.

According to an official statement, the daily sessions have been reduced to four hours for each house. While the Rajya Sabha will sit from 9 AM to 1 PM daily, the Lok Sabha sittings will take place between 3 PM to 7 PM. However, on the first day, the Lok Sabha will meet during the morning session.

The precautionary measures also include staggered seating for MPs in both houses, introduction of mobile app for registering of MPs’ attendance and seats separated with poly-carbon sheets in the House.

The fourth session of the 17th Lok Sabha and 252nd session of Rajya Sabha will discuss bills replacing the ordinances and pending bills; new bills will also be introduced in the Parliament.

Some of the important bills to benefit farmers and agriculture include, the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 and the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Prices Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020.

Similarly, medical bills include the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the controversial Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Bill 2020. The Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill 2020 will also be discussed during the session.

The Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Bill 2020, the Salary and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill 2020 are some other important bills which will be discussed during the session.

The Parliament will also take up pending bills from the previous sessions. These include the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCIM) Bill 2019 which has already been passed by the Rajya Sabha, the Institute of Teaching and Research in Ayurveda Bill 2020 as passed by Lok Sabha.

Another important bill which the parliament will be discussed is the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2020 as passed by Lok Sabha. Similarly, the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill 2020 as passed by Lok Sabha will also be discussed. The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill 2020 and the National Forensic Science University Bill 2020 will also be introduced.

Other bills include the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 as passed by Lok Sabha, the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill 2020 as passed by Lok Sabha, The Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment), Bill 2019 as passed by Lok Sabha, the Dam Safety Bill, 2019 as passed by Lok Sabha, the Major Port Authorities Bill 2020, the Code On Social Security and Welfare, 2019, the Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions Code, 2019 and the Industrial Relations Code Bill, 2019.

The parliament will also take up some new bills which will be introduced in both houses including the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill 2020, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation)Amendment Bill, 2020, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2020 and the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020.

Other important bills which will be introduced are the Pension Fund Regulatory And Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Prohibition of Employment as manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020.