Winter Session of Parliament: Modi govt to introduce 16 new bills - Details here

New Delhi: The union government`s agenda for the winter session of Parliament, which begins on December 7, includes 16 new bills. Some of the bills slated for introduction are the Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022. The Trade Marks (Amendment) Bill seeks to incorporate certain aspects of the Madrid Registration System. The Madrid system of International Registration for Marks provides a one-stop solution to enterprises for registering their trade-marks and protecting their brands in multiple countries. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, seeks to amend the parent Act to make some of the procedures simplified in order to be more accessible to maximum stakeholders.

The North East Water Management Authority Bill, 2022, will seek creation of a new entity North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA) by winding up the existing Statutory Body, namely, the Brahmaputra Board, which was created under the provisions contained in the Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980, eventually repealing aforesaid Act of 1980.

"NEWMA will work as an Integrated Water Resources and Basin Management Organisation for the Brahmaputra and Barak Basin in the North Eastern Region of this Country, including Sikkim and West Bengal," an official circular said. The Repealing and Amending Bill, 2022 will seek to repeal redundant and obsolete laws. Some of the other bills include the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2022.

The government`s agenda also includes Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019, and was referred to the Standing Committee on External Affairs. The report was presented on February 11 this year. The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill seeks to enact domestic anti-maritime piracy legislation in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to provide the necessary legal framework within the country for the prosecution of persons for piracy-related crimes committed on high seas beyond the territorial jurisdiction of India.

The winter session will go on till December 29, 2022 and there will be a total of 17 working days. The Lok Sabha will pay tributes to the members who passed away during the inter-session period on the first day. Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had passed away in October.

This will be the first session which Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar will chair as Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The monsoon session of Parliament was held between July 18 and August 8. The results of assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh will be declared on December 8, a day after the start of the winter session of Parliament.