Winter session of Parliament to begin today, 16 new bills on government agenda

Winter Session of Parliament: An all-party meeting, chaired by Defence Minister and deputy leader of the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh, was organised at the Parliament premises on Tuesday.

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New Delhi: The winter session of Parliament will begin on Wednesday. The BJP-led Central government`s agenda for the winter session includes 16 new bills in a total of 17 working days. Ahead of the first day of the Winter Session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to interact with the media. The Lok Sabha will pay tributes to members who passed away during the inter-session period, on the first day. Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who passed away in October after a prolonged illness, will be among the departed members to be remembered. The session has been delayed by a month due to the Gujarat election schedule.

Some of the bills slated for introduction in the Winter Session of Parliament 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 trademarks 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 the 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.

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.

Earlier on Tuesday, an all-party meeting, chaired by Defence Minister and deputy leader of the Lok Sabha Rajnath Singh, was held on the Parliament premises. In the all-party meeting, the Congress as well as the Trinamool Congress (TMC) raised the issue of rampant unemployment. The Congress also raised the issue of the hurried-up appointment of the ECI and EWS quota along with the issue of price rise and misuse of the central agencies.

The opposition parties also asked for more time to be given to them and that their voices should not be muzzled. The Biju Janata Dal raised the need to have a discussion on the Women Reservation Bill and the same was supported by a number of other parties. Notably, the monsoon session of Parliament was held between July 18 and August 8. 

Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat has released a Code of Conduct for its members, a day of the Winter session, which will be the inaugural session where Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar will officiate proceedings in the Upper House as its ex-officio chairman.

(With ANI Inputs)