117-129 bills

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/117-129-bills 1/13

CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE, MAY, 2012117

CURRENTA FFAIRSSPECIAL

POLITY e-Governance

Project in India

Akash Ganga

This project is being used at theDairy Co-operative Society, Gujarat.The project uses IT to help rural milk

producers by integrating all operationsfrom procurement of milk to accountingusing DISK (Dairy Information - ServicesKiosk). Akash Ganga has facilitated morethan 1,000 villages, in 34 districts spreadover 8 States covering 2, 00,000 ruralfamilies in Gujarat and other states.

E-Choupal

This was established by ITC's AgriBusiness Division in June 2000. It wasspecifically designed to tackle the chal-lenges posed by the unique: featuresof India agriculture, characterized by

fragmented farms, weak infrastructure,and the involvement of intermediaries. Inorder to protect agriculture farmers fromopportunistic practice of intermediaries,it provides farmers with informationrelating to farming equipments, weather,crop, etc.

TKS (Tata Kisan Sansar)

The TKSs, or farm centre, providesend - to - end solution, right from whatcrops to grow to how to sell them for themaximum returns. In Maharashtra TKSs,a unique concept in the Indian coun-

tryside, are changing the face of Indianagriculture and improving the quality ofrural life. TKS provides farmers with ser-vices for optimum utilization of nutrientsplant protection, chemicals, water, andseeds. TKS tracks key parameters such assoil, ground water, and weather on a realtime basis with the help of Geographicinformation Systems (GIS) and satellitemapping technologies. Retail outlets ateach Kendra are set up to sell productsbut are not made online.

TNCDW (Tamil Nadu Corporation

for Development of Women Ltd)

The project is aimed at social andeconomic empowerment of women inTamil Nadu state. TNCDW maintainsa database containing the details of citi-zens, births and deaths land and revenue

records.

Drishtee

DRISHTEE is present in over 12states including the north eastern states ofAssam, Meghalaya, Manipur, ArunachalPradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Ut-tarakhand, Haryana and Tamil Nadu. Ithas also started to work in Africa alongwith partners.

DRISHTEE is a revenue-generatingplatform for rural networking and mar-keting services that enable e-governance,education, and health services. The pro-

ject provides online buying and sellingfacilities to citizens for ration cards. Thesystem tries to address the grievancesraised by the public and enhances cus-tomer relationship.

Gyandoot

GYANDOOT is an intranet basedGovernment-to-Citizen (G2C) servicedelivery portal commissioned in Dhardistrict of Madhya Pradesh in January 2000.GYANDOOT aims to create a cost -effec-tive, replicable, economically self-reliantand financially viable model for taking thebenefits of information and Communica-

tion 'technology (ICT) to the rural masses.

The goal of the project was to estab-lish community - owned, technologicallyinnovative and sustainable informationkiosks in poverty - stricken, tribal domi-nated rural area of Madhya Pradesh.Kiosks have been established in the vil-lages Panchayat buildings.

Jagriti e-Sewa

JAGRITI E - SEWA was inauguratedin March 2003. It touches the rural life

with activities from agriculture, financial,travel, and e-voernance to communica-tion services. The whole system can beadapted to any language in the leastpossible time. JAGRITI is a platform forapplication of Information technologyfor the masses, with special focus on theneeds of rural areas. Its activities, named

as d - commerce (desi commerce), in-clude both physical and electronic modeinvolvement.

Lokmitra

Developed by the National Informat-ics Centre (NIC) in Himachal PradeshState, in order to make people aware ofgovernment policies and programmes,and also provide an interface to interactwith various government functionariesand solicit their active and direct contri-bution in the process governance. Lokmi-tra maintains a database with details on

public, such as address, contract number,age, driver license, etc.

Bellandur

Develop by COMPUSOL, it is theIndia's first ICT enabled Gram Panchayate- Government solution. BELLANDUR issituated about 20 km from Bangalore. Alldistrict offices, taluka offices, and grampanchayats are connected. Committeemeetings are aired on cable television.The software handles records of poverty,tax collection, birth and 'death certifi-cates, and other financial instiments.

Janmitra

JANMITRA was launched in March2002. It is an integrated e-platform thatwas implemented in the Jhalawar districtRajasthan and is replicated in the stateof Uttranchal. All sections and depart-ments of collectorate are connectedthrough Local Area Network (LAN)the main objective of the JANMITRAproject is to provide a single - windowfacility to citizens to access governmentwork, various government procedures

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills


118 CIVIL SERVICES CHRONICLE, MAY, 2012


through computerization and use infor-mation and communication between theadministration and the people to ensuretransport, accountable and responsivegovernance and make the right to infor-mation an effective tool in the hands of

the rural masses.

e - Uttaranchal

The project is aimed at bringingpeople of Uttarakhand state closer; withthe purpose of enabling native's to sharetheir culture, tradition, news and otherthoughts from generation to generation.The web site allows meetings and ses-sions in big cities' to small villages, with"general awareness meetings" in remotevillages.

Telemedicine

Apollo Hospitals provide super spe-cialty healthcare to millions of rural In-dians through this project. Telemedicineis the use of ICT to facilitate healthcarewhen patients and doctors are separatedby distance. Using the software Med - In-tegra, patients and specialists can interactvisually. It presently operates more thantelemedicine centers in several states.

Lokvani

Lokvani was conceptualized bydistrict magistrate Sitapur in September2004. the project is a public private part-nership program that was implementedwithin the sitapur district (88% ruralpopulation and 39% literacy rate) of UttarPradesh state.

First Impeachment Proceeding in

Rajya Sabha in India's History

Calcutta High Court Justice SOUMI-TRA SEN who had been held guilty oncorruption charges by a specially con-stituted committee under Justice B Sud-ershan Reddy, a Judge of the SupremeCourt was inpeached by Rajya Sabha.

The committee found charges offinancial irregularities against Justice Sento be correct. He is accused of misappro-priating nearly Rs. 24 lakhs in the 1990swhen he was a lawyer and was appointedReceiver by the Calcutta High Court.

The second ground is that he mis-represented facts with regard to themisappropriation of money before theHigh Court.

Under the Constitution, a Judge ofa High Court or the Supreme Court canbe removed by the President by a motion

adopted in both Houses of the Parliamentby two-third majority of the memberspresent and voting on "proved miscon-duct and incapacity". This exercise hasto be carried out in the same session. Ifpassed in both the sessions, the President

can remove the Justice. Justice Sen was the second judge

against whom impeachment proceedingsws initiated. The first such case involvedthe impeachment motion in Lok Sabhaof Justice V Ramaswami of the SupremeCourt in May 1993 which fell due to lackof numbers after Congress membersabstained.

Global Firms Answerable To

Indian Consumer Courts

The Supreme Court held that inter-

national companies are answerable toIndian consumer courts for deficiencyin services.

Upholding the National Consum-ers Disputes Redressal Commission(NCDRC) order to a Lebanese cou-rier company to pay a compensation of$71,615.75 to a Mumbai-based firm, aBench of Justices G. S. Singhvi and H. L.Dattu ruled that consumers within thedefinition of the Consumers ProtectionAct (CP) could avail remedy for defi-ciency in service from both consumerfora and regular courts.

The court said that the protectionprovided under the CP Act to consumerswas in addition to the remedies availableunder any other statute. It therefore didextinguish the remedies under anotherstatute but provided an additional oralternative remedy.

Mechanism for Consumer

Protection

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986is a social legislation that lays downthe rights of the consumers and pro-vides for the promotion and protec-

tion of the rights of the consumers. The Act mandates establishment of

Consumer Protection Councils at theCentre as well as in each State andDistrict, with a view to promotingconsumer awareness.

It also provides for a 3-tier structureof the National and State Commis-sions and District Forums for speedyresolution of consumer disputes.

At present, there are 604 District Fo-rums and 34 State Commissions withthe National Consumer Disputes

Redressal Commission (NCDRC) atthe apex.

The National Commission wasconstituted in the year 1988. It isheaded by a sitting or retired Judgeof the Supreme Court of India. The

National Commission is presentlyheaded by Hon'ble Mr. Justice AshokBhan, former Judge of the SupremeCourt of India as President and hasnine Members.

New Mines Bill

The new MMDR Bill, 2011, aims tointroduce better legislative environmentfor addressing the needs of all stakehold-ers including the affected people andattracting investment and technologyinto the mining sector by the following:

States may call for applications in no-tified areas of known mineralizationfor prospecting based on technicalknowledge, value addition, end-useproposed ore -linkage etc. and toinvite financial bid;

States may grant direct mining con-cessions through bidding based ona prospecting report and feasibilitystudy in notified areas where data ofminerals is adequate for the purpose;

State Government may set up aminimum floor price for competitivebidding;

Special provisions for allowing

mining of small deposits in cluster,where cooperatives can apply; National Mining Regulatory Author-

ity for major minerals - State Govern-ments may set up similar Authorityat State level for minor minerals;

Imposition of a Central cess and aState cess, and setting up of MineralFunds at National and State Level forcapacity creation;

For the purpose of sharing thebenefits of mining with persons orfamilies having occupation, usufructor traditional rights in mining areas,and for local area infrastructure,

creation an amount equal to royaltyin case of minerals other than coal,and 26% of net profits, in the caseof coal, has been proposed to becredited each year to district LevelMineral Foundation;

Sustainable and scientific miningthrough provision for a SustainableDevelopment Framework;

Consultation with local communitybefore notifying an area for grant ofconcession, and for approval of MineClosure Plans;

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




Enhanced penalties for violationof provisions of the Act, includingdebarment of person convicted ofillegal mining for future grants andtermination of all mineral conces-sions held by such person; and

Establishment of Special Courts atthe State level for speedier disposalof the cases of illegal mining.

The implementation of the act willhelp in developing the country`s miningsector to its full potential so as to put thenation`s mineral resources to best use fornational economic growth, and ensureraw materials security in the long termnational interest.

The unique inclusive and rehabil-itory features of the Bill may be cited as:

Provision for keeping aside 26% ofthe net profits of the mining com-

panies for a Mineral DevelopmentFund to be used for the developmentand rehabilitation of project-affectedpeople in tribal areas.

In the case of non-coal miners, thenew law will provide for payment toproject-affected people of an amountequivalent to the royalty paid to theState government.

Draft Real Estate (Regulation

& Development) Bill, 2011

Currently, the real estate and housingsector is largely unregulated and opaque,with consumers often unable to procurecomplete information, or enforce account-ability against builders and developers inthe absence of effective regulation. Thesector, in recent years, has also emerged asa source of black money and corruptions inthe economy. Considering all these factors,the ministry of Housing and Urban PovertyAlleviation has prepared a draft modelReal Estate (regulation of development)Act. The Bill aims at restoring confidenceof the general public in the real estatesector; by instituting transparency andaccountability in real estate and housingtransactions.

The salient features of the DraftReal Estate (Regulation & Develop-ment) Bill are:

Establishment of a ‘Real EstateRegulatory Authority’ in each Stateby the Appropriate Government(Centre for the UTs and State Gov-ernments in the case of the States),with specified functions, powers,and responsibilities to facilitate theorderly and planned growth of thesector;

Mandatory registration of develop-ers / builders, who intend to sellany immovable property, with theReal Estate Regulatory Authority asa system of accreditation;

Mandatory public disclosure norms

for all registered developers, includ-ing details of developer, project,land status , statutory approvals andcontractual obligations;

Obligations of promoters to adhereto approved plans and project speci-fications, and to refund moneys incases of default;

Obligation of allottee to make nec-essary payments and other chargesagreed to under the agreement andpayment of interest in case of anydelay;

Authorities to comprise of oneChairperson and not less than two

members having adequate knowl-edge and experience of the sector;

Establishment of a ‘Real EstateAppellate Tribunal’ by the CentralGovernment to hear appeals fromthe orders of the Authority and toadjudicate on disputes;

Establishment of a Central Advi-sory Council to advise the CentralGovernment on matters concerningimplementation of the Act;

Council to make recommendationson major questions of policy, pro-tection of consumer interest and tofoster growth and development ofthe real estate sector;

Jurisdiction of Civil Courts barredon matters which the Authority orthe Tribunal is empowered to deter-mine.

Draft Model Property Rights

to Slum Dwellers Act, 2011

The Ministry of Housing and UrbanPoverty Alleviation (HUPA) proposedthe strengthening of its Slum redevelop-ment strategy by working towards a slumfree India, and assigning property rights

to Slum Dwellers, under the Rajiv AwasYojana (RAY).

The conferment of property title isa new direction for national policy thataligns national approach to the globalpractice. It sees ownership of propertyas the best investment in democracy,by creating for the household due spacewithin the formal system, and thereby avested interest in peace and legal order.

The salient features of the ACT are:

Facilitation of inclusive growth and

slum-free cities, to provide assuredsecurity of tenure, basic amenitiesand affordable housing to the slum-dwellers.

Every landless person living in aslum area in any city or urban area

on 4th June, 2009 shall be entitled to adwelling space at an affordable cost. Every Slum dweller or the Collective

of the Slum Dwellers shall be givena legal entitlement, which shall be inthe name of the female head of thehousehold or in the joint name of themale head of the household and hiswife.

Every slum dweller eligible shall beprovided with basic civic servicesuntil the site for the dwelling spacehas been developed.

The dwelling space so provided shallnot be transferable but allowed to be

mortgageable for raising housingloan, or in need to sell- but only tothe Government or the Collective asthe case may be.

The dwelling space may be providedin-situ as far as possible, provided incases on public interest they shall beresettled elsewhere.

Constitution of a Grievance Redres-sal Committee for the purposes ofresolving disputes in relation tomatters about identification of slumdwellers.

Establishment of City / Urban AreaSlum Redevelopment Committee forimplementing the provisions of theAct.

Establishment of a State Slum Rede-velopment Authority (to be headedby the Chief Minister) to continu-ously monitor implementation ofthe Act and to recommend correctivemeasures wherever necessary.

Emphasis on Community Participa-tion by providing for establishmentof Slum Development Committee foreach slum area.

Civil courts not to have jurisdictionon matters for which the City/Urban

Area Slum Redevelopment Com-mittee, State Slum RedevelopmentCommittee, Grievance RedressalCommittee, or the Tribunal is em-powered.

Commercial Courts

Indian courts have large number ofcases (in crores) pending before themwhich delayed the justice and it affect theimage of country especially in relation toeconomy liberalization. Supreme Court

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




has favored promotion of alternativedispute resolution mechanism to reducethe burden on courts. Considering thesefacts government has introduce the Com-mercial Division of High Courts Bill, inparliament which envisages setting up

special benches in each high court toadjudicate matters pertaining to com-mercial disputes of Rs five crore andabove. The Bill provides for a fast-trackprocedure for the commercial division,and sets time-limits for filing documents,and delivering judgment.

The Bill specifies the types of casesthat can be allocated to the commercialdivision of a High Court. It includes allcommercial disputes of specified valuepending in the High Court and appealsagainst orders of subordinate courts,interlocutory applications, revision appli-cation all of which are of specified value.

Commercial disputes pending in subor-dinate courts shall be transferred to thecommercial division of the High Courthaving jurisdiction over such courts.

Parliament Passes

Cooperatives Societies Act

The Parliament has passed the cru-cial Constitution 111th Amendment Billto insulate about six lakh cooperativesocieties from political and governmentinterference and to strengthen the coop-erative movement.

The basic features of the Bill are:a) Right to form cooperatives is a fun-

damental right;b) Cooperatives could set up agency

which would oversee election;c) Uniformity in the tenure of Coopera-

tive Board of Directors;d) provisions for incorporation, regula-

tion and winding up of co-operativesocieties based on the principlesof democratic member-control,member-economic participation andautonomous functioning;

e) specifying the maximum number ofdirectors of a co-operative society tobe not exceeding twenty-one mem-bers;

f) providing for a fixed term of fiveyears from the date of election inrespect of the elected members ofthe board and its office bearers;

g) providing for a maximum time limitof six months during which a boardof directors of co-operative societycould be kept under supersessionor suspension;

h) providing for independent profes-sional audit;

i) providing for right of informationto the members of the co-operativesocieties;

j) empowering the State Governmentsto obtain periodic reports of activi-ties and accounts of co-operative so-

cieties;k) providing for the reservation of oneseat for the Scheduled Castes orthe Scheduled Tribes and two seatsfor women on the board of everyco-operative society, which haveindividuals as members from suchcategories;

l) Providing for offences relating toco-operative societies and penaltiesin respect of such offences.

Land Acquisition Bill 2011

With the landmark Land Acquisition

Bill cleared by the Cabinet in September2011, the contentious issues in relation tofarmers and acquiring land for industrialunits and developmental projects hopesto get some clarity. With the Bill suc-cessful in proving to be beneficial to theinterest of the farmers, parts of the Billis helpful to the needs of infrastructuraldevelopment and needs of urbanisation.

Salient features of the Bill:

The draft proposes that 80 per centof the population in the area mustagree to the acquisition of land for aproject, and uniform compensatory

laws should be applicable to all own-ers.

It further says land owners shouldbe compensated with twice the reg-istered or stamp value of the landin urban areas and six times in ruralareas. The only exception being thatthe same is not required if the land isbeing utilized for public purposes.

Public purpose is defined in the Billas land used for strategic purposes,infrastructure and industry.

The bill also states that public con-sent is not required for ports, canals,

highways and railway projects. Consent is not compulsory if theland is acquired by the governmentfor its own use.

Mentioning the compensation to beprovided, the Bill has stated that theland owners has to be provided withfour times the market value of landif it is located in rural areas and twotimes the value in urban areas.

A subsistence allowance of Rs 3000per family has to be paid for a yearper month while an annuity of Rs

2,000 per family per month for 20years.

Displaced individuals to be given acompensation of Rs 5 lakh.

Different land acquisition norms forrural and urban areas.

Compensation to be provided withinthree months of acquisition. States to have their own respective

land acquisition laws. Urgency Clause to be invoked in rare

cases like acquiring land for nationaldefence.

Moreover, the draft bill bans theacquisition of all irrigated multi-cropped land, which will effectivelytake away 40% of the overall agricul-tural land in the country.

Most of this land falls in the Indo-Gangetic plains, which in India encom-passes areas of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar

Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal -- themost fertile and densely-populated re-gions of the country.

Law Commission Recommends

on Anti-dowry Law

Amid allegation of misuse of the law,the Law Commission on January 18,2012 recommended watering downthe anti-dowry law to make it lessstringent by allowing the womaninvolved in the case to withdrawthe case with the permission of the

court provided she is not under anypressure.

In its latest recommendation made tothe Law Ministry, the Commissionsaid the offence should be allowedto be made compoundable providedthe woman is facing no externalpressure.

Compoundable offences are thosewhich can be compromised by theparties to the dispute.

The permission of the court is notnecessary. When an offence is com-pounded, the party, who has beenaggrieved by the offence, is compen-

sated for his grievance. The Commission, headed by Justice

P V Reddi, has recommended to thegovernment to make Section 498-A ofthe Indian Penal Code (IPC), whichdeals with harassment for dowry andcruelty to a woman in her matrimonialhome, a compoundable offence.

This means that those who would bebooked in cases under this sectionwould find it easier to get bail. It isproposed to add sub-section (2A) toSection 320 CrPC.

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




Law Commission of India

Law Commission is an executivebody established by an order of theGovernment of India. Its main func-tion is to work for legal reform.

The Commission is established for

a fixed tenure and works as an ad-visory body to the Ministry of Lawand Justice.

The first Law Commission was setup during the British rule in 1834 by‘the Charter Act of 1833’.

The Nineteenth and the currentLaw Commission was establishedon September 1, 2009 under theChairmanship of Justice P. Venka-tarama Reddy. Its tenure was fixedtill August 31, 2012.

Cabinet Approves 4.5 Per

Cent Minority Quota

The cabinet on December 22, 2011approved 4.5 percent quota forminorities within the larger 27 per-cent quota for the Other backwardClasses (OBC) in central government jobs and educational institutions.

The cabinet has approved the carv-ing out of a sub-quota of 4.5 percentfor minorities, as defined undersection 2 (C) of the National Com-mission for Minorities Act, 1992 fromwithin the 27 percent reservation forOBC.

The castes/communities of the saidminorities, which are included inthe central list of OBCs notifiedstate-wise from time to time by theministry of social justice and em-powerment shall be covered by thissub-quota.

The proposal was based on a recom-mendation of the National Commis-sion for Religious and LinguisticMinorities.

As per the data released by theNational Commission for Religiousand Linguistic Minorities, the OBC

population was 52 percent of India’spopulation, of which minorities con-stitute 8.4 percent.

Justice Rajinder Sachar CommitteeReport-released in November 2006-had found the minority communityunder-represented in all spheres ofprofessional and public life.

The Sachar committee report andRanganath Mishra commissionreports have very well revealed thesocio-economic and educationalplight of the minority classes in

India. The reports also suggest theways by which their status can beimproved. But the poor response ofthe current government shows theminimal interest of the governmenttowards their upliftment.

The Constitution (116th

Amendment) Bill, 2011

The Constitution (One Hundred andSixteenth Amendment) Bill, 2011was passed December in, 2011.

The Bill amends the Constitution byinserting a new Part XIVB (addingArticles 323C and 323D) to the Con-stitution. It provides an outline forestablishing a Lokpal for the Unionand Lokayukta for the states. TheBill also amends the Third Schedule(insertion of Part IX) to provide forthe form of oath to be taken by theChairperson and members of Lokpaland the Lokayukta.

The Bill provides that that thereshall be a Lokpal for the Union anda Lokayukta for the States.

Lokpal

The Bill vests the Lokpal with thepower to (a) hold preliminary en-quiry which may result in an inves-tigation; and (b) prosecute offences.This power is in relation to a com-plaint filed under any prevention of

corruption law made by Parliament. The Lokpal shall be an autonomous

and independent body headed by aChairperson. The number of mem-bers and the conditions of the serviceof the Lokpal shall be determined byParliament.

The appointment of the Chairpersonand the members of the Lokpal shallbe made by the President.

The Chairperson and members ofthe Lokpal shall not be eligible tohold any further government posts(including office under the Govern-ment of India, State Government or

any other officer as may be deter-mined by Parliament).

Lokayukta

The Bill also provides that thereshall be a Lokayukta for every State.The Bill vests the Lokayukta withthe power to (a) hold preliminaryenquiry which may result in aninvestigation; and (b) prosecuteoffences. This power is in relationto a complaint filed under any pre-vention of corruption of law made

by either the Parliament or the Statelegislatures as the case may be.

The Lokayukta shall be an autono-mous and independent body headedby a chairperson. The numberof Members and the conditions of

service of the Lokayukta shall bedetermined by either Parliament orthe State Legislatures as the case maybe.

The appointment of the Chairpersonand the Members of the Lokayuktashall be made by the Governor.

The Chairperson and Members ofthe Lokayukta shall not be eligibleto hold any further governmentposts (including office under theGovernment of India, State Govern-ment or any other officer as may bedetermined by Parliament or StateLegislature).

The Export-Import Bank of

India (Amendment) Bill, 2011

The Bill amends the Export-Import(EXIM) Bank of India Act, 1981. TheAct establishes the EXIM Bank as acorporation that promotes interna-tional trade by financing exportersand importers.

The Bill proposes to increase theauthorized capital of the EXIM Bankfrom Rs 2,000 crore to Rs 10,000crore. The amendment was pro-

posed to enable the bank to meet thecapital requirements arising fromthe significant business growth inrecent years.

The Bill also proposes the appoint-ment of two whole-time directors bythe central government to the Boardof the EXIM Bank. Currently, theboard consists of only the chairmanand the managing director.

The Cable Television Networks

(Regulation) Amendment

Bill, 2011

The Cable Television Networks(Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2011was passed by Parliament. TheBill amends the Cable TelevisionNetworks (Regulation) Act, 1995,and repeals the Cable TelevisionNetworks (Regulation) AmendmentOrdinance, 2011.

The Cable Television Networks(Regulation) Act, 1995 requires andprovides a mechanism for registra-tion of all cable operators. The Act

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




empowers the central governmentto appoint a registering authorityto review applications and grantregistrations.

The Act defines ‘pay channels’ aschannels for which ‘addressable

systems’ are required to be attachedto the set top box. The Bill redefines‘pay channels’ to mean channels forwhich the cable operator pays thebroadcaster and the broadcaster’spermission is required for transmis-sion of the channel.

The Bill would empower the centralgovernment to issue notificationsrequiring all cable operators totransmit any channel, includingfree-to-air channels, in an encryptedform through a digital addressablesystem. The cable operators will begiven a minimum of six months to

install the equipment required forsuch transmission. In the interim,in order to be registered, new cableoperators would have to make anundertaking to transmit channels inencrypted form.

The central government may directthe Telecom Regulatory Authority ofIndia (TRAI) to specify the free-to-airchannels to be included in the basicservice tier. It may also direct TRAIto specify the tariff rate at which thecable operators would provide basicservice tier to the consumer.

The Bill would empower the regis-tration authority to refuse registra-tion if the cable operator does notmeet eligibility requirements thatmay be prescribed under the amend-ed Act. The central governmentmay prescribe additional eligibilitycriteria related to matters such as,sovereignty, integrity and securityof India, public order, decency andmorality.

The Bill would authorise the centralgovernment to inspect cable net-works and services. Prior notice maynot be given to the cable operator

or broadcaster if it would defeat thepurpose of the inspection. The Act authorised the seizure of

the cable operators’ equipment if thecable operator violates provisionsof the Act. This period of seizurewas limited to 10 days and could beextended by an order of the District Judge. Under the Bill, there is nolimitation on the period of seizure.

The Bill would empower the centralgovernment to revoke or suspenda cable operator’s registration if he

violates the terms of registration.Prior to taking such action, the cableoperator has to be given an opportu-nity to be heard.

The State Bank of India

(Subsidiary Banks)

Amendment Bill, 2010

The Bill amends the State Bank ofIndia (Subsidiary Banks) Act, 1959,which made certain governmentand government associated banksas subsidiaries of the State Bank ofIndia.

The Bill removes the State Bank ofIndore as a subsidiary of the StateBank of India under the Act. Thepurpose of the Bill is to enable theprocess of acquisition of the State

Bank of Indore by the State Bank ofIndia.

The Unlawful Activities

(Prevention) Amendment

Bill, 2011

The Unlawful Activities (Preven-tion) Amendment Bill, 2011 was in-troduced on December 29, 2011 by theMinister of Home Affairs.

According to the statement of objectsand reasons, the Bill amends theUnlawful Activities (Prevention)

Act, 1967 to make it more effectivein preventing unlawful activities,and meet commitments made atthe Financial Action Task Force (anintergovernmental organization tocombat money laundering and ter-rorism financing).

The Bill amends the original Act toinclude the definition of a ‘person’.A ‘person’ shall include (i) an indi-vidual; (ii) a Hindu undivided fam-ily; (iii) a company; (iv) a firm; (v)an association of persons or a bodyof individuals; (vi) every artificial

juridical person; (vii) any agency,office or branch owned or controlledby any person falling within any ofthe preceding sub-clauses.

The original Act defined ‘proceedsof terrorism’ as:

1. Property derived from commissionof any terrorist act or traceable to aterrorist act; and

2. Property which is being used or isintended to be used for the purposeof a terrorist organization or terroristgang.

The Bill replaces the second part ofthe above definition with ‘propertywhich is being used, or is intendedto be used for a terrorist act or forthe purpose of an individual terror-ist or a terrorist gang or a terrorist

organization’. It also clarifies thatthe ‘proceeds of terrorism’ includeproperty intended to be used forterrorism.

The Bill also expands the definitionof ‘property’ by using the phrase‘instruments in any form includingbut not limited to’ those listed in theoriginal definition.

The Bill increases the period forwhich an association can be declaredas unlawful from two years to fiveyears.

It expands the definition of ‘terroristact’ to include:

1. Acts that threaten the economicsecurity of India and damage itsmonetary stability by production,smuggling or circulation of ‘highquality’ counterfeit currency. Thesecurity features that define ‘highquality’ are laid down in the ThirdSchedule.

2. Acts of demanding bombs, explo-sive/ inflammable substances, lethalweapons, poisonous chemicals orbiological, radiological, nuclearmaterial with the intention of aiding,abetting or committing terrorism.

3. Acts that involve detention, abduc-tion, threats to kill or injure, orother actions so as to compel aninternational or inter-governmentalorganization to comply with somedemand.

4. Acts within the scope of and definedin any of the treaties listed in theSecond Schedule of the Bill.

The Bill enlarges the scope of punish-ment for raising funds:

1. Under the original Act, if a personraises or provides funds, knowingthat such funds are likely to be usedto commit a terrorist act, he shall be

punishable with imprisonment ofnot less than five years and a fine.2. Under the Bill, raising funds likely to

be used (in full or in part) to commita terrorist act or for the benefit of ter-rorists shall be punishable irrespec-tive of whether the funds have beenraised from legitimate or illegitimatesources.

3. The Bill clarifies that raising fundsshall include production or circula-tion of counterfeit Indian currency.It also states that ‘participating,

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




organising or directing’ fund raisingactivities shall constitute an offence.

The Bill inserts new sections toinclude offences by companies,societies or trusts. Every personwho, at the time of the offence, was

responsible for the conduct of thebusiness shall be punishable withimprisonment for seven or moreyears and a fine between five to tencrore rupees.

1. The Bill confers additional powersupon the court to provide for attach-ment or forfeiture of:

2. Property equivalent to the counter-feit Indian currency involved in theoffence.

3. Property equivalent to the value ofthe proceeds of terrorism involvedin the offence.

4. All or any of the property of an ac-

cused, based on evidence producedbefore the court, in cases where thetrial cannot be concluded.

The Higher Education and

Research Bill, 2011

The Bill seeks to establish the Nation-al Commission for Higher Educationand Research (NCHER) to facilitatedetermination and maintenance ofstandards of higher education andresearch in all areas except agri-cultural education. The University

Grants Commission Act, 1956; theAll India Council for Technical Edu-cation Act, 1987; and the NationalCouncil for Teacher Education Act,1993 shall be repealed within a yearof this Act coming into force.

The NCHER shall consist of a Chair-person, three whole-time members,three part-time members and theChairperson or member of the Na-tional Commission for Human Re-sources for Health. The qualificationof the Chairperson and whole-timemembers is 25 years of experiencein the academic profession with 10

years in a leadership role. The part-time members are required to have20 years of experience and five yearsin a leadership role.

The process of appointing the Chair-person and members of the NCHERhas two stages. A Collegium ofScholars shall suggest a panel ofthree names to a Selection Commit-tee. The President shall appoint theChairperson and members on therecommendation of the SelectionCommittee.

The Bill establishes a General Coun-cil to advise the NCHER on issuessuch as access, adequacy of fund-ing and quality. The Council shallconsist of members of the NCHER,representatives of State Higher Edu-

cation Council, heads of each profes-sional body and research council,one Director each of an IIT, an IIMand National Law Universities, etc.

The functions of NCHER include(a) promotion of autonomy in edu-cational institutions; (b) promotionof a curriculum framework withspecific reference to emerging orinter-disciplinary fields of knowl-edge; (c) promotion of coordinationbetween educational institutions andindustry for innovation; and (d) tak-ing measures to enhance access andinclusion in higher education.

The NCHER may, with prior ap-proval of the General Council, makeregulations specifying standards ofhigher education and research. Theregulations may specify require-ments for award of a degree ordiploma, specify norms of academicquality for accreditation, specifynorms for establishment and wind-ing up of educational institutions,regulate entry of foreign educationalinstitutions, and specify standardsfor appointment of Vice Chancellors.

The NCHER shall maintain a di-rectory of academics eligible forappointment as Vice Chancellors orHead of a central educational institu-tion. The directory shall be preparedby the Collegium. NCHER shallrecommend a panel of three namesfrom the directory when asked todo so by the central government ora central educational institution.

Every educational institution whichintends to enroll students for thefirst time shall inform NCHERalong with its accreditation report.NCHER has to notify the institu-tion within 120 days whether it can

proceed with the enrolment. TheNCHER also has the power to re-voke such permission. An order ofthe NCHER can be appealed in theNational Educational Tribunal (to beestablished under the EducationalTribunals Act, 2011).

The central government shall estab-lish a Board for Research Promo-tion and Innovation to recommendmeasures to the NCHER to facilitateresearch.

The central government shall estab-

lish the Higher Education FinancialServices Corporation, which shalldisburse grants to educationalinstitutions based on norms to bespecified by the NCHER.

The central government shall es-

tablish Qualifications AdvisoryCouncils in vocational education.Each Council shall be headed by aChairperson and eight members.Each Council shall be appointed fora specific skill area and shall maderecommendations on qualificationframework, accreditation norms, etc.

The central government has thepower to supersede the NCHER,General Council, Board or Corpora-tion for a maximum period of sixmonths if any of them are unable todischarge their functions or persis-tently defaults in complying with

directions of the central government.

The Marriage Laws

(Amendment) Bill, 2010

The Bill amends the Hindu MarriageAct, 1955 which codifies the lawrelating to marriage among Hindusand the Special Marriage Act, 1954that provides for special form ofmarriage in certain cases.

Both Acts allow a petition for grantof divorce on the ground of mu-tual consent. This petition has to be

presented by both parties togetherbefore the court. The Bill deletes thisrequirement allowing one party tothe marriage to present the petition.

The Bill adds a provision to both Actsthat allows both parties to file fordivorce on the ground of irretriev-able breakdown of marriage. Bothparties have to live apart for at leastthree years before filing for such apetition.

The Right of Citizens for

Time Bound Delivery of Goods

and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011

The Right of Citizens for Time BoundDelivery of Goods and Services andRedressal of their Grievance Bill,2011 was introduced in the LokSabha on December 20, 2011.

The Bill seeks to confer on every citi-zen the right to time bound deliveryof specified goods and services andprovide a mechanism for grievanceredressal.

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




The Bill makes it mandatory forevery public authority to publish aCitizen’s Charter within six monthsof the commencement of the Act. A“public authority” is defined as aninstitution of self government consti-

tuted (a) under the Constitution; (b)by law made by Parliament or a statelegislature. It also includes a govern-ment company, a non-governmentorganization substantially financeddirectly or indirectly by the appro-priate government, and a companywhich supplies goods or servicesunder an obligation imposed by anAct.

The Citizen’s Charter shall (a) listthe details of the goods and ser-vices provided by a public author-ity; (b) the name of the person oragency responsible for providing

the goods or services; (c) the timeframe within which such goodsor services have to be provided;(d) the category of people entitledto the goods and services; and (e)details of the complaint redressalmechanism.

Every public authority shall appointGrievance Redress Officers (GRO)within six months of the Act com-ing into force. These officers shallbe appointed at various levels i.e.central, state, district, panchayat andmunicipality to inquire and redressany complaints. The complaint hasto be acknowledged within two daysof making it.

It shall be the duty of the GRO toensure that within 30 days of thereceipt of the complaint, (i) the com-plaint is remedied (ii) the grievanceis redressed; and (iii) the defaultingofficer is identified.

The GRO shall ensure that depart-mental action is taken against an in-dividual if a grievance has occurreddue to deficiency or negligence ofthat individual. The GRO may alsorecommend action against an indi-

vidual to the designated authorityif he feels there was wilful neglector a prima facie case under thePrevention of Corruption Act, 1988.The designated authority is any of-ficer prescribed by the appropriategovernment other than the publicauthority.

The GRO shall give an Action Tak-en Report to the complainant in-forming him the manner in whichthe complaint was addressed. Anycomplaint not redressed within

30 days shall be forwarded by theGRO as an appeal to the designatedauthority.

The complainant can also file an ap-peal against the decision of the GROto the designated authority within 30

days of the receipt of the decision.The appeal shall be disposed ofwithin 30 days from the date of thereceipt of the appeal.

An appeal may be filed against thedecision of the designated author-ity with (i) State Public GrievanceRedressal Commission in case thedesignated authority falls withinthe jurisdiction of the state govern-ment; (ii) Central Public GrievanceRedressal Commission in case thedesignated authority falls within thecentral government.

The State and Central Public Griev-

ance Redressal Commissions shallconsist of a Chief Commissionerand a maximum number of 10 Com-missioners. The qualifications ofthe Commissioners are specified inlaw. They shall be appointed by theGovernor (in the case of State Com-mission) or the President (in case ofCentral Commission) on the recom-mendation of a Selection Commit-tee. An appeal before the State andCentral Public Grievance RedressalCommission shall be disposed offwithin 60 days.

The State and Central Public Griev-ance Redressal Commissions havethe power to refer cases of failureof delivery of goods and servicesto the Head of Department of theconcerned public authority. If theyare satisfied that there are reason-able grounds, they can initiate asuo-motu inquiry.

The designated authority and theCommissions may impose a maxi-mum penalty of Rs 50,000 against thedesignated official or GRO for failingto deliver the goods or services. Thepenalty shall be recovered from thesalary of the official. Such penaltymay be awarded as compensationto the appellant.

An appeal against the decision of theCentral Commission shall be filedbefore the Lokpal. An appeal againstthe decision of the State Commissionshall be filed before the Lokayukta.

The Electronic Delivery of

Services Bill 2011

The Bill provides that the centralgovernment, the state govern-

ment and public authorities shalldeliver all public services throughelectronic modes, except those thatcannot be delivered electronically.The government may also notifyother services which will not be

delivered electronically. Servicesthat can be delivered through elec-tronic means include the receipt offorms and applications, the issue oflicenses and permits, and receiptand payment of money, amongothers. Public authorities are re-quired to deliver services throughelectronic means within five yearsof the enactment of the Bill, whichmay be extended by a further threeyears.

The Bill provides that every publicauthority should publish the listof public services to be delivered

electronically within 180 days ofits enactment. This list should bereviewed every January and thefollowing notified: (a) the date bywhich each service will be madeavailable electronically and (b) themanner and quality of delivery ofsuch services.

Every public authority is requiredto notify a Grievance RedressalMechanism. Aggrieved personscan file complaints against an au-thority for failing to provide publicservices electronically or for defi-ciencies in the electronic deliveryof services.

The Bill establishes three-membercommissions at the central and statelevels. The central selection commit-tee tasked to appoint the memberswill consist of the cabinet secretary,a secretary and an expert. The stateselection committee will consist ofthe chief secretary, a principal sec-retary and an expert. The Bill bars judicial review of appointment ofmembers.

Any authority or officer failing todischarge duties relating to provi-

sions in this Act, may be fined up tofive thousand rupees. Wilful andpersistent default carries a penaltyup to Rs 20,000.

The Bill provides that the centralgovernment can supersede theCentral Commission in its func-tions and duties for six months incircumstances where the Commis-sion is unable to carry out its du-ties. The central government willbe required to submit a full reportof actions taken during this time

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




before each House of Parliament.The Bill has similar provisions forthe State Commissions and StateGovernments.

The Indian Medical Council


The Bill amends the Indian Medi-cal Council Act, 1956, which pro-vided for the constitution of theMedical Council of India (MCI)and the maintenance of a medicalregister.

The Act was amended by theIndian Medical Council (Amend-ment) Ordinance, 2010 (later en-acted as a law), which provided forsuperseding the MCI for one yearwith effect from May 15, 2010. ABoard of Governors, constitutedby the central government, wouldperform the functions of the MCI.The amending Act also stated thatthe MCI had to be reconstitutedwithin one year of supersession i.e.by May 14, 2011.

An Ordinance was promulgated onMay 10, 2011 to increase the periodin which the MCI has to be reconsti-tuted from one year to two years. Italso increased the term of office ofthe Board of Governors to one moreyear.

The Bill ratifies the Ordinance.

The Juvenile Justice (Care

and Protection of Children)

Amendment Bill, 2010

The Bill omits a provision from theAct which provided for the separatetreatment of juveniles or childrensuffering from leprosy, sexuallytransmitted disease, Hepatitis B, Tu-berculosis, or children with unsoundmind.

The Bill also replaces a provisionwhich gave competent authorities

in special homes or children’s homesthe power to move children suffer-ing from leprosy, unsound mind, ordrug addiction to special facilities forsuch children.

Under the Bill, the competent au-thority can move children who arementally ill or addicted to alcohol ordrugs, only if such condition leads toa behavioural change in the children.He can then order their removal toa psychiatric hospital or psychiatricnursing home.

In case the child has been removed toa psychiatric facility, the competentauthority can remove the child to anIntegrated Rehabilitation Centre onthe basis of the discharge certificateissued by the psychiatric facility.

The Representation of People


The Representation of the PeopleAct, 1950 makes detailed provisionsfor elections and lays down the con-ditions required to register as a voterin a constituency. The conditions ofregistration include that a citizenshould be “ordinarily resident” of aconstituency.

The Bill allows for all citizens to beenrolled in the electoral rolls in theconstituency in which his place ofresidence in India as mentioned inhis passport.

The Electoral officer has to undertakethe required verification for enrol-ment.

The procedure for registration andthe time period within which theregistration shall take place is tobe specified by the Government inconsultation with the Election Com-mission.

The Bill permits registration in elec-toral rolls of persons who are (a)citizens of India, (b) not enrolled in

electoral rolls, (c) have not taken upthe citizenship of any other country,and (d) are absent from the ordinaryplace of residence.

The National Highways

Authority of India(Amendment)

Bill 2011

The National Highways Authority ofIndia (Amendment) Bill, 2011 was intro-duced in the Lok Sabha by the Ministerof Road Transport and Highways, C.P. Joshi on December 19, 2011. The Bill

was referred to the Standing Committeeon Transport, Tourism and Culture on January 13, 2012.

The National Highways Authorityof India Act, 1988 established theNational Highways Authority ofIndia (NHAI) for the development,maintenance and management ofnational highways. The NHAI con-sists of a chairman, up to 5 full-timemembers and up to 4 part-timemembers.

The Bill expands the authority. Itwill now consist of a chairman,up to 6 full-time members and 6part-time members. At least twoof the part-time members must benon-government professionals with

knowledge or experience in financialmanagement, transportation plan-ning or any other relevant discipline.

The National Council

for Teacher Education


The National Council for TeacherEducation (Amendment) Bill, 2010was introduced in the Rajya Sabhaon April 16, 2010.

The Bill seeks to amend the NationalCouncil for Teacher Education Act,

1993, which establishes a NationalCouncil for Teacher Education todevelop a teacher education systemin the country.

The Bill seeks to regulate institutions,schools and teachers. The provisionsof this Bill shall also apply to teachersin institutions and schools providingpreprimary, primary, upper-primary,secondary, and senior secondary orintermediate education.

The Council has the power to deter-mine the qualifications of teacherswho will be recruited to teach in pre-primary, primary, upper-primary,secondary, and senior secondary orintermediate schools and collegesrecognised by the central, state orany other authority.

The Indian Medicine Central

Council (Amendment)

Bill, 2010

The Bill seeks to amend the IndianMedicine Central Council Act, 1970,which created a central council toregulate ayurveda, siddha, andunani medicine, set minimum stand-ards for education, and maintain aregister of all practitioners in thesefields.

The Bill seeks to include the Sowa-Rigpa system of medicine practicedin the sub-Himalayan region withinthe definition of Indian medicine.

Currently, the council has membersfrom states with registered ayurveda,siddha, and unani practitioners, a rep-resentative from each university, andcentrally appointed members withspecialized knowledge. The Bill seeks

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




to include registered practitioners ofSowa-Rigpa in the Council.

The National Commission for

Human Resources For Health

Bill, 2011 The Bill seeks to establish a mech-

anism to determine and regulatethe standard of health educationin the country. It shall repealthe Indian Nursing Council Act,1947; the Pharmacy Act, 1948; theDentists Act, 1948 and the IndianMedical Council Act, 1956 on suchdate as decided by the centralgovernment.

The Bill seeks to set up the NationalCommission for Human Resourcesfor Health (NCHRH), National

Board for Health Education (NBHE),and the National Evaluation andAssessment Council (NEAC). Italso establishes various professionalcouncils at the national and statelevel and a NCHRH Fund to meetexpenses.

The NCHRH shall take measures todetermine and maintain the mini-mum standard of human resourcesin health education. The measuresmay include (a) conducting stud-ies to assess the needs of humanresources in states; (b) conductingelections in the national councils;

(c) providing grants to the NBHE,NEAC and councils, and (d) regu-lating the entry of foreign institu-tions in consultation with NBHEand any law that may come intoforce.

The permission of NCHRH is re-quired to establish an educationalinstitution. The person has to sub-mit a scheme for the institutionto NCHRH which shall refer it toNEAC. NCHRH shall give per-mission based on NEAC’s recom-mendation. In case the person isnot informed of a decision withinone year of submitting the scheme,it shall be deemed to have been ap-proved. The NEAC shall evaluateevery institution seeking permissionto operate.

The central government may appointnational councils such as MedicalCouncil of India, Paramedical Coun-cil of India and Nursing Council ofIndia. Every person who wants topractice medicine, signs a medicalcertificate or give evidence in a court

as an expert has to be enrolled inthe national or state registers to bemaintained by these councils.

The NBHE shall take measures tofacilitate academic studies and re-search in emerging areas of health

education. It shall conduct a screen-ing test for medical practitioners be-fore they can enroll in a professionalcouncil.

An Indian citizen who wants tostudy medicine abroad has to obtainan eligibility certificate from NBHE,certifying that he fulfils minimumnorm of getting admission in anMBBS course in India. He shall notbe eligible to appear for the screen-ing test if he has not obtained thiscertificate. A person may be ex-empted from the test if he is enrolledas a health practitioner outside India

for at least three years. Any person who obtains a degree

from a government institution andleaves India for higher education,shall endeavour to serve in Indiafor three years. If he does not doso, his name shall be removed fromthe register. If he opts to return toIndia, he can get his name re-enteredafter fulfilling such conditions asspecified by NCHRH. Any personwho gets a degree from a privateinstitution then goes abroad forhigher education has to either re-turn to India within three years orinform the respective council of hiswhereabouts. If he does not do so,it shall be construed as professionalmisconduct.

The National Food Security

Bill, 2011

The National Food Security Bill, 2011was introduced in the Lok Sabha onDecember 22, 2011 by K.V. Thomas,the Minister for Consumer Affairs,Food and Public Distribution. TheBill seeks to provide for food and

nutritional security by providingspecific entitlements to certaingroups.

The Bill specifies that up to 75 per-cent of the rural population and 50percent of the urban population shallbe entitled to foodgrains. Of these,at least 46 percent and 28 percent,respectively, shall be categorised aspriority groups (the rest are “gen-eral”). Entitlements provided tothese groups and others are listed

in the table below. The central government may prescribe

guidelines for identification of priorityhouseholds, general households, andexclusion criteria. Identification shallbe done by state governments or suchother agency as decided by the centralgovernment. The list of identified pri-ority and general households shall bedisplayed prominently in the publicdomain.

In the case of non-supply offoodgrains or meals to persons en-titled under the Bill, such personsshall be entitled to receive a foodsecurity allowance from the stategovernment.

District Grievance Redressal Offic-ers shall be appointed by state gov-ernments. The central governmentand every state government shall

constitute a National and StateFood Commission, respectively,for monitoring and reviewingimplementation of the Act. Publicservants found guilty by eithercommission of failing to providerelief recommended by a DistrictGrievance Redressal Officer shallbe fined up to Rs 5000.

The central government shall pro-vide foodgrains to state govern-ments with respect to entitlementsunder the Bill (except for priorityand general households) at pricesspecified in the Bill. It shall (a) pro-

cure foodgrains for the central pool;(b) allocate foodgrains to states;(c) provide for transportation offoodgrains to depots in each state;and (d) create and maintain modernand scientific storage facilities. Incase of short supply of foodgrains,the central government shall providefunds to state governments to theextent of such short supply.

It shall be the responsibility ofevery state government to (a) cre-ate and maintain scientific stor-age sites; (b) suitably strengthencapacities of their Food and CivilSupplies Corporations; and (c) es-tablish institutionalised licensingfor FPS.

Every local authority, as authorisedby the state government, shall con-duct or cause periodic social auditson the functioning of FPS, TPDS,and other welfare scheme, and takeany necessary action. The findingsshall be publicised. In addition,every state government shall set upVigilance Committees at the state,

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




district, block, and FPS levels. The Bill states that the central and

state governments shall undertakereforms of the TPDS, including: (a)doorstep delivery of foodgrains; (b)application of information technolo-

gy and computerisation; (c) leverag-ing aadhar for unique identification;(d) full transparency of records; (e)preference to public bodies in licens-ing of fair price shops and manage-ment of such shops by women ortheir collectives; (f) diversificationof commodities offered by TPDS; (g)support to local public distributionmodels and grain banks; and (h)schemes such as cash transfer andfood coupons in lieu of foodgrains.

The Rajiv Gandhi National

Institute of YouthDevelopment Bill, 2011

The Bill seeks to declare the RajivGandhi National Institute of YouthDevelopment, Kanchipuram as aninstitution of national importance.The existing institute at Sriperum-budur was set up in 1993 with theobjective of undertaking advancedstudy in youth related activities.In 2011, the report of the MentorGroup of the Ministry of YouthAffairs recommended the conver-sion of the existing institute into an

institution of national importance.Previous government reports hadrecommended that it be given thestatus of a National Youth Univer-sity.

The objectives of the institute are to(a) evolve an integrated approachto youth development, (b) establisha National Youth Centre, (c) act as anodal agency for capacity buildingof stakeholders, and (d) providefor higher education in the fieldof youth development throughemployment-oriented courses at the

post-graduate level. The main functions of the institute

include developing a “think tank” tocarry out policy research and evalu-ate youth programmes, developingdocumentation and publication ser-vices for youth training, providingtechnical advice for youth training,and awarding degrees and diplomasat various academic levels.

The institute shall admit personsof any gender, race, class orphysical ability. Students shall be

admitted and teachers appointedwithout any conditions imposedbased on their religious belief orprofession.

The President of India shall be theVisitor of the institute. He may ap-

point any person to review the workof the institute and hold inquiries.The institute shall consist of (a) theExecutive Council, (b) the AcademicCouncil and (c) such other authori-ties as may be appointed.

The Academic Council shall bethe principal academic body of theinstitute. It shall be responsible formaintenance of standards of instruc-tion, education and examination inthe institute. The Bill also establishesa Financial Committee to review thefinances and scrutinize the accountsand budget estimates and makerecommendations to the ExecutiveCouncil.

The institute shall maintain a fund inwhich all grants, fees and donationsshall be credited. The institute mayalso set up an endowment fund withRs 100 crore to be maintained in thePublic Account.

Any dispute between an employeeand the institute shall be referredto a Tribunal of Arbitration whichshall include a member nominatedby the institute, one by the employ-ee and an umpire by the Visitor.

The decision of the Tribunal shallbe final and cannot be questionedin a court.

The Arms (Amendment)

Bill, 2011

The Bill amends the Arms Act, 1959that lays down the law with respectto arms and ammunition.

Section 7 of the original Act forbidsthe manufacture, sale, and use ofprohibited arms and ammunitionunless it has been specially author-ised by the central government.

Section 27(3) prescribes that any con-travention of Section 7 that resultsin the death of any person ‘shall bepunishable with death’.

The Bill amends the Act to replacethe mandatory death sentence.Under the Bill violators ‘shall bepunishable with death or imprison-ment for life and shall also be liableto fine’.

The Bill gives retrospective effect

to the amendment with effect fromthe 27th May, 1988 so as to covera criminal appeal that is currentlypending in the Supreme Court.

The Constitution (Scheduled

Tribe) Order (Amendment)

Bill, 2011

The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes)Order specifies the tribal and tribalcommunities who are deemed to beScheduled Tribes.

The Bill amends Part X of the Orderwhich specifies the Scheduled Tribesin Manipur. It also amends PartXVIII of the Order which specifiesthe Scheduled Tribes in ArunachalPradesh.

The Bill amends Part X of the Order

by substituting (i) “Kabui Inpui,Rongmei” for “Kabui” (ii) “KachaNaga, Liangmai, Zeme for “KachaNaga”; and (iii) “Koirao, Thangal”for “Koirao”. It also inserts a newentry for granting Scheduled Tribestatus to the “Mate” tribal commu-nity”.

The Bill also amends Part XVIII ofthe Order by substituting the tribe“Galo” for “Galong”.

The Citizenship (Amendment)

Bill, 2011

The Citizenship Act, 1955 lays downthe provisions relating to acquisi-tion, renunciation and terminationof Indian citizenship. Under theAct, Indian citizenship can be ac-quired by (a) birth; (b) descent; (c)registration; (d) naturalisation; and(d) incorporation of territory.

The Bill substitutes the term ‘over-seas citizen of India’ with the term‘overseas Indian cardholder.’ Itdefines an overseas Indian card-holder as a ‘person registered as anoverseas Indian cardholder’ by the

Central Government under Section7 A.’

The Bill provides for registration ofpersons as ‘overseas Indian card-holder’ instead of registration of‘overseas Indian citizen.’

The Bill enlarges the categories ofpersons who are eligible for registra-tion as ‘overseas Indian cardholder.’The Bill proposes to include (i) a per-son who is a great grand child of anyperson who was a citizen of India at,

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




or any time after the commencementof the Constitution; or (ii) a minorchild of parents who are citizens ofIndia or one of the parents is a citi-zen of India; or (iii) the spouse of anIndian citizen who has been married

for at least two years before makingthe application for registration.

Under the Act, certain rights wereconferred upon an ‘overseas IndianCitizen of India’. The Bill proposesto confer those rights on an ‘overseasIndian cardholder.’

If a person renounces his overseasIndian card, then his minor childshall also cease to be an overseasIndian cardholder.

The registration of the spouse of anIndian citizen shall be cancelled if(i) the marriage has been dissolved

by a competent court; or (ii) duringthe subsistence of such marriage,the spouse has married any otherperson.

The central government may relaxthe requirement of being a residentin India for12 months as one of thequalifications for being granted acertificate of naturalisat ion. Theperiod cannot be extended beyonda period of 30 days.

The Judicial Standards and

Accountability Bill, 2010

The Judicial Standards and Ac-countability Bill, into tries to lay downenforceable standards of conductfor judges. It also requires judges todeclare details of their and their fam-ily members' assets and liabilities.Importantly, it creates mechanisms toallow any person to complain against judges on grounds of misbehaviour orincapacity.

Highlights of Bill The Judicial Standards and Ac-

countability Bill, 2010 requires

judges to declare their assets, laysdown judicial standards, and es-tablishes processes for removal of judges of the Supreme Court andHigh Courts.

Judges will be required to de-clare their assets and liabilities,and also that of their spouse andchildren.

The Bill establishes the National Judi ci al Ov er si gh t Co mmit te e,the Complaints Scrutiny Paneland an investigation committee.

Any person can make a complaintagainst a judge to the OversightCommittee on grounds of ‘misbe-haviour’.

A motion for removal of a judge ongrounds of misbehaviour can also be

moved in Parliament. Such a motionwill be referred for further inquiry tothe Oversight Committee.

Complaints and inquiries against judges will be confi dential andfrivolous complaints will be penal-ised.

The Oversight Committee may issueadvisories or warnings to judges,and also recommend their removalto the President.

The North-Eastern Areas

(Reorganisation) Amendment

Bill, 2011

The Bill amends the North-EasternAreas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.The Act established a common cadreof the Indian Administrative Service,the Indian Police Service, and theIndian Forest Service for the statesof Manipur and Tripura.

The Bill bifurcates each of these threecadres for the two states of Manipurand Tripura.

The Rights of Persons with

Disabilities Bill 2011

The Committee, under the Chair-personship of Dr.(Mrs) Sudha Kaul,appointed by the Ministry of Social Jus tice and Empowerment, Govern-ment of India, to draft a New Legis-lation replacing the existing Personswith Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,Protection of Rights and Full Participa-tion) Act, 1995, presented the final draftof the new law, ‘The Rights of Personswith Disabilities Bill, 2011’.

The Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Bill 2011, submitted to the Ministerof Social Justice Mukul Wasnik in June 2011, specifies, for the first time,criminal sanctions for acts of omissionand commission against the disabled;bars discrimination on grounds ofdisability and proposes enhanced jobquota for the disabled from 3 to 7 percent in all establishments. The quotais to be distributed among seven listedcategories of the disabled.

Twenty forms of disability, includingintellectual disabilities, thalassemia,

dwarfism and hemophilia, are cov-ered by the new law (against sevencurrently covered), which proposesa National Disability RegulatoryAuthority to prescribe standards onaccessibility and rules for service

providers. The law says no new building plancan be passed unless it meets acces-sibility norms; existing governmentbuildings will have to become ac-cessible in three years of the law’senforcement and other public build-ings will get five years.

Non-compliance will result in sus-pension of water, electricity supplyto buildings; cancellation or sus-pension of builders’ licence or fineup to 5 per cent of the building’smarket value or a combination ofall.

Separate chapters have been ded-icated to the rights of disabledwomen and children and penaltiesprescribed for violation. All disabledchildren (0 to 18 years) will be enti-tled to the Right to Education thoughthe RTE Act covers those from 6 to14 years.

The Bill further replaces the existingconcept of plenary guardianshipwith limited guardianship, whichmeans all guardians of persons withdisabilities will be legally obligedto consult them to arrive at legallybinding decisions.

The law prescribes severe penalties- 6 months to 8 years in prison andfine for wilfully injuring a personwith disability; up to seven yearsand fine for wrongful medical prac-tises that cause infertility and up to10 years for forceful termination ofpregnancy. For general violations, apenalty of 6 months and Rs 50,000fine is proposed.

The new law is in accordance withthe UN Convention on Rights ofPersons with Disability, which Indiaratified in 2007.

Communal Violence Bill, 2011

The proposed communal violencebill, intends to prevent and controltargeted violence against the Sched-uled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes andreligious and linguistic minorities. ThePrevention of Communal and Targetedviolence (Access to Justice and Repara-tions) Bill, 2011, prepared by NAC toenhance state accountability and correct

8/12/2019 117-129 Bills




discriminatory exercise of state powers in the context ofidentity-based violence.

Dereliction of duty by public servants: The bill recog-nizes offences of both omission and commission. Publicservants who act or omit to exercise authority vested inthem under law and fail to protect or prevent offences

or act with malafide and prejudice shall be guilty ofdereliction of duty with penal consequences. Defining communal and targeted violence: The

provisions of this Bill will apply only when it isfirst established that the offence was ‘targeted’ innature. Offences under the Indian Penal Code shallbe considered offences under this bill when theymeet the definition of ‘targeted’.

Breach of command responsibility: The bill seeks toensure that the power of holding command over theactions of others is indeed upheld as a sacred duty, andthat there is culpability for those who are ‘effectivelyin-charge’. The chain of command responsibility mayextend to any level where effective decisions to act ornot act are taken.

Sanction for prosecution of public servants: The billproposes that if there is no response to a request forsanction for prosecution within 30 days from the date ofthe application to the concerned government, sanction toprosecute will be deemed granted. In relation to certainoffences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860, when com-mitted by a public servant, the requirement of obtainingsanction is being dispensed with.

Monitoring and accountability: Monitoring and griev-ance redressal shall be the responsibility of the NationalAuthority for Communal Harmony, Justice and Repa-ration (NACHJR) and corresponding State Authoritiesfor Communal Harmony, Justice and Reparations(SACHJR).

Composition of the NACHJR: The bill proposes that

NACHJR will have seven members of which four mustbelong either to a linguistic minority or religious minor-ity in any state or to the SCs or STs. No more than twomembers of the NACHJR may be retired public servants.

Offences of communal and targeted violence: The In-dian Penal Code (IPC) contains most offences committedduring episodes of communal and targeted violence.These have been appended in a schedule to the bill andshall be considered offences when they meet the thresh-old of being ‘knowingly directed against any person byvirtue of membership of a group’. The brutal forms ofsexual assault (beyond the limited IPC definition of rape)and torture have been included in the bill. Additionally,it defines hate propaganda.

Victims' Rights: This bill seeks to strengthen the rights ofthe victim in the criminal justice system, through certainprovisions in their struggle for justice.

Relief and Reparation including compensation: Allaffected persons, whether or not they belong to non-dominant groups in a state have been given justiciablerights to immediate relief, and comprehensive repara-tions, including compensation if they suffer any harmas a result of any offence of communal and targetedviolence recorded under this Bill. No compensation fordeath shall be less than Rs.15 lakh. No compensation forrape shall be less than Rs.5 lakh.

117-129 bills

Documents