Monsoon Session 2020: Rajya Sabha Passes 7 Crucial Bills Across Spectrums Of Health, Banking & More In 3.5 Hours; Know All About These Bills

As per the protocol, these bills will now be presented to the President of India who will further present his approval or disapproval over the bills.

Photo Courtesy: PTI

Amid the ongoing protest put up by the opposition parties, Rajya Sabha during the ninth day of the monsoon session passed seven key bills across the spectrums of health, banking, education, commodities, etc in a matter of three and half hours. As per the protocol, these bills will now be presented to the President of India who will further present his approval or disapproval over the bills. Know about these key bills passed in Rajya Sabha Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020: Early in the day, Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill 2020 with provisions to remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential commodities was passed by Rajya Sabha. The EC (Amendment) Bill 2020 aims to remove fears of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in their business operations. The freedom to produce, hold, move, distribute and supply will lead to harnessing of economies of scale and attract private sector/foreign direct investment into agriculture sector. It will help drive up investment in cold storages and modernization of food supply chain. Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill The Rajya Sabha also passed the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Bill which ensures protection for healthcare workers. On this, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said, "Under this act those who insult our corona warriors will be asked to pay fine or may even get jail term." Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill was also passed in the Upper House today to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Speaking on his note, Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the amendments have been brought to completely protect the interest of depositors. Companies (Amendment) Bill The Rajya Sabha presented its nod over the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2020. According to the reports, the bill amends 48 sections of the Companies Act 2013. Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020: The Uppar House also presented its nod for the Indian Institutes of Information Technology Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology Act of 2014 and Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Act, 2017 are the unique initiatives of the Government of India to impart knowledge in the field of Information Technology to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the country. The Act will declare the remaining 5 IIITs-PPP along with the existing 15 Indian Institutes of Information Technology in Public Private Partnership modeas ‘Institutions of National Importance’ with powers to award degrees. This will entitle them to use the nomenclature of Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) or Master of Technology (M.Tech) or Ph.D degree as issued by a University or Institution of National Importance. Rashtriya Raksha University Bill The Rashtriya Raksha University Bill which seeks to upgrade Raksha Shakti University in Gujarat with its changed name and as an institute of national importance, was also passed the Upper House on Tuesday in the national Capital. National Forensic Sciences University Bill Another crucial bill passed by the Rajya Sabha included National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020 which seeks to establish Gujarat Forensic Sciences University and Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Sciences, New Delhi under one name called the National Forensic Sciences University in Gujarat. The development has come after most of the opposition parties including the grand old Congress, Left parties, the TMC, the Samajwadi Party and the NCP have staged the protest and boycotted the House proceedings inn protest against the suspension of eight MPs for the remainder of the session for unruly behaviour.