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BILLS AND ACTS

2015-2016

This Section “Bills and Acts” is taken from our:

ISBN : 9789385846335

BILLS AND ACTS IN 2015-2016
Arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Bill
• Union Cabinet headed by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi gave
its nod for amendments to the
Arbitration and Conciliation
Act 1996 by introducing the
Arbitration and Conciliation
(Amendment) Bill, on 26th
August 2015.
• Parties to the dispute may agree
that their dispute be resolved
through fast track procedure
and the verdict shall be awarded
within six months period.
• During the extension of the
period the court might reduce
the fees of the arbitrators which
may not exceed 5% for every
month’s delay, only if the court
finds the reason behind the delay
in proceedings attributable to
the arbitral tribunal.
• Section 31A added to meet
the complete requirements
of the costs regime which
will be applicable to both, the
arbitrators as well as to the
related proceedings of the
course.
• Amendment of Section 36 to
ensure that only filing of the
forms to challenge the award
cannot automatically put a
stay on the execution of the
award. In fact the stay order can
come to effect only if a specific
judgement is passed on the
application filed by the party.
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The Constitution (119th
Amendment) Act
• The Parliament of India passed
the 119th constitutional
amendment bill 2013 on 7th
May 2015 after the consent of
the President of India Pranab
Mukherjee.
• Constitution (119th
Amendment) Act, 2015 is
related to the Land Boundary
Agreement (LBA) between
India and Bangladesh.
• The bill aims to amend the 1st
schedule of the constitution
for the exchange of disputed
territories occupied by both
the nations in agreement with
the 1974 bilateral LBA(Land
Boundary Agreement)
• This will put a stop to the
illegal immigration and various
criminal acts going on across
the border.
• It will solve the border related
disputes involving the north-
eastern states like Meghalaya,
Tripura, Assam and West
Bengal and improve the
development works of the
region.
• Also will provide relief to
stateless citizens living in the
isolated lands of the countries
by granting them citizenship
and basic government services.
Bureau of Indian Standards Bill
• The Union Cabinet chaired
by the Prime Minister, Shri

Narendra Modi introduced a
new Bureau of Indian Standards
Bill, on August 07, 2015.
• The Bill replaced the Bureau of
Indian Standards Act, 1986
• The Bureau will work under
a Governing Council which
will work for the general
superintendence, direction and
management of the Bureau.
• They will set up and maintain
testing laboratories for quality
guarantee of goods, articles,
services, etc, and will act as the
licensing authority for quality
standards.
• The Bill grants power to
the central government for
mandatory certification of
certain goods and precious
metals to confirm whether they
meet the standard mark or not.
Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill
• The Negotiable Instruments
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was
introduced in the Lok Sabha on
May 6, 2015 and passed by the
same on 13th May 2015.
• The Bill was introduced to amend
the Negotiable Instruments Act,
1881.
• It defines promissory notes,
bills of exchange, cheques and
creates penalties for issues such
as bouncing of cheques.
• Instances where more than one
case is filed against the same
person in different courts, then
the case will be transferred to
the court with the appropriate
jurisdiction.
• The Bill amends the explanation
of ‘cheque in the electronic
form’ which means a cheque
drawn in a electronic medium
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using any computer source and
is signed in a secure system with
a digital signature, or electronic
system.
• The Bill was withdrawn on July
24, 2015 for further amendment
of the same.
Citizenship (Amendment) Bill
• The Bill was introduced in the
Lok Sabha by the Minister
of State, Ministry of Home
Affairs, Mr. Haribhai Partibhai
Chaudhary on February 27,
2015 for the amendment of the
Citizenship Act, 1955.
• The bill was passed by the Lok
Sabha on 2nd March 2015
and by the Rajya Sabha on 4th
March 2015.
• The Bill allows the central
government to register a person
as an Overseas Citizen of India
cardholder even if s/he does not
satisfy the given eligibility under
special circumstances only.
• In accordance with the Act any
person who is/has been a citizen
of Pakistan or Bangladesh or
any other country notified by
the central government will
be deemed ineligible to apply
for Overseas Citizenship of
India. In addition to this the
Bill extends the provision
to cover persons whose
parents/grandparents/ great-
grandparents were citizens of
any of the above countries.
• It is a Merger of the Overseas
Citizen of India (OCI) and
Persons of Indian Origin (PIO)
schemes. The Bill empowers
the central government to
notify that Persons of Indian
Origin cardholders who will
be considered to be Overseas

Citizen of India cardholders
starting from a specific date.
• The Bill also allows the central
government to cancel the
Overseas Citizenship of India
card in cases when the marriage
is dissolved by a court, or the
spouse enters into another
marriage even while the first
marriage has not been dissolved.
Motor Vehicles (Amendment)
Bill
• The bill was passed by the Lok
Sabha on 3rd March 2015 and
consequently by the Rajya
Sabha on 11th March 2015.
• The Bill received the assent
of the President on the 19th
March, 2015.
• The Bill aims to amend the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
and replace the ordinance
promulgated in this regard.
• The bill describes “e-cart or
e-rickshaw” as a special purpose
battery powered vehicle of
power not exceeding 4000 watts,
having three wheels for carrying
goods or passengers.
• The bill empowers Union
Government to make the rules
on the specifications for e-carts
and e-rickshaws with conditions
and manner for issuing driving
licenses.
• One of the primary aims to
bring the E-cart and E-rickshaw
under the ambit of MV Act
will provide employment to
innumerable people who have
upgraded from the manually
pulled rickshaws to the electric
powered three-wheeled vehicles.
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Regional Rural banks
(Amendment) Bill
• The Regional Rural Banks
(Amendment) Bill, 2014 was
introduced by Mr. Arun Jaitley,
the Minister of Finance, in
Lok Sabha on December 18,
2014. The Bill seeks to amend
the Regional Rural Banks Act,
1976.
• The Bill seeks to raise the amount
of authorised capital from ` 5
crore to ` 2,000 crore and states
that it cannot be reduced below
` one crore.
• The Bill states that the central
government may by notification
raise or reduce the limit of
shareholding of the central
government, state government
or the sponsor bank in the RRB.
• The Bill states that any person
who is a director at an RRB is
not eligible to be on the Board
of Directors for another RRB.
• The Bill raises the tenure of
office for a director (excluding
the Chairman) from two years
to three years with the provision
that no director can hold office
for a total period exceeding six
years.
• The bill changes the closing and
balancing dates of the books of
RRB from December 31st of
every year to March 31st which
will bring the Act in uniformity
with the financial year.
The Undisclosed Foreign Income
and Assets (Imposition of Tax)
Bill
• The Bill was introduced in Lok
Sabha on March 20, 2015 by
Mr. Arun Jaitley, the Minister
of Finance.

• The Bill was passed by the Lok
Sabha on 11th May, 2015 and
by the Rajya sabha on 13th
May, 2015.
• The Bill applies to all the Indian
residents and seeks to replace
Income Tax (IT) Act, 1961 for
taxation on foreign income.
• Concealment of foreign income
and evading taxes related to the
same will be treated as criminal
offence.
• The fine for not disclosing
foreign income or assets will be
equal to three times the amount
of tax with an addition of 30%
to it. Also the penalty for not
filing income tax returns in
relation to the foreign income
or assets will be ` 10 lakh but it
will not be valid for assets worth
` 5 lakh or less.
• The punishment for wilful
evasion of tax can lead to
imprisonment of 3 to 10 years
along with a fine. The failure
to furnish returns in relation to
the foreign assets can lead to
imprisonment of 6 months to 7
years along with a fine.
The Scheduled castes and the
Scheduled tribes (Prevention of
Atrocities) Amendment Bill
• The Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Amendment Bill,
2014 was introduced in the Lok
Sabha by Mr Thaawar Chand
Gehlot, the Minister of Social
Justice and Empowerment on
July 16, 2014. The bill was
passed by the Lok Sabha on 4th
August, 2015
• The Bill seeks to amend the
Scheduled Castes and the
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Scheduled Tribes (Prevention
of Atrocities) Act, 1989 which
prohibited the commission
of offences against members
of SCs and STs and holding
of special courts for the trial
of these offences and the
rehabilitation of victims.
• The Bill added certain terms
to the offence of assaulting
or sexually exploiting a SC
or ST female, which include:
(a) deliberately touching an
SC or ST woman in a sexual
way without her consent, or
(b) using lewd remarks, acts or
gestures in any sexual manner,
or (c) compelling an SC or ST
woman to act as a devadasi of
a temple, or any related practice
which will also be considered
an offence.
• Some of the newly added
offences against the SCs or
STs under the Bill include:
(a) garlanding with footwear,
(b) forcing them to carry
human or animal carcasses,
or do manual scavenging, (c)
verbal abuse of the SCs or STs
by caste name in public, (d)
attempting to spread feelings
of ill-will against SCs or STs or
dishonouring any dead person
held in high admiration, and (e)
commanding or intimidating a
social or economic boycott.
• The Bill specifies that an
Exclusive Special Court must
be setup at the district level for
the trial of offences under the
Bill and a Public Prosecutor and
Exclusive Public Prosecutor
must be appointed for every
Special Court and Exclusive
Special Court correspondingly.
• The Bill mentions the provision
for the rights of victims and

witnesses which endows the
state to make arrangements for
the protection of victims, their
dependents and witnesses.
Consumer protection Bill
• The Consumer Protection Bill,
2015, was introduced in Lok
Sabha on August 10, 2015 by
Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, the
Minister of Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution.
• The Bill seeks to replace the
Consumer Protection Act,
1986 to widen the range and
modernise the law on consumer
protection following the
changes in the market.
• The central government will
set up the Central Consumer
Protection Authority (CCPA)
to promote, protect and enforce
the rights of consumers.
• The defects involved in the
manufacture, construction,
design, testing, service
marketing etc. of a product
resulting in any sort of damage
or individual injury to a user,
the manufacturer will be held
responsible for the action taken
against the product.
• The District Commission is
empowered to pass orders in
relation with the complaints
regarding the removal of defects,
replacing of goods, stopping
the sale or manufacture of
hazardous products, refunding
the loss undergone by a
consumer.
• The Bill introduced mediation
as a way of consumer
dispute resolution with the
Consumer Mediation Cells to
be established and attached to
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the redressal commissions at
the district, state and national
levels.
• The defaulters who fail to comply
with the Commissions orders
will have to face imprisonment
ranging from one month to
three years, or inclusive of fine
from 10,000 rupees to 50,000
rupees.
The Rights of Transgender
Persons Bill
• Rajya Sabha passed The Rights
of Transgender Persons Bill
2014 on 24th April, 2015 which
is the first private members’ Bill
to be passed in 45 years by the
House.
• The Bill guarantees reservation
in education, jobs, financial aid
and social inclusion.
• The Bill promises for creation of
welfare boards at the Centre and
State level for the community
with two per cent reservation
in government jobs along with
providing for pensions and
unemployment allowances; and
establishment of Transgender
rights courts.
• No transgender child will be
separated from their biological
parents on the basis of being a
transgender except on an order
from a competent court.
• Punishment for delivering
hate speeches against the
Transgender community can
face imprisonment up to one
year with fine.
Insurance Laws (Amendment)
Bill
• The Insurance Laws
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was
passed by the Lok Sabha on 4th

March, 2015 and by the Rajya
Sabha on 12th March, 2015.
• The amendment Act aims to
eliminate archaic and redundant
provisions in the legislations
and incorporates certain
provisions to provide Insurance
Regulatory and Development
Authority of India (IRDAI)
with the flexibility to carry out
its functions more effectively
and efficiently.
• The Amendment will hand over
the responsibility of selecting
insurance agents to insurers
and provides for IRDAI to
standardize their eligibility,
qualifications and other aspects.
It allows agents to work for
variety of companies in various
business categories; upholding
the conflict of interest that
would not be allowed by IRDAI
via suitable rules.
• The amendments provide a
comparatively easier process
for payment to the nominee of
the policy holder, as the insurer
would be discharged of its legal
liabilities once the payment is
made to the nominee.
• The amendment has led to
several provisions for charging
higher penalties ranging from
`1 Crore to ` 25 Crore for
violations like mis-selling and
misrepresentation by the agents
/ insurance companies.
Witch Hunting (Prohibition,
Prevention and Protection) Bill
• The state Assembly of Assam
unanimously passed the Assam
Witch Hunting (Prohibition,
Prevention and Protection) Bill,
2015 on August 13th 2015 to
cull down the rising cases of
witch hunting in the state.
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• The Bill seeks to eliminate
the superstition from society
by making any such offence
under the Act as non-
bailable, cognizable and non-
compoundable.
• The Bill has made provisions
for anyone found guilty of
imprisonment up to seven
years along with a fine up to ` 5
lakh for declaring and calling a
person witch.
• Special courts to be set up as
proposed under the Bill in
session with the high court for
trial of such offences.
Delhi High Court Amendment
Bill
• The Bill was passed in Rajya
Sabha in May 2015 and by the
Lok Sabha on 5 June 2015 by a
voice vote and finally received
assent of the President on the
11th August, 2015.
• The Bill seeks to further amend
the Delhi High Court Act, 1966
to reduce the workload of the
Delhi High Court.
• The bill intends on increasing
the pecuniary jurisdiction of
the Delhi high court from the
present 20 lakh rupees to 2 crore
rupees.
• The bill empowers the Chief
Justice of the Delhi High
Court to transfer any suit or
proceedings which are pending
in the High Court immediately
to any subordinate court.
Juvenile Justice (Care and
Protection of Children) Bill
• The Juvenile Justice Bill, 2014
was introduced on 12th August,
2014 and passed by the Lok
Sabha on 7th August, 2015.

• The Bill replaced the Juvenile
Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act, 2000. It focuses
on children in conflict with law
and children who are in ardent
need of care and protection.
• The bill permits for the trial of
juveniles between the ages of
16-18 as adults for committing
heinous crimes such as rape.
• Juvenile Justice Boards (JJB)
and Child Welfare Committees
(CWC) to be established in each
district. The JJB will inquire
whether a juvenile offender is
to be sent for rehabilitation or
be tried as an adult whereas
the CWC will provide for
institutional care of children in
need of care and protection.
• The eligibility criteria for the
adoption of children are
included in the bill.
• The bill includes penalties for
crimes against children and
other illegal activities involving
offering of narcotic substances
and abduction or selling of
children.
The Benami Transactions
(Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill
• Minister of Finance Mr. Arun
Jaitley introduced The Benami
Transactions (Prohibition)
Amendment Bill, 2015 in the
Lok Sabha on May 13, 2015.
• The Bill seeks to amend the
Benami Transactions Act,
1988 which prohibited benami
transactions and provided
for confiscation of benami
properties.
• The Bill describes benamidar
as the person under whose
name the benami property is
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being held or transferred, and a
beneficial owner as the person
who benefits from the property
being held by the benamidar.
• The Bill established four
authorities for conducting
inquiries or investigations
concerning benami transactions
which include: (i) Initiating
Officer, (ii) Approving
Authority, (iii) Administrator
and (iv) Adjudicating Authority.
• According to the Bill, the penalty
for giving out false information
can be rigorous imprisonment
ranging from six months to
five years, and a monetary fine
which may extend up to 10% of
the market value of the benami
property.
Land Acquisition Rehabilitation
and Resttlement (Amendment)
Bill
• The Right to Fair Compensation
and Transparency in Land
Acquisition, Rehabilitation and
Resettlement (Amendment)
Bill, 2015 was introduced on
11th May, 2015.
• The Bill seeks to amend the
principal Act (LARR Act, 2013)
passed in 2013.
• The Bill empowers the
government to excuse five
categories of projects including
defence, rural infrastructure,
affordable housing, industrial
corridors and infrastructure
including PPPs, from the
requirements of: (i) social
impact assessment, (ii)
restrictions on acquisition of
multi-cropped land, and (iii)
consent for private projects

and public private partnerships
(PPPs) projects.
• The Bill eliminated the
provisions from the principal
act which deemed the head of a
government department guilty
for an offence conducted by
the department and added the
requirement of a prior sanction
to take legal action against a
government employee.
• The government allowed
its ordinance on the land
acquisition act to lapse on 31st
August 2015.
The Delhi Special Police
Establishment (Amendment) Bill
• The Delhi Special Police
Establishment (Amendment)
Bill, 2014 was introduced by the
Minister of Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Mr.
Jitendra Singh in the Lok Sabha
on November 25, 2014.
• The Bill was introduced to
amend the Delhi Special
Police Establishment Act, 1946
which constitutes a special
investigation police force
alternatively known as the
Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI).
• The committee is to make
recommendations to the central
government for appointment
of the committee comprising
of the Prime Minister
(Chairperson), the Chief Justice
of India or a Supreme Court
judge nominated by him, and
the Leader of Opposition in the
Lok Sabha faced amends under
the new bill which states that
in the absence of a opposition
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leader, the Leader of the single
largest Opposition Party in the
House would become the part
of the committee.
• The Bill states that the
appointment of a Director
would not be invalid on the
grounds of vacancy or absence
in the Committee.
Maharashtra Animal
Preservation Amendment Bill
• President Pranab Mukherjee
gave his consent to the
Maharashtra Animal
Preservation (Amendment) Bill,
1995 on 4th March 2015.
• This bill seeks to amend
Maharashtra Animal
Preservation Act 1976 which
bans slaughter of bulls and
bullocks in the state.
• According to the Bill any person
found to be selling beef or in
possession of it can be jailed for
five years and fined ` 10,000.
• The new Act allows the slaughter
of water buffaloes, which
provides carabeef - which is
considered as an inferior quality
meat amounting to only 25 per
cent of the total beef market of
the state.
The Constitution (122nd
Amendment) (GST) Bill
• The Constitution (122nd
Amendment) Bill 2014 was
introduced in the Lok Sabha on
December 19, 2014 by Finance
Minister Arun Jaitley. It was
passed by the Lok Sabha on 6th
May, 2015.
• The Bill seeks to amend the
Constitution for introduction

of the goods and services tax
(GST) which will include
various Central indirect taxes,
including the Central Excise
Duty, Countervailing Duty,
Service Tax, etc.
• The GST Council will decide
which taxes to be levied by the
Centre, States and local bodies
will go into the GST; which
goods and services will be
subjected to GST; and the basis
and the rates at which GST will
be applied.
• The Bill inserts a new Article
in the Constitution, making
legislation on the taxation of
goods and services a concurrent
power of the Centre and the
States.
• It empowers the centre to levy
an extra one per cent tax on the
supply of goods in the course of
inter-State trade, which will go
to the states for two years or till
when the GST Council decides.
• Alcohol for human consumption
has been exempted from the
purview of GST. GST will
apply to five petroleum products
at a later date.
Mines and Minerals (Development
and Regulation) Amendment Bill
• The Amendment Bill seeks to
amend the Mines and Minerals
(Regulation and Development)
Act, 1957 and replace the
ordinance promulgated in
January 2015.
• It seeks to bring transparency to
the allocation of mining licence
process by auctions.
• The Bill adds a new Fourth
Schedule to the Act which
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allows it to include bauxite, iron
ore, limestone and manganese
ore as notified minerals.
• The validity of the licences will
be increased to 50 years from
the previous validity of 30
years and on the other hand no
licences will be renewed, only
re-auction.
• The bill will make illegal
mining, trespassing and
violation of norms, cognisable
offences punishable by 2 years
imprisonment and/or fine.
Warehousing Corporations
(Amendment) Bill
• The Warehousing Corporations
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was
introduced in the Lok Sabha
by Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, the
Minister for Consumer Affairs,
Food and Public Distribution on
March 3, 2015. The Bill seeks
to amend the Warehousing
Corporations Act, 1962.
• The Bill’s Statement of
Objects and Reasons states
that the Central Warehousing
Corporation has been
awarded a Mini-Ratna Public
Sector Enterprise status by
the Department of Public
Enterprises.
• One of the criteria to be a Mini-
Ratna enterprise is that there
should be no financial support
from the government to the
enterprise.
• The Bill seeks to do away with
the Central Government’s
responsibility of being a
financial guarantor to the central
warehousing corporation.

Haryana Backward Classes Bill,
2016
• The Haryana state Assembly has
passed the Haryana Backward
Classes (Reservation in Services
and Admission in Educational
Institutions) Bill, 2016.
• The bill will provide reservation
for Jats and five other
communities in government
services and educational
institutions.
• It will give statutory status to
Backward Classes Block ‘A’,
Backward Classes Block ‘B’ and
Backward Classes Block ‘C’.
• Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Bishnois,
Tyagis and Mulla Jat/Muslim
Jat have been given reservation
by constituting a new
classification Block ‘C’ in the
Backward Classes category.
• The Bill has increased the
percentage of reservation in the
Schedule I, II and III for Class I
and II posts for BC ‘A’, BC ‘B’
and BC ‘C’ from 10 per cent,
five per cent and five per cent to
11 per cent, six per cent and six
per cent respectively.
• It has been also decided that
there will be an increase in
the existing reservation of
five per cent for Economically
Backward Persons in General
Caste Category in Class I and II
posts from five per cent to seven
per cent.
Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment)
Bill, 2016
• The Sikh Gurdwaras
(Amendment) Bill, 2016
introduced in Rajya Sabha on
March 15, 2016 by the Minister
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of Home Affairs, Mr. Rajnath
Singh was passed by the House
on March 16, 2016. It seeks to
amend the Sikh Gurdwaras Act,
1925.
• The bill introduced in Rajya
Sabha envisages amending
91-year-old Sikh Gurdwaras
Act to exclude Sehajdhari Sikhs
from voting in elections to Sikh
religious bodies.
• The bill proposes to remove the
exemption given to Sehajdhari
Sikhs in 1944 to vote in the
elections to select the members
of the board and the committees
constituted under the act.
Real Estate (Regulation and
Development) Bill, 2015
• Rajya Sabha passed the Real
Estate (Regulation and
Development) Bill, 2016 which
aims to guard the interests
of numerous aspiring house
buyers alongside enhancing
the credibility of construction
industry by promoting
transparency, accountability
and efficiency in execution of
projects.
• The Bill seeks to set up an
effective regulatory mechanism
for orderly growth of the sector
which is the second largest
employer after agriculture.
• It provides that 70 per cent of
sale proceeds will have to be
kept aside by the developer in
an escrow account which is a
financial instrument held by a
third party on behalf of the other
two parties in a transaction.
• The Bill will set up state-level real
estate regulatory authorities and

appellate tribunals to monitor
transactions relating to both
residential and commercial
projects and their timely
completion and handover. It
will also look after complaints
at both appellate tribunals and
regulatory authorities within 60
days ensuring timely resolution
of disputes.
• The Real Estate Bill enables
the people meet their genuine
aspirations of owning a house
including those of urban poor
by giving a fillip to affordable
housing initiative under which
the Government intends
to enable construction of 2
crore by the year 2022 under
Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana
(Urban).
Enemy Property (Amendment and
Validation) Bill, 2016
• Lok Sabha passed the Enemy
Property (Amendment and
Validation) Bill, 2016 on 9th
March.
• The Bill seeks to amend the
Enemy Property Act, 1968 and
the Public Premises (Eviction of
Unauthorised Occupants) Act,
1971.
• The Enemy Property Act 1968
was enacted to take over the
properties owned by people
who left for Pakistan or China
when India was at war with the
two countries. Such properties
were vested in the Mumbai-
headquartered Custodian of
Enemy Properties.
• Approximately 16,000 properties
across the country have either
been or are being taken over by
the CEP under the 1968 Act. Of
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these, the process to take over
9,400 properties – estimated
to be worth Rs 1 lakh crore,
or Rs 1,000 billion – has been
completed.
• The amendments states that once
an enemy property is vested in
the Custodian, it shall continue
to be vested in it as enemy
property irrespective of whether
the enemy, enemy subject or
enemy firm has ceased to be an
enemy due to reasons such as
death.
• The new Bill ensures that the
law of succession does not
apply to enemy property;
that there cannot be transfer
of any property vested in the
Custodian by an enemy or
enemy subject or enemy firm
and that the Custodian shall
preserve the enemy property till
it is disposed of in accordance
with the Act.
Election Laws (Amendment) Bill,
2016
• The Election Laws (Amendment)
Bill, 2016, introduced by
Law Minister DV Sadananda
Gowda, seeks to amend Section
11 of the Delimitation Act,
2002 and Section 9 of the
Representation of the People
Act, 1950.
• The bill seeks to amend two
electoral laws to allow a limited
delimitation exercise in West
Bengal for granting voting rights
to people who became Indian
citizens following the exchange
of enclaves with Bangladesh.
• With the term of the 294-member
West Bengal Assembly ending
on 29th May and elections to

be held ahead of that, there is
need for early passage of the bill
and the Government is hopeful
that it would be passed by both
the houses in the next two days
without discussion.
National Waterways Bill, 2015
• Rajya Sabha passed the National
Waterways Bill 2015 on 9th
March 2016.
• The bill will convert 111 rivers
across the country into National
Waterways which would
boost movement of goods
and passengers via rivers and
reduce the transportation costs
substantially.
• The bill passed in the Lok Sabha
on December 2015 repeals the
five acts on the existing national
waterways, which will not be
covered under this bill.
• Under the entry 24 of the
union list of the constitution’s
seventh schedule, the central
government can make laws on
shipping and navigation on
inland waterways which are
classified as national waterways
by parliament.
Carriage by Air amendment Bill,
2015
• The bill which will enhance
compensation for air travellers
in case of death, injury, loss of
baggage and even inordinate
delay in flights was passed by
the Rajya Sabha on 2nd March
2016.
• The Carriage by Air
(Amendment) Bill, 2015 was
introduced in Lok Sabha on 7th
August 2015 by the Minister of
Civil Aviation, Mr. P. Ashok
13
Gajapathi Raju.
• The Bill amends the Carriage
by Air Act, 1972. The Act
regulates carriage by air and
gives effect to the Warsaw
Convention, 1929, the Warsaw
Convention as amended by the
Hague Protocol, 1955, and the
Montreal Convention, 1999. 
• Civil aviation minister Ashok
Gajapathi Raju remarked that
the bill would bring legislative
character to international
character with respect to
compensation for air passengers.
Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and other Subsidies,
benefits and services) Act, 2016
• Centre has notified the new
Aadhaar Act which provides
the numbers assigned by it a
statutory backing for transfer of
subsidies and benefits to people
eligible for them.
• The Aadhaar (Targeted
Delivery of Financial and
other Subsidies, benefits and
services) Act, 2016 will provide
for “efficient, transparent, and
targeted delivery of subsidies,
benefits and services, the
expenses for which is incurred
from the Consolidated Fund
of India, to individuals residing
in India through assigning of
unique identity numbers to such
individual.
• Centre and state government
have the provision to use
Aadhaar for disbursal for
benefits and subsidies. The
Aadhaar number cannot be
taken as proof of citizenship or
domicile.
 14

The bill has introduced a penalty years or penalty in the ranges

provision which includes of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh for
imprisonment from one to three violation of the rules. 99.64
crore Aadhaar numbers have
been issued till date.