Parliament Monsoon Session May Commence from July 19

The session will be held with due Covid-19 protocols, and members will be encouraged to get vaccinated

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The Monsoon Session of Parliament is likely to commence on July 19 and end on August 13, as per the recommendation of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA). The CCPA provided the suggestion after holding a meeting on Tuesday, June 29. The body comprises cabinet ministers and higher officials from government institutions.

The session will be held close to a month after India faced a brutal second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, and so the officials hope to follow all health protocols in conducting the session. The CCPA also expressed hope that all members would have taken at least one dose of the vaccines by the time the session kick-starts, news agency ANI reported.

The information available with the Rajya Sabha secretariat reveals that 179 members of the Upper House have been fully vaccinated, and 39 have received their first dose. As for the Lok Sabha, 403 members of the total 540 have been fully vaccinated against the virus.

While 35 government bills are pending in the Parliament, the ones that will be taken up on a priority basis in the upcoming session are yet to be revealed. The legislative agenda for the Monsoon Session may be jam-packed due to the number of pending bills and ordinances.


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The 35 pending government bills include:
-The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2021
-The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021
-The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021
-The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020
-The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
-The Marine Aids to Navigation Bill, 2021
-The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021

The parliament website states that 876 private member bills are pending in the parliament. Of these, 595 are pending in the Lok Sabha, while 281 are pending in the Rajya Sabha. These include Ordinary Bills, Constitutional Amendment Bills, Financial Bills, Money Bills, and Ordinance Replacing Bills.

The parliament will also be focused on clearing five ordinances that were promulgated by the government after the 2021 Budget Session. These include The Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, The Indian Medicine Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR and Adjoining Areas Ordinance, The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, and The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalization and Conditions of Service) Ordinance. These will be taken up on a priority basis as only six weeks are provided after the commencement of a session to replace ordinances with bills, as per the Constitution.

The Covid-19 pandemic also affected the parliamentary session last year. The Monsoon Session in 2020, while scheduled to commence in July, only began in September. The Budget Session of the Parliament was cut short of schedule this year, due to the onset of assembly elections in multiple states, including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam, and the Union Territory of Puducherry. It was held between January 29th and March 25th. The session cleared 18 bills and clocked productivity of 90% (RS) and 107% (LS). A detailed summary of the session can be read here.

The session was also disrupted multiple times due to protests by opposition members over the passing of contentious farm laws and rising fuel prices.