Syllabus: Parliament and State legislatures
Why in NEWS
- The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, and the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill.
- The four Bills were discussed and passed after the Opposition walked out demanding a discussion on Manipur violence.
The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Bill
- It was first taken up, was to add two synonyms for the Mahar community in Chhattisgarh to the State’s list of Scheduled Castes.
- The Bill adds “Mahara” and “Mahra” as synonyms of the Mahar community.
- “The proposed legislation will help expand the benefits of government schemes and benefits meant for Scheduled Castes in the State to around two lakh more people,” Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill
- It was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday, was passed in the Upper House in 40 minutes.
- Science and Technology Minister said the Bill was historic and the Centre was ready for constructive inputs from the Opposition too on the Bil
The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill
- IT Minister Amendments moved by the Opposition members were not considered in their absence.
- The Bill sets out norms for data processing digitally for firms, creates an adjudicatory mechanism for resolving disputes, and provides for the creation of a Data Protection Board of India.
- Minister of Electronics and Information Technology said that these provisions would be put into motion over the coming six to 10 months, though it may happen faster than that.
The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill
- It moved by Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
- The Bill, according to the Centre, provides for broad basing “coastal aquaculture” to comprehensively cover all activities of coastal aquaculture under the purview of the law and to remove the ambiguity existing in the principal Act between the farm and other verticals of coastal aquaculture.