Parliament Winter Session: List of bills passed and other details

 The Winter Session of Parliament saw 12 new bills being introduced till Tuesday, 21 December, and 10 bills passed, including two that had been tabled in previous sessions. On Wednesday, both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die.

Here is a look at the laws that Parliament took up in the Winter Session of 2021. According to the data available on the PRS website, Lok Sabha spent a total of 26.5 hours only, out of a total functioning time of 83.2 hours, to discuss legislation. The maximum time in the Lower House (37 hours) was spent on non-legislative work.

Rajya Sabha, meanwhile, spent 21.7 hours debating legislation, out of the 45.4 hours that it functioned in the Winter Session.

The Bills passed in Parliament also reflected the small amount of time spent on the actual discussion on the different laws.

The Farm Laws Repeal bill was passed after a two-minute debate on the Lok sabha, and an 8-minute debate in Rajya Sabha.

The highly technical Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill, saw a three-hour, 51-minute debate in Lok sabha, with 18 MPs participating in the debate. In Rajya Sabha, it was discussed for only 1 hour and 17 minutes, with 14 MPs participating in the debate.

Among the Bills passed during the Winter Session, the High Courts and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill clocked the highest debate time of 9 hours 37 minutes, with 27 Lok Sabha MPs and 17 Rajya Sabha MPs weighing in on the issue.

The Dam Safety Bill, 2019, came in second with regard to the cumulative time spent in a debate — clocking 9 hours, 1 minute, with 22 members of the Rajya Sabha taking 4 hours, 24 minutes on December 2. Lok Sabha had passed the Bill in 2019 after a four-hour, 37-minute debate by 31 members.

Even the crucial Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, which had been the topic of active discussion among activists and the media, saw a total of only 1 hour and 29 minutes of debate, with Lok Sabha passing the law to link Aadhaar with voter IDs in just 26 minutes.

CURRENT STATUS OF BILLS TAKEN UP DURING WINTER SESSION

PASSED BY BOTH HOUSES

Election Laws (Amendment) Bill
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Amendment) Bill 2021 (awaiting President’s nod)
The Delhi Special Police Establishment Amendment Bill 2021 (President assent given on Dec 21. Bill is now Act)
The Central Vigilance Commission Amendment Bill 20212021 (President assent given on Dec 21. Bill is now Act)
The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill
Farm Laws Repeal Bill, 2021 (Presidential Assent given. Bill is now an Act.)
Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulation Bill 2020
The Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2019
Dam Safety Bill
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (President Assent received on Dec 18. Bill is now an Act)

BEFORE PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE

Prohibition Of Child Marriage Amendment Bill
Mediation Bill 2021 (Before select committee)
The Chartered Accountants, Cost and works accountants and Company secretaries (Amendment) Bill
The Biological Diversity Amendment Bill 2021

INTRODUCED IN LOK SABHA

Wildlife Protection Amendment Bill, 2021
National Anti Doping Bill