Parliament Diary

Two Bills replacing agricultural Ordinances were discussed and passed in Rajya Sabha. These relate to enabling contract farming and allowing farmers to trade outside state-regulated mandis. 

Members who opposed the Bill said this would benefit big corporations at the cost of farmers. They also expressed their fear that the Bills would lead to the dismantling of the MSP system. Members who spoke in support of the Bill highlighted that the current mandi system has led to cartelization of traders and these Bills would free farmers from licensed middlemen. 

Several Members asked for these Bills to be sent to the Select Committee, however, both the Bills were passed amid disruptions. With regard to MSP, the government reiterated that the system of MSP would remain. With the passage of these bills, the Parliament has passed 3 of the 11 Ordinances. For status on all the bills replacing Ordinances, see the table below.

In Lok Sabha, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 was introduced. It amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010  which regulates the acceptance and utilisation of foreign contribution by individuals, associations, and companies.

The Statement of Objects and Reasons in the Bill said that while the annual inflow of foreign contributions doubled between 2010 and 2019, those foreign contributions, in many instances, have not been utilised for the purpose for which permission was granted. Hence, there is a need for strengthening compliance through the Amendment Bill.  

This was followed by a discussion on the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Some of the concerns ranged from the inability of the government to neither stop the spread of the virus nor keep the economy afloat, to the lifting of the lockdown creating a false sense of normalcy that the pandemic is over. 

Some Members also spoke about India’s swift response to the pandemic and one Member stated that the country had significantly ramped up its testing capability. 

The debate on COVID-19 was ongoing at the time of uploading this note.