Parliament met for the fifth sitting of the Winter Session
today.
Both Houses undertook a discussion on the flood situation in
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Members
discussed the extent of damage caused by North West Monsoons in the region. They raised their concerns about the
mechanisms for fund disbursement and measures that should be taken for rescue operations.
Members also emphasised upon the need to develop better systems of weather
forecasting along with the need for urban planning, among other things.
The Carriage by Air (Amendment) Bill was debated and passed
in the Lower House. The Bill amends the
Carriage by Air Act, 1972 that regulates carriage by air and gives effect to
the Montreal Convention, 1999. The Bill seeks to empower the central government
to revise the limits of liability for airlines and compensation as per the Convention. It also provides
for the central government to make rules to carry out provisions of the Act.
The table below shows the limits of liability for airlines,
as revised by the Montreal Convention:
Table 1: The revised notified limits as compared to the old
limits are:
|
Provision under Montreal Convention |
Old limits of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) |
Revised limits of Special Drawing |
|
Damage sustained in case of death or bodily injury for each |
100,000 |
113,100 |
|
Damage caused by delay in carriage for each person |
4,150 |
4694 |
|
Destruction, loss, damage or delay with respect to baggage for |
1,000 |
1131 |
|
Destruction, loss, damage or delay in relation to the carriage |
17 |
19 |
Notes:
1 SDR = 88.78 INR (as of August 7, 2015)
The Minister of Consumer Affairs, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan initiated
discussion on the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill in the Lower House. The Bill replaces the Bureau of Indian
Standards Act, 1996 and seeks to establish BIS as the national standards body
and addresses mandatory standardization of products.