1. The National Bank for Agriculture And Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by the ‎Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley in Lok Sabha on April 5, 2017.  The Bill seeks to amend the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981. The bill will allow the central govt to increase the authorised capital of  NABARD from Rs 5000 crore to rs 30,000 crore. It allows NABARD to provide financial assistance to other banks. It also provides that Union govt must alone hold at least 51% capital share of NABARD.
  2. The Mental Healthcare Act, 2017: The Mental Health Care Act 2017 was passed on 7 April 2017. The law was described in its opening paragraph as “An Act to provide for mental healthcare and services for persons with mental illness and to protect, promote and fulfill the rights of such persons during delivery of mental healthcare and services and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.”This Act superseded the previously existing the Mental Health Act, 1987 that was passed on 22 May 1987. It states that mental illness be determined “in accordance with nationally and internationally accepted medical standards (including the latest edition of the International Classification of Disease of the World Health Organisation) as may be notified by the Central Government.” Additionally, the Act asserts that no person or authority shall classify an individual as a person with mental illness unless in directly in relation with treatment of the illness.
  3. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced by the Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr. Prakash Javadekar in Lok Sabha on April 10, 2017.  The Bill amends the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 by extending the deadline for teachers to acquire the prescribed minimum qualifications for appointment. Under the Act, if a state does not have adequate teacher training institutions or sufficient number of qualified teachers, the provision to possess minimum qualifications is relaxed for a period not exceeding five years i.e. till March 31, 2015. The Bill further adds to this provision by stating that those teachers who do not possess the minimum qualifications as on March 31, 2015 will acquire the minimum qualifications within a period of four years i.e. by March 31, 2019.
  4. The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public Private Partnership) Act, 2017: The Indian Institutes of Information Technology (Public-Private Partnership) Bill, 2017 was introduced by the Minister of Human Resource Development, Mr. Prakash Javadekar in Lok Sabha on April 10, 2017.  The Bill declares 15 existing Indian Institutes of Information Technology established through public-private partnership as institutions of national importance.
  5. The Employees Compensation (Amendment) Act, 2017: The Employees Compensation (Amendment) Act, 2017 received the President’s assent on April 12, 2017. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in August, 2016, and amends the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923. The main amendments introduced by the Act are: i) The employer needs to inform an employee of his rights to compensation under the Act in writing as well as through electronic means. ii) Failure to do so will make the employer liable to penalty. Penalties have been increased from a maximum of Rs. 5000 which may extend to Rs. 1 lakh. iii) The minimum amount involved in a dispute for which an appeal may be filed with the High Court has been increased from Rs. 300 to Rs. 10,000, or such higher amount as the Central Government may, by notification, specify. iv) Appeals can be made against orders related to compensation, distribution of compensation, award of penalty or interest, etc. only if the amount in dispute is at least three hundred rupees. v) Under the original Act, if an employer has appealed against a Commissioner’s order, any payments towards the employee can be temporarily withheld.  The Commissioner may do so only by an order of the High Court, until the matter is disposed of by the Court.  The Amendment Act deletes this provision.
  6. The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Bill, 2017: The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Bill, 2017 was introduced on July 18, 2017 by the Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan in Lok Sabha. The Bill establishes the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.  It declares the Institute as an institution of national importance.  The Institute aims to provide high quality education and research focussing on the themes of petroleum, hydrocarbons and energy.
  7. The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2017: The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, on July 24, 2017.  It seeks to amend the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to insert provisions for handling cases related to stressed assets.  Stressed assets are loans where the borrower has defaulted in repayment or where the loan has been restructured (such as by changing the repayment schedule).  It will replace the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017.
  8. The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Act, 2017: The Admiralty (Jurisdiction and Settlement of Maritime Claims) Bill, 2017, introduced during the Winter Session of Parliament came up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha on July 24, 2017 and was passed unanimously by the house. The Bill aims to establish a legal framework for consolidation of related laws to replace the age old archaic laws with modern Indian legislation and to confer admiralty jurisdiction on all High Courts of the coastal states of the country. The Bill was earlier passed by the Lok Sabha in March, 2017.
  9. The Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Amendment Act, 2017: The Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Amendment Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, on July 31, 2017.  It replaces the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Amendment Ordinance, 2017.  It shall be deemed to have come into force on July 1, 2017, the date on which the Ordinance was promulgated. The Bill amends the Punjab Municipal Corporation Law (Extension to Chandigarh) Act, 1994.  The 1994 Act extends the provisions of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976 to the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
  10. The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Act, 2017: The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, on July 31, 2017.  It amends the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.  The Act provides for the levy of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax on inter-state supplies of goods and services.  The Bill replaces the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Ordinance, 2017.  It shall be deemed to have come into force on July 8, 2017, the date on which the Ordinance was promulgated. Extension to Jammu and Kashmir:  The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 applies to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.  The Bill extends the provisions of the Act to Jammu and Kashmir as well.
  11. The Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017: The Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Minister of Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, on July 31, 2017.  It amends the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.  The Act provides for the levy of the Central Goods and Services Tax on supplies of goods and services within a state.  The Bill replaces the Central Goods and Services Tax (Extension to Jammu and Kashmir) Ordinance, 2017.  It shall be deemed to have come into force on July 8, 2017, the date on which the Ordinance was promulgated. Extension to Jammu and Kashmir:  The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 applies to the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir.  The Bill extends the provisions of the Act to Jammu and Kashmir as well.
  12. The Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2017: The Repealing and Amending (Second) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Law and Justice, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad on August 11, 2017.  Repealing of certain laws:  The Bill seeks to repeal 131 Acts.  Of these, 38 are amending Acts, where changes made by them have already been incorporated into the principal Acts.  Further, among the Acts being repealed, 30 were passed before 1947. The Bill also repeals nine Ordinances promulgated by the Governor General of India before Independence. Amendment to certain laws:  The Bill amends three Acts to delete some provisions, and rectify drafting errors.  These three Acts are: (i) The Plantations Labour Act, 1951, (ii) The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and (iii) The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
  13. The Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The Indian Forest (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Mr. Harsh Vardhan, Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change on December 18, 2017.  The Bills replaces the Indian Forest (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017 and amends the Indian Forest Act, 1927.  The Act consolidated laws relating to forests, transit of forest-produce and the duty to be levied on them. Under the Act, the definition of tree includes palms, bamboos, stumps, brush-wood, and canes.  The Bill amends this definition of tree to remove the word bamboos.
  14. The High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2017: The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister for Law and Justice, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad on December 21, 2017.  The Bill seeks to amend (i) the High Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1954; and (ii) the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Act, 1958.  These Acts regulate the salaries and conditions of service of the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
  15. The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2017: The National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, on December 22, 2017.  The Bill seeks to amend the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011. The Bill extends deadline for relocating slum dwellers and Jhuggi-Jhopri clusters, regulating street vendors, regularising unauthorised colonies, village abadi areas in NCT Delhi and calls for creating policy for farm houses constructed beyond permissible limits.
  16. The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Amendment Bill, 2017: The Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Amendment Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Mr. Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance on December 22, 2017.  The Bill amends the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 and replaces an Ordinance promulgated in September 2017.  The Act allows the central government to notify the rate of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Compensation Cess on items such as pan masala, coal, aerated drinks, and tobacco, subject to certain caps.  The amount received by levying the GST Compensation Cess is used to compensate states for any loss in revenue following the implementation of GST. The Bill amends the 2017 Act to increase the cap on the GST Compensation Cess levied on motor vehicles from 15% to 25%.
  17. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017: Introduced on 28th Dec, 2017. The Bill prohibits certain persons from submitting a resolution plan in case of defaults.  These include: (i) wilful defaulters, (ii) promoters or management of the company if it has an outstanding non-performing debt for over a year, and (iii) disqualified directors, among others.  Further, it bars the sale of property of a defaulter to such persons during liquidation.
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Akshay Palande

Akshay Palande is a passionate teacher helping hundreds of students in their UPSC preparation. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering and double masters in Public Administration and Economics, he has experience of teaching UPSC aspirants for 5 years. His subject of expertise are Geography, Polity, Economics and Environment and Ecology.

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