Parliament Diary

The Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, chaired by Mr. P P Chaudhary, has been given extension until the last week of the current Winter Session to submit its report. 

The Committee adopted the report last week. 

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020 was discussed and passed in Lok Sabha. During the debate, some Members pointed out that the Bill excludes single men and LGBTQI individuals and couples from accessing ART services. While responding to the debate, the Health Minister stated that the Bill allows single women to undertake ART provisions which extends access to LGBTQ individuals.

Under the Bill, a woman wishing to donate her eggs must be between 23 years and 35 years of age, should be married, and have at least one child of her own child who is 3 years of age or older. 

During Zero Hour, one Member drew the attention of the House to the condition of the 126-year old Mullaperiyar dam and sought the intervention of the government. A Bill to provide for the surveillance, inspection, operation, and maintenance of certain dams across the country is pending with Rajya Sabha. This Bill was briefly taken up in Rajya Sabha today. However, the House adjourned amid disruptions and the discussion did not conclude. 

The reports of the Committee on Communications and Information Technology on “Suspension of Telecom Services/Internet and its impact” and "Ethical Standards in Media Coverage" were presented. In the first report, the Committee recommended that a thorough study should be commissioned by the Government of India to assess the impact of internet shutdown on the economy and also find out its effectiveness in dealing with public emergency and public safety.

Note- Proceedings in Lok Sabha were ongoing at the time of Uploading this note.