In the recently concluded Winter Session of Parliament, nine Bills were introduced. Of the Bills introduced, 4 bills have been referred to the relevant Standing Committee for examining the Bill. The Standing Committees have been given three months to scrutinize the bills, hold consultations and present a report.  Details of these Bills are: 1.      The Forward Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2010 (to be examined by the Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution) 2.      The Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (to be examined by the Committee on Agriculture) 3.      The NIMHANS, Bangalore Bill, 2010 (to be examined by the Committee on Health and Family Welfare) 4.      The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 (to be examined by the Committee on Finance) The composition of the Standing Committees examining the Bills can be found here. Typically, during the process of review the parliamentary standing committees issue advertisements in newspapers inviting public feedback and comments on the Bill. As and when the advertisements appear, details can be found on the PRS website.

Reuters news agency has reported that the Andhra Pradesh State Assembly has approved legislation to regulate the microfinance sector. The Assembly ratified an earlier ordinance curbing operations by MFI lenders. The ordinance took effect in October in response to news reports on suicides among borrowers. http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-53571720101215