Friday 19 December 2014

How a Bill becomes an Act?

Why Government is having tough time these days in getting key Bills passed despite being in clear majority?

A simple answer to above question is that for an Ordinary Bill to become an Act of Parliament; it has to go through various stages and has to be passed in both Houses of the Parliament. Now, while Government is in majority in the House of People (Lok Sabha), it doesn’t enjoy majority in Council of States (Rajya Sabha). Hence, opposition parties are trying all means to kill time in Rajya Sabha and not discuss/debate the key Bills.

How a Bill becomes an Act is a wide and detailed topic. For the sake of ease of understanding of the entire process, here, I have tried to summarize and capture the Life Cycle of an Ordinary Bill from the time it is proposed in either of the Houses till it becomes an Act. Kindly refer to below figure to understand an Ordinary Bill's life cycle.
How Bill becomes an Act?
Figure: Bill's Life Cycle
However, there are few Bills like Money Bills and certain other categories of Financial Bills which can ONLY be introduced in Lok Sabha. After it is passed by Lok Sabha, it is transmitted to Rajya Sabha for its concurrence or recommendation.  Rajya Sabha has to return such a Bill to Lok Sabha within a period of 14 days from its receipt.  If it is not returned to Lok Sabha within that time, the Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses.  Again, Rajya Sabha cannot amend a Money Bill; it can only recommend amendments and Lok Sabha may either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations made by Rajya Sabha.

Similarly, Constitution Amendment Bills, like GST in current scenario, has to be passed by both Houses by a Special Majority (2/3rd of the House) & not simple majority like Ordinary Bills. Also, if both Houses are in dis-agreement, a joint-committee is NOT an option for such Bill.

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