Government to introduce 24 bills in monsoon session

The government will introduce 24 bills in the busy month-long monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday, seeking reforms in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the Competition Act, mining regulations and the Special Economic Zone regime.

The Competition (Amendment) Bill seeks to bring about changes in the operational structure of the Competition Commission of India and to amend the core provisions to meet the needs of the new age markets as per the schedule of legislative business.

The IBC (Amendment) Bill seeks to introduce provisions on cross-border insolvency and other changes necessary for time-bound resolution of stressed assets, while maximizing their value.

Other major laws are the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, the Development of Enterprises and Service Centers (DESH) Bill to rehabilitate Special Economic Zones and the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill to professionalize and protect these societies. are to do. interest of depositors.

The amendment to the IBC facilitates more effective defense of businesses with assets and liabilities in different countries, allowing Indian businesses to participate in bankruptcy proceedings in the courts here to foreign lenders and foreign assets of defaulters to domestic lenders. enables recovery.

A government official said the idea is to enable quick turnaround of distressed businesses and address concerns of a parliamentary panel, which last year flagged dark haircuts done by some lenders.

The reform of the Competition Act aims to examine anti-competitive practices in the digital economy, an area that has seen intense litigation and regulatory scrutiny as traditional brick-and-mortar merchants, including deep discounts, have been subject to new-age firms. Business practices have been questioned.

The monsoon session, which lasts for four weeks, is packed with a hectic legislative agenda and comes at a time when the government is facing tough economic challenges including high inflation and depreciation of the rupee.

“The proposed amendment to the Competition Act is the first major amendment to the law aimed at making the competition framework work efficiently. The proposals benefited from the 2019 Competition Law Review Committee report and it will be good for all stakeholders if the provisions are debated in Parliament for a long time. Yes,” Pallavi Shroff, Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, who was also a member of that panel, said.

The amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act seeks to attract more investment in the mining sector and help in achieving self-sufficiency in several minerals through a phased increase in production. One of the proposed changes is the removal of lithium-bearing minerals, a major raw material for batteries, from the restricted list of atomic minerals.

Girish.p@livemint.com

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