The government on Thursday listed five new Bills for introduction during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, including one to amend the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, which seeks to make any insult or obstruction to the singing of the National Song, Vande Mataram, a punishable offence.
The tentative list of the government’s legislative agenda had no mention of a Constitution amendment Bill to implement 33 per cent women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies by 2029, and the accompanying delimitation Bill to increase the number of Lok Sabha seats. The 131st Constitution Amendment Bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha during the extended Budget Session on April 17.
Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have maintained that the government would introduce a fresh Bill on the issue and has reached out to parties that had opposed the Bill in April. The government could include the provision of increasing the number of Lok Sabha seats for all states by 50 per cent to assuage the concerns of southern states.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that the party is in touch with all Opposition parties, including the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the Aam Aadmi Party and others, who had voted together to defeat the Constitution amendment Bill related to delimitation. He said the government would not be able to achieve a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha.
Senior Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, met at the 10 Janpath residence of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Thursday to discuss the party’s strategy for the Monsoon Session. “The reality is that they have a long way to go to secure a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, and there is no scope for achieving it. Nevertheless, let me reiterate that such a two-thirds majority would be a tainted one,” Ramesh said.
The government’s list of business stated that it will also introduce the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, which will further amend Section 13(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023), to make “provisions of delayed registration more stringent”.
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill is among the five new Bills to be introduced. It seeks to align the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, with the changing MSME landscape with the objective of enhancing ease of doing business, strengthening the mechanism for addressing delayed payments, and providing for enforcement of arbitral awards for MSEs. It seeks to introduce flexibility and create enabling provisions for states to decide the composition of the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council (MSEFC), thereby paving the way for the formation of more MSEFCs.
The Monsoon Session will begin on Monday (July 20) and is scheduled to continue until August 13. Two of the five new Bills will replace ordinances. These are the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill and the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill.
The Income-tax (Amendment) Bill seeks to deepen India’s sovereign debt market, attract stable global capital inflows, and enhance liquidity in view of the prevailing global macroeconomic environment, marked by significant volatility arising from geopolitical uncertainties, sharp increases in crude oil prices, and disruptions in global supply chains, the government said. It will replace the ordinance promulgated last month to exempt foreign investors from income tax on interest earnings and capital gains from investments in G-secs in an effort to attract foreign capital to ease pressure on the depreciating rupee due to the West Asia crisis.
The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats said the government has also listed the consideration and passage of the contentious Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026. This Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Budget Session on March 25. It was not taken up for consideration and passage after protests in Kerala, which was then scheduled for Assembly polls.
The government has also listed the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, for consideration and passage after the Joint Committee tables its report in the Lok Sabha. It was referred to a Joint Committee on December 16, 2025. The government will also present Demands for Excess Grants for the year 2022–23.
A meeting of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance floor leaders is likely to take place on Friday. The Opposition is set to raise issues ranging from the alleged theft of donations at Ayodhya’s Ram temple, paper leaks, the deaths of Indian sailors in the West Asia conflict, and the blending of ethanol with petrol.
A Joint Committee of Parliament is likely to adopt a report on a Constitution amendment Bill that seeks to remove the Prime Minister, Union ministers and chief ministers from office for being in detention for 30 consecutive days on serious charges.
