From seeds to patents, economics UPA priority

A year at the hot seat will be completed in May but the UPA would not be able to initiate some of the issues it had pandered while seeking v...

A year at the hot seat will be completed in May but the UPA would not be able to initiate some of the issues it had pandered while seeking votes in the general elections.

In the Budget Session of Parliament, the emphasis would be on immediate economic issues rather than fulfilling social promises made in the CMP. For this session, the Government’s priority is 15 bills — including the Patents Bill, the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority Bill, the Special Economic Zone Bill and the Seeds Bill.

There is, however, no mention of the Women’s Reservation Bill — an issue the Congress had upheld while in Opposition. Other promises like restructuring of Khadi and village industries, a law to deal with communal violence and a bill for the social security of unorganised workers are also not on the agenda.

The business for the session, prioritised today at a meeting of the Parliamentary Affairs Minister with the departments concerned, listed 86 legislations that are pending before the government. But it kept off the Disaster Management Bill 2005 , envisaged after the Dec 26 tsunami, that seeks to put in place mechanisms for mitigation and countrywide preparedness. The draft bill is not ready yet. Other bills on the back-burner are the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) (Amendment) Bill and the National Commission for Children Bill.

‘Given stale food, locked up’: Truck cleaner on ‘abduction’ horror at Khedkar residence

Cities41 min ago

A truck cleaner in Navi Mumbai was rescued by the police after being abducted by the father of a sacked IAS officer. The victim was held captive, given stale food, and threatened with murder. The accused demanded compensation for their damaged car and threatened to kill the victim if not paid. The accused have been charged with extortion and destruction of evidence.

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