Modi government’s first anniversary; five bills that are still in ambiguity

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led National Democratic Alliance government came into power with much fanfare on May 16, 2014. And within a year, the government claims to have passed as many as 46 bills in the Parliament in the past one year. However, the future of some of the key legislations of the NaMo government is still uncertain. BI India lists down five such bills that are still doubtful

Land Bill

The land bill has created controversy for the NaMo government. The bill has been vehemently opposed by not just the opposition but also some of the allies of the present government as well. The bill has been submitted twice in the Parliament but was not passed due to strong opposition to some of the clauses in the Bill. It has now been referred to 20 member joint Parliamentary Panel, who will seek public opinion from every stakeholder involved.

Labour Laws

This one is a big shocker to the Modi government. The Modi government’s decision to allow companies, which hire up to 300 industrial labours, to hand them pink slips without an official sanction has not gone down well with the trade unions in the country. In fact, on Modi government’s first anniversary on May 26, 2015, trade unions will go on mass protests against the reforms announced in labour laws. These strikes are also in protest of the proposed land bill by the Modi government.

Goods and Services Tax

The Bill may have been passed in the Lok Sabha with two-third majority but it still needs to be cleared in Rajya Sabha as well as half of the states need to ratify it. However, we still need to watch out if the Bill gets the same response in the Upper House as BJP government lacks majority, which could be put the future of GST in doubt. However, the government is hopeful of implementing the Bill in 2016.

FDI in Multibrand Retail

This was the trump card that BJP played on during the pre-election times and had got massive support from trade bodies across the country. However, the Modi government’s U-turn in the matter, is now being criticised by their own people. RSS affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch has criticized the government for continuing with Manmohan Singh’s government’s stance in the issue. They have also asked the government to scrap the entire policy.

Provident Fund

The government reduced the tax levied on Provident Fund from 30% to 10% but it could not provide any clarity on how it would do. Also, the government connected Provident Fund with the issue of black money but has been unable to provide paper that could establish any relation between two the issues.