The Journal of Parliamentary Information VOLUME LXII NO. 2 JUNE 2016 LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI CBS Publishers & Distributors Pvt. Ltd. 24, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi-2 EDITORIAL BOARD Editor : Anoop Mishra Secretary-General Lok Sabha Associate Editors : Dr. D. Bhalla Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat K. Vijayakrishnan Additional Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Abhijit Kumar Joint Secretary Lok Sabha Secretariat Dr. R. N. Das Director Lok Sabha Secretariat Assistant Editors : Sanjeev Sachdeva Additional Director Lok Sabha Secretariat Babu Lal Naik Additional Director Lok Sabha Secretariat H. Soikholian Simte Joint Director _ Lok Sabha Secretariat © Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi THE JOURNAL OF PARLIAMENTARY INFORMATION VOLUME LXII NO. 2 JUNE 2016 CONTENTS PAGE EDITORIAL NOTE 203 ADDRESSES Address by the President to Parliament 206 Addresses at the National Conference of Women Legislators held in New Delhi 222 Address by the Speaker, Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan at the 78th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India 243 RESOLUTION OF NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF WOMEN LEGISLATORS 251 PARLIAMENTARY EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES Conferences and Symposia 253 Birth Anniversaries of National Leaders 259 Exchange of Parliamentary Delegations 261 Parliament Museum 261 Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training 262 PRIVILEGE ISSUES 266 PROCEDURAL MATTERS 268 PARLIAMENTARY AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS 270 DOCUMENTS OF CONSTITUTIONAL AND PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST 275 SESSIONAL REVIEW Lok Sabha 310 Rajya Sabha 333 State Legislatures 354 RECENT LITERATURE OF PARLIAMENTARY INTEREST 361 (iv) iv The Journal of Parliamentary Information APPENDICES I. Statement showing the work transacted during the Seventh Session of the Sixteenth Lok Sabha 366 II. Statement showing the work transacted during the 238th Session of the Rajya Sabha 371 III. Statement showing the activities of the Legislatures of the States and Union Territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 376 IV. List of Bills passed by the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President during the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 382 V. List of Bills passed by the Legislatures of the States and the Union Territories during the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 383 VI. Ordinances promulgated by the Union and State Governments during the period 1 January to 31 March 2016 392 VII. Party Position in the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the Legislatures of the States and the Union Territories 396 Jai Mata Di m12 final EDITORIAL NOTE Article 87(1) of the Constitution of India provides for an Address by the President to members of both Houses of Parliament assembled together at the commencement of the first session after General Election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year. The President’s Address is a statement of policy of the Government; it contains a review of the activities and achievements of the Government during the previous year and sets out the policies which it wishes to pursue with regard to important national and international issues. As such, the scope of its discussions is wide as it includes a comprehensive account of national and international issues. During the discussions, several amendments are moved, highlighting different issues and making suggestions for government action. The Discussion of the “Motion of Thanks” is one of the most important discussions in the House. This year, the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, addressed members of both the Houses of Parliament assembled together in the Central Hall of Parliament, at the commencement of the first session of the year, on 23 February 2016. The text of the Address is reproduced in this issue of the Journal. The first ever National Conference of Women Legislators on the theme “Women Legislators: Building Resurgent India” was organised, on 5 and 6 March 2016 in New Delhi, at the initiative of the Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, under the auspices of the Indian Parliamentary Group. The Conference brought together the women members of Parliament and women Legislators from the States to deliberate on matters related to good governance and the inclusive socio-economic development of the nation on a single platform. The Conference was inaugurated by the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee; the inaugural function was also addressed by the Vice- President of India, Shri Mohammad Hamid Ansari and the Lok Sabha Speaker, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi who graced the inaugural event also delivered the Valedictory Address. The former President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil also addressed the distinguished gathering at the Valedictory Session. Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Speaker of Bangladesh Parliament and the Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, also attended the Conference. The deliberations held in the Conference were on the themes ‘Contributing to Social M07 204 The Journal of Parliamentary Information Development’; ‘Contributing to Economic Development’; and ‘Contributing to better Governance and Legislation’. We reproduce the texts of the Addresses by the dignitaries at the Conference and also of the Resolution that was adopted in this issue of the Journal. The 78th Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India was held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on 22 and 23 January 2016. Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Conference, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, inaugurated the Conference at the premises of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha in Gandhinagar on 22 January 2016. Addressing the delegates, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan said that the key functions of a Legislature, amongst other’s are–ensuring Executive accountability, enacting laws and providing finance to the Government by passing the Budget. If forced disruptions happen frequently, it is but natural that public perception towards the Legislature would change. She stressed that the conduct of the legislators must be such as to strengthen public faith in the efficacy of our deliberative institutions. She also emphasized that Members of Parliament and Legislatures have to, on the one hand, address local needs and grievances of their constituents and, on the other, deliberate and speak on various national and international topical issues. She also stated that she has constituted the Speaker’s Research Initiative (SRI) to provide adequate support base to members. The Hon’ble Speaker stressed the need for meaningful and structured debates in Parliament and Legislatures. For this, it is imperative that regular attendance of members is secured and also that adequate numbers of sittings are held in all State Legislatures, she added. We include in this issue of the Journal the text of the inaugural Address by Smt. Sumitra Mahajan. The 23rd Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) was held at Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, from 9 to 14 January, 2016. The Hon’ble Speaker of Lok Sabha, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, led the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the event and presented a paper on the topic “Orientation and Development for Parliamentarians” as Lead Speaker. The 134th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) was held in Lusaka, Zambia, from 19 to 23 March, 2016. Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, led the Indian Parliamentary Delegation and participating in the Debate on ‘Rejuvenating democracy, giving voice to youth’ said that Youth are the harbingers of change. Greater participation of youth will infuse new vigour and energy into the system. She stated that there are four levels of space that dominate the thinking of the youth, i.e, family, career, lifestyle and friends. There is a need to Jai Mata Di Editorial Note 205 create a fifth space from ‘self to society’ to rejuvenate the democratic system, she emphasised. The South Asian Speakers’ Summit on ‘Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’ was organized by the IPU in partnership with the ‘Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 30 and 31 January, 2016, where Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, participated and urged the international community to redouble their commitment for ending poverty and hunger and to set the world on a path to sustainable and inclusive development. We have included brief accounts of the above mentioned Conferences and some other Conferences/Seminars under the feature ‘Parliamentary Events and Activities’. We also carry in this issue the other regular features, viz. Privilege Issues, Procedural Matters, Parliamentary and Constitutional Developments, Documents of Constitutional and Parliamentary Interest, Sessional Review, Recent Literature of Parliamentary Interest and Appendices. In our constant pursuit of making the Journal more enriching and useful, we always look forward to suggestions for its further improvement. We also welcome informative, practice and problem oriented, non- partisan and original articles pertaining to parliamentary procedures and institutions from members of Parliament and State Legislatures, scholars and others interested in the field. Anoop Mishra —Editor Jai Mata Di m12 final 1 ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT TO PARLIAMENT The provision for an Address by the Head of State to Parliament goes back to the year 1921 when the Central Legislature was set up for the first time under the Government of India Act, 1919. Under article 86(1) of the Constitution, the President may