Parliamentary Proceedings Overview
The Lok Sabha passed significant legislation amid Opposition protests concerning various national issues, including police actions against students and allegations of fund mismanagement related to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Key Legislation Passed
- Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Bill, 2026
- Passed without discussion due to ongoing protests.
- Increases sanctioned judge strength from 34 to 38 in the Supreme Court.
- Aims to address the pendency of 92,101 cases as of January 1.
- Facilitates more regular Constitution Benches.
- Five judges have been appointed following the ordinance.
- Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026
- Repeals the 1959 Act governing the Indian Statistical Institute.
- Incorporates it as a statutory body with the President as Visitor and a Board of Governors.
- Aims to enhance governance, research, and academic autonomy.
- Focuses on expanding roles in statistics, data science, and allied fields.
- Bankers’ Books Evidence Bill, 2026
- Introduced to replace the colonial-era 1891 law.
- Recognizes electronic, digital, and cloud-based banking records as admissible evidence.
- Provides for digital authentication of records.
- Empowers the Centre to extend the law to other financial sectors.