Even as the budget session of Parliament is beginning today, there is scepticism among the pharma industry regarding the fate of several Bills related to the health and pharma sectors as most of these Bills have been pending for quite some time for introduction and passage in Parliament.
The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill (ART Bill), Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill (NBRA Bill), HIV/AIDS Bill, Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Subjects Bill, and Allied and Healthcare Professional’s Central Council Bill are some of the Bills in health and pharma sectors which have been waiting for Parliament's final nod.
The budget session will be held in two phases. In the first phase, the session would run from February 23 to March 16 and this part of the session will be utilised mostly for budget related deliberations and legislation. In the second phase, the session will be held from April 25 to May 13, and this part of the session will largely be utilised for passing non-budget legislation.
But, there are apprehensions in the pharma industry about the fate of the Bills related to the health and pharma sectors, given the tumultuous and fluid political situation in the country. There are apprehensions that this session will also go the same way as that of the two previous sessions. Like the previous session, the winter session of Parliament, scheduled from November 26 to December 23, was also a complete washout as various political parties did not allow Parliament to function due to several political controversies.
In fact, three Bills related to health and pharma sectors, the Drugs and Cosmetics (Amendment) Bill, 2015; the HIV Bill; and the Mental Health Care Bill, were found a place in the tentative list of government legislative and financial businesses expected to be taken up during the winter session. But, as the Parliament did not function, all these bills are still pending for final Parliament nod.