Even though a string of important Bills related to pharma and health sectors are waiting to be introduced in Parliament for its final nod, only one major Bill, the NBRA Bill, finds a place in the tentative list for transaction of business during the just started monsoon session of Parliament. A total of 35 new Bills have been listed for the introduction in Parliament during the on-going session which has begun on July 26.

Apart from The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill, 2010 (NBRA Bill), the other two relatively unimportant Bills that have been listed for introduction in Parliament are The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010 and The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Bill, 2010.

Surprisingly, some of the important Bills like Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill (ART Bill), being introduced to regulate thousands of infertility clinics that have mushroomed in the country over the past several years, and the Drugs & Cosmetics (amendment) Bill, aiming to enact a comprehensive legislation to ensure standards, safety, quality and effectiveness of medical devices in the country, could not found a place in the transaction of business for the ongoing session.

The introduction of the NBRA Bill is important, especially in the backdrop of the ongoing controversy over the genetically modified crops in the country. The NBRA Bill seeks to set up the NBRA as an independent, autonomous, statutory agency to safeguard the health and safety of the people and to regulate the safe development and deployment of biotechnology products and processes in the country. Once in place, the Authority will have overriding powers on matters related to the development and deployment of biotechnology products and processes in the country.

The Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Bill, 2010 is being introduced to empower the central government to supersede the Council and to constitute a Board of Governors. The Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research Bill, 2010 is being introduced to establish the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research as an institution of national importance with powers to award degrees.

Other major bills which have been waiting to be introduced in Parliament for its final nod included HIV/AIDS Bill, Ethical Guidelines for Biomedical Research on Human Subjects Bill, Central Drug Authority (CDA) Bill, Medical Devices Bill and the National Blood Transfusion Authority Bill.