Lawmakers at New Delhi recently passed the Right to Information Bill. The legislation provides for an information commission with powers to enforce transparency. An officer who delays disclosure will be liable to pay a penalty of Rs 250 for every day's delay. Prakash Kardaley is optimistic about the bill about to become law.

M R Madhavan presents a brief summary of the proceedings in the national legislative bodies during the Winter 2005 session, which was conducted during Nov-Dec 2005.

By consolidating several different laws for the food sector, the proposed bill seeks to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards. The scientific development of the food processing industry is also sought. M R Madhavan and Kaushiki Sanyal present a legislative brief.

The Central government proposes to shuffle the composition of the IMC and bring in more of its own appointees, reducing elected members to a minority. The government claims this will increase the IMC's accountability, but will it also turn it into an arm of the government? M R Madhavan and Ruchita Manghnani present a legislative brief.

The UPA Government is attempting to achieve consensus and amend the Office of Profit law to allow select legislators to hold additional public offices. This is merely the climax of a larger trend, says Madabhushi Sridhar, of an already thin separation of power between executive and legislature, and of earlier efforts to dilute the Constitution.

Journalists have strongly objected to provisions of the proposed Broadcast Bill empowering the government to cripple media through pre-censorship. The media industry has been furiously lobbying against the Bill's attempt to regulate ownership. Amidst all this, there has been little mention of the need for the public to have a say, notes Ammu Joseph.

Fixated on eliminating the grounds for disqualification of legislators that arose from their holding of offices-of-profit in the Executive, Parliament has sent back the infamous Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill to the President, who is now constitution-bound to sign it. Madabhushi Sridhar points out why the legislation must be stopped.

The central government has proposed to exempt file notings and cabinet papers from the RTI law. The government's idea that it can 'reveal the decision but not the reason for it' is anti-democratic. In democracy, people need reasoned decisions, reasons for decisions and not mere decisions without reasons, says Madabhushi Sridhar.

The Post Office (Amendment) Bill 2006 proposes to give the Department of Posts an unaccountable monopoly role in the delivery of small letters and couriers, and introduces a registration system for private carriers. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief of a Bill that harkens back to the license raj.

New provisions in law would make sexual exploitation of trafficked persons punishable. While well-intended, the draft bill is vague; the term 'sexual exploitation' is not clearly defined. Without this, the bill's provisions could lead to greater harassment of prostitutes and their clients. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

With the Central government lobbing the ball into the states' court, the right to education bill has practically lost its very essence. Without a central legislation to support it, a constitutional guarantee will have little meaning, say most experts. Deepa A concludes the 'Lens on Education' series.

It is debatable whether the governance mechanisms of voluntary bodies such as co-operatives should be specified in the Constitution, as the Cooperatives Bill proposes to do through an amendment. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

In the name of internal security, the Foreign Contributions (Regulation) Bill would add to the government's already long list of rules applicable to voluntary organisations, even as it ignores the fact that they receive less than one per cent of the foreign funds flowing into the country. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

The draft bill comes at a time when there are differing opinions on the cost efficacy of the MFO model for reaching credit to the poor. Moreover, the bill itself contains some perplexing ideas - such as the choice of NABARD, itself an MFO, as a regulator of others such organisations. Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief.

A draft bill in Parliament attempts to mandate the care of elderly citizens in law, and envisions the establishment of tribunals to ensure its functioning. But its definitions and methods leave many questions unanswered. Priya Narayan Parker presents a legislative brief.

Acquiring land for a 'public purpose' is claimed as a right by the state under its powers of eminent domain, but it accepts no duty to resettle and rehabilitate all the affected citizens. Instead, rehabilitation is presented as an act of benevolence, writes Kannan Kasturi.

The Centre proposes to establish a National Judicial Council to examine allegations of misconduct or incapacity against senior judges, but questions remain over just how much teeth it should have. Omair Ahmed presents a legislative brief on the Judges (Inquiry) Bill.

When the CIC v. bourses case comes up for hearing in the Supreme Court, the Commision will have to present a much larger social-legal case that clarifies how the stock exchanges are 'public authorities' despite being run as limited liability corporations, writes Deepak Malghan.

The Domestic Worker's Bill, if passed, will be an important step toward securing the rights of a large chunk of the unorganised workforce. But as with all laws, the real test of this legislation will be in its implementation, writes Anuja Agrawal.

Land acquisitions have raised a number of concerns related to fair compensation, valuation of land, definition of 'public purpose' and other issues. As the government moves to amend the Land Acquisition Act, Priya Parker and Sarita Vanka present a legislative brief on the proposed changes.

After decades of delay and debate, are political parties finally about to enact higher representation for women in the legislatures? Kaushiki Sanyal presents a legislative brief on the proposed Constitutional Amendment.

Opposition to reservations for women in Parliament have centred on at least four points. Step by step Vaijayanti Gupta rebuts the arguments and re-iterates the case for reservations.

Although dropped for now, a Bill that seeks to disqualify the permanent resident status of J&K women who marry outside the state is pitting their equal rights and dignity against ‘Kashmiri identity’, argues Rekha Chowdhary.

To shield women from vilification, the National Commission for Women (NCW) is all set to recommend strict penalties against men who level false allegations of adultery against their wives in divorce cases. Tripti Nath has more.

Disagreements on the Lokpal, even amongst the reform-minded, have arisen because globally there is no consensus about the exact role of the ombudsman. Rajeev Kadambi looks at the options before the Hazare-Government panel.

The decision to repeal and replace the 1894 Land Acquisition Act is welcome, but many provisions of the new Bill are so vague that they will only perpetuate past mistakes, writes Shripad Dharmadhikary.

There are wide differences between the various parties on various provisions of the Lokpal Bill. And India Against Corruption wants its own amendments too.

The government has introduced the Microfinance Bill in Parliament, empowering RBI to oversee small lenders as well. The law will take MFIs outside the jurisdiction of state-level laws, and bring them under federal regulation.

A legislative brief from PRS Legislative Research about the Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, which proposes to introduce a new regime for public service delivery.

In late January, the Justice J S Verma Committee recommended amendments to the India's criminal law so as to provide for quicker and more effective redress of sexual assault against women. PRS Legislative Research provides highlights.

As Parliament prepares to pass new anti-rape legislation on the basis of the government-promulgated ordinance, Padmalatha Ravi discusses recommendations of the seminal report by the Committee that underlines the need for law that is better conceived.

As the Budget Session of Parliament nears its end, the House is expected to decide on at least two key pieces of legislation that propose major reforms in the areas of food security and the rights of the displaced; Sakshi Balani provides a quick round-up of the provisions and issues related to the two Bills.

Internet monitoring, surveillance and censorship by the Government has become a norm in the country today, even while users are kept completely in the dark about it. Snehashish Ghosh argues why more transparency is critical to upholding the very basic tenets of democracy.

Indian political parties have been notorious for their opacity, particularly when it comes to questions of their funding. A recent quasi-judicial order bringing six large national parties within the ambit of the RTI Act 2005 might change that. A quick summary of the latest developments:

The Court of Appeals in Philippines has recently passed an order, prohibiting field trials of GM Bt Brinjal. As the Indian government seeks to push through the BRAI Bill, Neha Saigal exposes its loopholes and argues why we should go the Philippines way.

The Consumer Protection Act passed by the Indian government in 1986 defeats its own objectives in the way that it functions today; Sakuntala Narasimhan reveals how it sidelines consumer rights and protects the bigger multinationals operating in the emerging market.

Legislation to regulate and administer the country's water sector is a crying need, but the Draft National Water Framework Law recently submitted by the Alagh Committee is a disappointment. Shripad Dharmadhikary explains why.

The new Land Acquisition law passed recently by the government had several promising provisions, most of which have unfortunately been nullified either by diluting conditions or other loopholes in the act. Shripad Dharmadhikary looks at all that has made this a lost opportunity.

The introduction of One Person Companies in the 2013 Companies Act eyes fast economic gains; however, as Shankar Jaganathan points out, it also calls for a more considered approach and provision of safeguards to protect the smaller creditors and employees.

Going beyond value judgments, T R Raghunandan presents an objective explanation of why the Supreme Court judgment upholding the constitutionality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code lacks sound reasoning and could have been much better crafted.

PRS Legislative Research provides a quick summary of key amendments in effect in the final version of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, that was passed by both houses of Parliament in December 2013.

The deficiencies in the prison system, especially from a human rights perspective, are many and grave, but the plight of non-native inmates calls for special focus, writes Ruchika Nigam.

Poor compensation could be the key reason behind the DGCA’s inability to attract and retain technical personnel, says the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture. PRS Legislative Research summarises the Committee’s report.

As elections draw nearer, it is more important than ever to understand the way the Lok Sabha functions and what our Members of Parliament are expected to do. Only then can we assess their performance and who may be the best choice, writes R Balasubramaniam.

What does state sovereignty really stand for? Does it downplay the role and status of the individual by making him a 'subject' of the state? Watch Usha Ramanathan, as she deconstructs the complex entity of the state in the Daksh Constitutional Day Lecture.

Anger and frustration is on the rise over inordinate delays by the Central Information Commission in responding to or inquiring into complaints from RTI appellants. Revathi Siva Kumar looks at what ails the institution.

PRS Legislative Research summarises the key highlights of a report from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice titled Infrastructure Development and Strengthening of Subordinate Courts.

As we approach the parliamentary elections, India Together presents a quick familiarisation with members of the Lok Sabha in certain key urban constituencies. In the first of the series, Amrita Mukherjee introduces you to the sitting MPs from Kolkata.

The fierce political campaigns around the 2014 general elections have seen rampant communal rhetoric and instances of hate speech by followers of all camps. Tanvi Bhatikar digs deeper into hate speech law and judicial proceedings in India with a comparison to UK and Europe.

With the SC striking down the Kerala Irrigation and Water Conservation Act, concerns over the Mullaperiyar Dam could create tension anew between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Could a new study contain a potential solution to the issue? P N Venugopal explores.