The Hindu : President gives assent to six Bills

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 27, 2002

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National

President gives assent to six Bills

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI DEC. 26. A number of important legislative Bills passed recently by Parliament have become Acts with the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, giving assent to them.

According to official information, the President has given his assent to the Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Bill 2002, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, 2002, the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation and Maintenance) Bill, 2002, the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Second Amendment) Bill, 2002, the Consumer Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2002 and the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill, 2002.

The Unit Trust of India (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act replaces the ordinance promulgated in October to provide for the transfer and vest the undertaking, excluding the specified undertaking of the UTI, to the specified company to be formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956.

This Act also seeks to transfer and vest the specified undertaking of the UTI in the Administrator besides repealing the Unit Trust of India Act, 1963 in order to corporatise the UTI and let it compete in the free market economy.

Similarly, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Act replaces the ordinance promulgated in October to amend the SEBI Act of 1992 by enlarging its Board of Directors, besides conferring power of search and seizure with the approval of court and enhancing the fine for a better and hassle-free regulation of the capital market and avoid recurrence of scams and other malpractices in the capital market by building confidence of investors.

The Delhi Metro Act provides a legal frame and mechanism for regulation of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) under the joint control of the Central Government through the Ministry of Urban Development and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi, on the pattern of the Indian Railways Act, 1989.

The Act also provides for a mechanism for operation and maintenance of the DMRC and its security.

The Constitution (Schedule Castes) Orders (Second Amendment) Act seeks to amend the Constitution (Schedule Castes) (Union Territories) Orders, 1951, the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Schedule Castes Orders, 1956, the Constitution (Dadra and Nagar Haveli) Schedule Castes Orders, 1964 to include, exclude and expand the list of Schedule Castes in States and Union Territories.

The Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act amends the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 to enable State Governments to set up District Consumer Council on their own, make the compliance of the orders of the National Consumer Council, State Consumer Council and District Consumer Council meaningful and effective.

The Act also provides for attachment of the assets of persons not complying with the orders of the Consumer Councils, courts and Commissions besides streamlining the provisions of the 1986 Act.

The amended Act will be enforced from a date to be notified by the Government.

The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act amends the earlier 1958 Act and the Major Port Trusts Act, 1963 to streamline their provisions in order to enable them to meet the challenges of globalised economy in the form of quality of services and competition besides streamlining corporatisation of major ports, their expansion and services.

The amended Act will come into effect from the date to be notified by the Government.

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