Ten Anti Corruption Bills in Queue to be passed by Parliament

Besides Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, which was tabled in Rajya Sabha Friday, there are at least nine more anti graft bills pending in parliament.

* The Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011: Passed in the Lok Sabha at fag end of winter session last year, the bill provides for protection of a person making a disclosure related to acts of corruption, misuse of power or criminal offence. It focuses on protecting the identity of the complainant. It is listed for the current winter session.

* The Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials and Officials of Public International Organisations Bill, 2011: The bill makes it an offence to accept or offer a bribe to foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations to obtain or retain international business.

* The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2011: It makes it an offence to accept or offer a bribe to foreign public officials and officials of public international organisations to obtain or retain international business. Introduced in August 2011, it went to a standing committee and the report came in June this year. It is listed for this session.

* The Prevention of Money?Laundering (Amendment) Bill, 2011: The bill amends the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. It widens the definition of offences under money laundering to include activities like concealment, acquisition, possession and use of proceeds of crime. The bill is listed for this session.

* The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill, 2011: Popularly known as grievance redressal bill, it requires every public authority to publish a citizen charter within six months of commencement of the act with details of goods and services to be provided and the timeline for their delivery. Introduced in December 2011, a standing committee report on the bill came in Auguts this year.

* The Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011: The bill requires all public authorities to deliver all public services electronically within a maximum period of eight years. It was introduced in December 2011, and a standing committee report came in August.

* The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010: One of the key bills for increasing transparency, it is for creating a population register for all residents of India. It seeks to establish the National Identification Authority of India to issue unique identification numbers (called ‘Aadhaar’) to residents of India.

* The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010: It replaces the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. It provides for enforceable standards for the conduct of high court and Supreme Court judges.

* The Public Procurement Bill, 2012: The bill seeks to regulate and ensure transparency in the procurement process. It applies to procurement processes above Rs.50 lakh. The procuring entity shall adhere to certain standards such as ensuring efficiency and economy; and provide fair and equitable treatment to bidders.