Government approves draft Regulatory Reform Bill

NEW DELHI: The government has given its go ahead to the proposed Draft Regulatory Reform Bill, 2013 which aims to make regulators across key infrastructure sectors accountable to the Parliament besides giving them power of licensing.“The Prime Minister’s Office gave its go-ahead to the bill last week. The bill is now up for consultation with various stakeholders and once it is finalised it may be taken up in Parliament during the budget session,” a senior official told ET, requesting anonymity.

The bill aims to fill a lacuna since India does not have a law to monitor the functioning of a large number of regulatory authorities existing in the country. The draft bill will apply to key sectors such as electricity, oil and gas, coal, telecommunications and internet, broadcasting and cable television, posts, airports, ports, waterways, railways, mass rapid transit system, highways and water supply, and sanitation.

“The bill will make them accountable to the Parliament ,” the official added. The overall functioning of the regulator will be subject to scrutiny by the Parliament on a yearly basis.