Govt lines up key reform bills for Monsoon Session beginning July 20

NEW DELHI: The Centre has drawn up an extensive legislative agenda for the monsoon session of Parliament, beginning on Monday, with proposals relating to foreign funding regulations, tax reforms, MSME development, and higher education among the key measures slated for consideration.

According to the tentative list of legislative business, the government will prioritise the passage of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which was introduced earlier this year. The proposed legislation seeks to amend provisions governing the regulation of foreign contributions.

The government is also expected to take up the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, 2025, which aims to reform the higher education framework. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha and later referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for examination.

Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla arrives in Parliament on the first day of the Eight Session of the 18th Lok Sabha. On his arrival, he was welcomed by Secretary General, Lok Sabha, Shri Utpal Kumar Singh.@loksabhaspeaker @ombirlakota @sansad_tv #MonsoonSession2026 #LokSabha pic.twitter.com/NqYCf5DHI5

— LOK SABHA (@LokSabhaSectt) July 20, 2026

Among the new legislations proposed during the session is the Income-tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which is intended to replace an ordinance issued earlier to continue tax exemptions for foreign investors on income earned from specified government securities, with the objective of supporting capital inflows and strengthening the sovereign debt market.

The legislative agenda also includes the Supreme Court Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes increasing the sanctioned strength of Supreme Court judges from 33 to 37, excluding the Chief Justice of India, to address the growing pendency of cases.

Another key proposal is the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to improve the ease of doing business for MSMEs by strengthening mechanisms for addressing delayed payments, enhancing the functioning of facilitation councils, and providing greater flexibility to states in implementing dispute resolution measures.

The government has also proposed amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act to tighten provisions related to delayed registration, as well as changes to the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act. The monsoon session of Parliament commenced on Monday and continue until August 13, with the government expected to push both new and pending legislation as part of its reform agenda. (ANI)