Function, Debate & Decide:

Aug 12/2015 : Democracy is a lot like water. It is a resource that needs to be conserved, nurtured and protected. Increasingly we find that Members of Parliament, both from the Treasury and Opposition benches, are taking democracy and the institution of Parliament for granted. A layperson would think that having a majority government ensures that disruptions, which had become a norm during the UPA 2 term, can be avoided. Sadly, the impasse continues as this Monsoon session is headed for a complete washout.

One of the primary tasks of the ruling party is to ensure that Parliament functions smoothly, important issues are taken up, debated and amicable decisions are made. It is the government's responsibility because they are the ones setting the agenda for the Parliament. The BJP government increasingly seems to be knowingly clueless about what it is doing or what it should do to avoid policy paralysis. To project an image of decisiveness and confidence, when there is none, they are busy bulldozing the Lok Sabha and using it as a rubber stamp for legislating One such example is that of the Bureau of Indian Standards Bill (BIS), 2015 which was introduced in the Lok Sabha last Friday (07 Aug).

This Bill is vital for ensuring quality of products made in India as it seeks to ensure "harmonious development of the activities of standardization, conformity, assessment and quality assurance of goods, services, articles, processes and systems." This is supposedly a legislation intended to protect interests of consumers as also cater to requirements of the World Trade Organization. On paper, the bill is a good move, the intentions are well founded especially after recent incidents. But the way it has been dealt with raises eyebrows.

Look at the definitions of the five broad categories in the BIS Bill and anyone will realize how vague they are. Take for example how "process" is defined in the bill: "process means a set of inter-related or interacting activities, which transforms inputs to outputs." Another example is that of "system": "system means a set of inter-related or interacting elements." These are all high faluting words. These words would enable the BIS deal with all manufacturing processes. Even IT and ITES industry products would be in its ambit. While government takes months to produce such Bills of classic ambiguity, Parliament is expected to deliberate and pass it hastily. It was hurriedly brought in on a Friday and listed for consideration and passing on Monday.

BIS Bill is a piece of legislation that has numerous stakeholders as it will determine how the total manufacturing and service sectors in the country be regulated. The government wants quick passing of the Bill without even giving time to file Amendments.  It's a frightening prospect when we consider the fact that BJP is using the Lok Sabha just to push its agenda forward without even consulting the stakeholders.

Promoting "harmonious development of products" according to international standards will also require expertise in various areas that BIS deals with. Quality control, at the scale envisaged, will require the services of numerous international level experts. These experts will obviously offer their services only at a premium. They wouldn't agree to be consultants if they are paid according to government standards. This would entail huge investments on the part of the exchequer. No wonder there is a clause in the Bill (Sec 21[1]) which reads: "The Bureau may, with the consent of the Central Government... borrow money from any source as it may deem fit for discharging all or any of its functions under this Act". It further reads (Sec 21[2]): "The Central Government may guarantee... the repayment of the principal and the payment of interest thereon with respect to the loans borrowed..." 

It is a worthwhile exercise yet the sustained investments involved would be immense. Not only international level human resource but also establishing very many laboratories/facilities across the country would be essential for properly achieving what the Bill intends to. Such crucial details have been conveniently glossed over.

One would normally assume that an agency like the BIS, which would do quality control across the board, would be an independent body. Sadly, that is not what will happen. The proposed Bill (in Sec 25[2]) states: "The decision of the Central Government (on) whether a question is one of policy or not shall be final." This is a dangerous proposition that would open flood gates of undue favoritism and resultant kickbacks.

While the Bill, on one side surreptitiously empowers the central government to hold the reins, on the other it bestows great powers on the BIS to penalize defaulters and even take products off shelves. In this manner, the central government will not only be able to dictate product standards across the board but also control the market at large. BIS will be run by bureaucrats with no real expertise in global standardization practices. It is easy to forsee them using the BIS as an extortion and pressure tool, crippling the market according to their whims and wishes. Such kind of power should not be given to a government. Damodardass Modi spoke of "Minimum government, Maximum governance". If this is what he meant, it's frightening to visualize what else this government will pop up with in the remainder of its term.

Admittedly this Bill has massive implications as to whether India's market will flourish or perish in the future. Such a Bill being brought in and pushed to be passed in three days is a blatant move to undermine the legislature. The government should, on its own, send it for further deliberations and discussions at the standing committee level. Proper consultations need to be held with all stakeholders. Such laws that require longevity must never be dealt with perfunctorily.