Rajya Sabha passes the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill

The Rajya Sabha passed the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill by a voice vote on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs Danve Raosaheb Dadarao assured the House that the Bill is in the interest of farmers and consumers.

"I want to assure that the changes made in the Act made in 1955 are with PM Modi's vision. It is for the benefit of farmers, and consumers. Doubling farmers' income is our pledge, and this bill is an important step towards fulfilling it," Dadarao said in the Rajya Sabha.

"There was a problem of storage, and issues with the supply chain in the country. The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill will give a push to the people involved in the supply chain. Investments in the farming sector will increase, and also the losses will be further cut down by the improvement in storage facility and increase in technology," he added.

He also said that the stock limit conditions will now only be imposed in case of exceptional circumstances like floods, drought.

The Bill was approved by the lower house earlier last week.

The Rajya Sabha passed the bill amid several Opposition members, including those from Congress, Samajwadi Party and others walking out over the issue of suspension of eight parliamentarians and the farm-related bills.

The Compes (Amendment) Bill, 2020, the National Forensic Sciences University Bill, 2020 and the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2020 were the other bills passed in the House.

( With inputs from ANI )