Current Affairs - Bills and Acts

The Assam cabinet, under the leadership of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, approved the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, aimed at curbing magical healing practices that exploit individuals suffering from congenital diseases.

The Delhi High Court sought the Centre’s response to a petition challenging the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, which permits female aged between 23 to 50 to undergo surrogacy. This age range was questioned by a couple, contesting that it infringes upon their right to procreation.

The Telangana Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a bill banning hookah parlours in the state. State Legislative Affairs Minister D Sridhar Babu introduced the bill on behalf of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, highlighting the health hazards associated with hookah smoking compared to cigarettes.

The Parliament passed three bills addressing reservation and modification of Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes lists specifically for Jammu and Kashmir. These bills aim to address reservation gaps and ensure the recognition and inclusion of marginalized communities in the Union territory.

The Rajya Sabha passed bills modifying the list of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The bills aim to include new ethnic groups into the list of Scheduled Tribes in Andhra Pradesh and add several ethnic groups to the Scheduled Tribes list in Odisha.