• The Monsoon Session of Parliament, which commenced on July 18, has been adjourned sine die on August 8.

• Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha saw the passage of seven and five Bills, respectively, during the Session which was to end on August 12.

• While Lok Sabha saw a total of 16 sittings that lasted for 44 hours and 29 minutes, the Rajya Sabha met for 38 hours with as many as 47 hours lost due to disruptions.

• The productivity of Lok Sabha was approximately 48 per cent and that of Rajya Sabha was approximately 44 per cent.

• Rajya Sabha also bid farewell to Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, whose tenure ends on August 10. During the next Session, Rajya Sabha proceedings would be chaired by Jagdeep Dhakhar, who will take over on August 11.

What are the Sessions of Parliament?

• A Session is the period of time between the meeting of a Parliament and its prorogation. During the course of a Session, either House may adjourn to such date as it pleases. 

Normally three Sessions are held in a year: 

(1) Budget Session -  January & February and March & April.

The Budget Session is divided into two parts. It has a break to enable department-related committees to consider and report on demands for grants of the various ministries.

(2) Monsoon Session - July, August and September.

(3) Winter Session -  November and December.

• The period between the prorogation of Parliament and its reassembly in a new Session is termed as a ‘recess’.

• ‘Adjournment’ is a short break of a few hours or days and then the House resumes its sitting. 

• If the adjournment is done without any time scale, it is known as ‘adjournment sine die’.

Bills passed by both Houses during Monsoon Session

1) The Weapons of Mass Destruction and their Delivery Systems (Prohibition of Unlawful Activities) Amendment Bill, 2022

It seeks to prohibit financing of any activity in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. It empowers the central government to:

i) Freeze, seize or attach funds or other financial assets or economic resources for preventing such financing.

ii) Prohibit making available funds, financial assets or economic resources for any prohibited activity in relation to weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

2) The Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022

It seeks to amend the parent Act to provide for the establishment of family courts in Himachal Pradesh with effect from the February 15, 2019 and in Nagaland with effect from the September 12, 2008. It also provides for insertion of a  new section 3A to retrospectively validate all actions under the parent Act taken by the state governments of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland.

3) The Indian Antarctica Bill, 2022

It provides for the national measures for protecting the Antarctic environment and dependent and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

4) The National Anti-Doping Bill

It provides for the constitution of the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for regulating anti-doping activities in sports and to give effect to the UNESCO International Convention against doping in sport, and compliance of such other obligations and commitments thereunder and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

5) The Central Universities (Amendment) Bill, 2022 

It seeks to amend the Central Universities Act, 2009 to provide for the establishment of Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya as a body corporate.

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