Conclusion of Parliament Monsoon Session 2025
In News
What Happened
Why It Matters
Background
History & Context
What Changed
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Maritime Laws Overhaul: Five new bills replaced colonial-era legislation, including the Indian Ports Bill 2025 replacing the 1908 Act, and the Bills of Lading Bill 2025 replacing the 1856 Act, creating a modern framework for port safety and cargo transport.
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Direct Tax Simplification: The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025 replaced the seminal Income Tax Act of 1961 to simplify language, remove redundant provisions, and streamline compliance without fundamentally altering existing tax slabs.
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Sports Administration: The National Sports Governance Act, 2025 replaced older fragmented codes by establishing a statutory National Sports Board and a National Sports Tribunal for dispute resolution.
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Digital Gaming Framework: The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 established a Central Online Gaming Authority, specifically banning online real-money games while encouraging non-monetary e-sports.
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Regional Financial Governance: Because Manipur was under President's Rule, Parliament directly passed the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and related Appropriation Bills to authorize state expenditures.
What Did NOT Change
Despite the comprehensive replacement of the Income Tax Act, the basic tax slabs and exemption limits for individual taxpayers remained untouched. Furthermore, the constitutional position of the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha remained vacant, continuing a controversial trend that began in 2019.
Prelims Angle
NCERT Connection
Common Misconceptions
✗ The Speaker of the Lok Sabha prorogues the session once legislative business is concluded.
✓ The Speaker only adjourns the House sine die, meaning the sitting is terminated for an indefinite period; the President subsequently issues the formal notification of prorogation under Article 85(2)(a).
Students frequently conflate the presiding officer's daily administrative power to adjourn the House with the President's executive constitutional power to terminate the session entirely.
✗ The application of the parliamentary guillotine means a bill or demand for grant has been rejected and killed by the opposition.
✓ The guillotine is a procedural tool used by the Speaker to group all outstanding, undiscussed clauses of a bill or financial demands and put them to vote immediately, usually leading to their swift passage.
The violent imagery of the word 'guillotine' leads people to mistakenly believe a legislative measure is being destroyed, whereas it is actually a fast-track mechanism to pass it when allocated time expires.
Practice Questions
Q1
How Many CorrectConsider the following statements regarding the legislative business of the Parliament Monsoon Session 2025: 1. The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025 was passed to replace the colonial-era 1856 Act regulating maritime cargo documents. 2. The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025 established a Central Online Gaming Authority and completely banned non-monetary e-sports. 3. The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act primarily to drastically alter the income tax slabs for the middle class. How many of the above statements are correct?
Q2
Match the FollowingMatch the Maritime Bills passed in the Monsoon Session 2025 (List I) with the obsolete Acts they replace (List II): List I A. The Indian Ports Bill, 2025 B. The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2025 C. The Bills of Lading Bill, 2025 D. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025 List II 1. The 1856 Act 2. The 1925 Act 3. The 1908 Act 4. The 1958 Act Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Q3
Assertion & ReasonAssertion (A): The President of India adjourns the Lok Sabha sine die at the end of a session when all scheduled legislative business is concluded. Reason (R): Article 85(2) of the Indian Constitution grants the President the power to prorogue the Houses or either House of Parliament. Select the correct answer: