Panel for automatic suspension in Rajya Sabha

The two-member committee is headed by former secretary general of Rajya Sabha V.K. Agnihotri. The report has to be approved by the Rules Committee of the Upper House, which is headed by Mr. Naidu and has members from across parties. The automatic suspension of wilful offenders is a controversial clause which was debated by the Rajya Sabha secretariat when Hamid Ansari was the Chairman. The Lok Sabha has a provision for automatic suspension, but in the Rajya Sabha, the House has to vote on the Chair’s suggestion to suspend a member; the chair can’t take the decision on its own.

National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

NPPA is an organization of the Government of India which was established, inter alia, to fix/ revise the prices of controlled bulk drugs and formulations and to enforce prices and availability of the medicines in the country, under the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 1995. The organization is also entrusted with the task of recovering amounts overcharged by manufacturers for the controlled drugs from the consumers. It also monitors the prices of decontrolled drugs in order to keep them at reasonable levels

 Functions of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority

• To implement and enforce the provisions of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order in accordance with the powers delegated to it.
• To deal with all legal matters arising out of the decisions of the Authority;
• To monitor the availability of drugs, identify shortages, if any, and to take remedial steps;
• To collect/ maintain data on production, exports and imports, market share of individual companies, profitability of companies etc, for bulk drugs and formulations;
• To undertake and/ or sponsor relevant studies in respect of pricing of drugs/ pharmaceuticals;
• To recruit/ appoint the officers and other staff members of the Authority, as per rules and procedures laid down by the Government;
• To render advice to the Central Government on changes/ revisions in the drug policy;
• To render assistance to the Central Government in the parliamentary matters relating to the drug

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)

The entry of private service providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.

• TRAI's mission is to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in emerging global information society.

• One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition.
• In pursuance of above objective TRAI has issued from time to time a large number of regulations, orders and directives to deal with issues coming before it and provided the required direction to the evolution of Indian telecom market from a Government owned monopoly to a multi operator multi service open competitive market.
• The directions, orders and regulations issued cover a wide range of subjects including tariff, interconnection and quality of service as well as governance of the Authority.
• The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI.
• TDSAT was set up to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee, between two or more service providers, between a service provider and a group of consumers, and to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction, decision or order of TRAI.