(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) The Big Picture: DNA Technology Bill

Topic: DNA Technology Bill

Guest:

Prof. S. E. Hasnain, (Vice Chancellor, Jamia Hamdard)
Chakshu Roy, (Head of Outreach, PRS Legislative Research)
Dr. Vikram Singh, (Former DGP, Uttar Pradesh)
Desh Ratan Nigam, (Advocate, Supreme Court)

Topic Description:

The DNA Technology Regulation Bill, which seeks to control the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of a person, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday amid questions being raised by opposition parties on its provisions. A similar bill was passed in Lok Sabha in January but it could not be cleared in the Rajya Sabha. The bill had then lapsed with the dissolution of the previous Lok Sabha. The proposed law, which has been in the making since at least 2003, is the third attempt by the government to enact a law to regulate the use of DNA technology in the country after an earlier version of the Bill had been finalised in 2015 but could not be introduced in parliament. The congress was against the introduction of the bill, raising privacy and other concerns. The Minister for science and technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who introduced the Bill however rejected the concerns raised by the opposition saying there is “no serious substance”.