Rajya Sabha passed The Homeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Bill, 2020 on Friday. The bill was introduced by Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in the House on Monday.

The bill that seeks to amend the Homeopathy Central Council Act, 1973 has already been passed in Lok Sabha. The bill introduced in Rajya Sabha replaces the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated on April 24, 2020.

The Central Council of Homoeopathy was set up under the 1973 Act. It was amended in 2018  to provide for the supersession of the Central Council of Homoeopathy. It was required to be reconstituted within one year from the date of its supersession.

This deadline was extended in 2019 and allowed for the Council to be reconstituted in two years. 

In the interim period, the central government constituted a Board of Governors, to exercise the powers of the Central Council.

The bill passed on Friday increases the supersession of the Central Council from two years to three years.

During the discussion in the House, MPs raised the issue that there was no need for the ordinance as Parliament was meeting regularly.