 bill  no 111 of  2020 the essential commodities (amendment) bill, 2020 a billfurther to amend the essential commodities act, 1955be it enacted by parliament in the seventy-first year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the essential commodities (amendment) act, 2020short title and commencement(2) it shall be deemed to have come into force on the 5th day of june, 2020510 of  19552 in section 3 of the essential commodities act, 1955, after sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:—'(1a) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1),—    (a) the supply of such foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds and oils, as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, specify, may be regulated only under extraordinary circumstances which may include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature;(b) any action on imposing stock limit shall be based on price rise and an order for regulating stock limit of any agricultural produce may be issued under this act only if there is—5 (i)  hundred per cent increase in the retail price of horticultural produce; or(ii) fifty per cent increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural foodstuffs, over the price prevailing immediately preceding twelve months, or average retail price of last five years, whichever is lower:10provided that such order for regulating stock limit shall not apply to a processor or value chain participant of any agricultural produce, if the stock limit of such person does not exceed the overall ceiling of installed capacity of processing, or the demand for export in case of an exporter:15provided further that nothing contained in this sub-section shall apply to any order, relating to the public distribution system or the targeted public distribution system, made by the government under this act or under any other law for the time being in force20explanation—the expression "value chain participant", in relation to any agricultural product, means and includes a set of participants, from production of any agricultural produce in the field to final consumption, involving processing, packaging, storage, transport and distribution, where at each stage value is added to the product' 3 (1) the essential commodities (amendment) ordinance, 2020 is hereby repealedord 8 of 2020repeal and savings10 of 1955 (2) notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the essential commodities act, 1955, as amended by the said ordinance, shall be deemed to have been done or taken under the corresponding provisions of the said act as amended by this act25 statement of objects and reasonsthe essential commodities act, 1955 (10 of 1955) was enacted to regulate the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce in, certain commodities which are declared as essential commodities and specified in the schedule to that act2 while india has become surplus in most agricultural commodities, farmers have been unable to get better prices due to lack of investment in cold storage, warehouses, processing and export as entrepreneurs get discouraged by the regulatory mechanisms in the essential commodities act, 1955 a high powered committee of chief ministers who examined this issue, recommended removal of stringent restrictions on stock, movement and price control of agricultural foodstuffs for attracting private investments in agricultural marketing and infrastructure3 due to covid19 pandemic, the economy had been adversely affected leading to unemployment and slowdown the agriculture sector has the potential of making significant contribution to economic growth and therefore, to boost immediate investment in this sector, increase competition and enhance farmers' income, there was a need to create an environment based on ease of doing business and for removing the fear of frequent statutory controls under the essential commodities act4 as parliament was not in session and there was an immediate need for legislation in this regard, the essential commodities (amendment) ordinance, 2020 was promulgated by the president of india on the 5th day of june, 2020 under clause (1) of article 123 of the constitution5 the essential commodities (amendment) bill, 2020 which seeks to replace the essential commodities (amendment) ordinance, 2020 (ord8 of 2020) provides in the newly inserted sub-section (1a) to section 3 that notwithstanding the provisions of sub-section (1),—(a)  the supply of such agricultural foodstuff as are notified by the central government shall be regulated only under extraordinary circumstances which may include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural calamity of grave nature;(b) any action for imposing stock limit shall be based on price rise, subject to the conditions and exemptions specified therein 6 the bill seeks to replace the aforesaid ordinancenew delhi;ram vilas paswanthe  17th   august, 2020 lok  sabha———— a billfurther to amend the essential commodities act, 1955————(shri ram vilas paswan, minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution)mgipmrnd—342ls(s3)—07-09-2020