 bill  no 161 of  2018 the vedic education (compulsory  teaching in educational)  bill,  2018 byshri nishikant dubey, mp a billto provide for making teaching of vedic education compulsory in educational institutions and/or matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the vedic education (amendment) act, 2018(2) it extends to the whole of india except the state of jammu and kashmirshort title, extent and commencement(3) lt shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the gazette, appoint:provided that different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this act shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,definitions(a) "appropriate government" means,—(i) the central government in the case of educational institutions run by the central government; and(ii) in all other cases, the state government;(b) "council" means the vedic education council  established under section 4; (c) "educational institution" means an institution imparting  education to children upto the level of secondary education  but does not include a minority educational institution;(d) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act; and (e) "vedic education" means education in principles and  ideals underlying vedic literature, vedic philosophy and vedic life, which are non-religious in character 3 vedic education as recommended by the council shall be taught as a compulsory subject in all educational institutions in such form and manner as may be prescribedcompulsory teaching of vedic education in educational institutions4 ( 1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute, with effect from such date as may be specified in the notification, a council to be known as the vedic education councilconstitution of vedic education council(2) the council shall consist of such number of members, having special knowledge or experience in the fields of history, education or vedic studies, as may be prescribed(3) the central government may appoint such number of officers and staff as may be required for effective functioning of the council(4) the salary and other allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of, the members and officers and staff of the council shall be such as may be prescribed from time to time'5 the council shall—functions of the council(1) to make recommendations to the appropriate government on the curriculum for vedic education for each class;(2) make recommendations to the appropriate government regarding the class or category of students or educational institutions which shall be exempted from the provisions of this act;(3) prescribe to the appropriate government the principles and standards to be observed for granting accreditation to institutions imparting training to teachers of vedic education;(4) advise the appropriate government on imposition of government of penalty under section 7 of the actcentral government provide funds6 the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by law in this behalf, provide adequate funds to the  council for carrying out the purposes of this actpenalty7 where an educational institution fails to comply with the penalty provisions of section 3 of this act, then for the first failure, it shall be liable to a fine which may extend upto five lakh rupees and for successive failures, to a fine which may extend upto ten lakh rupees or de-recognition of the educational institution or both:provided that no penalty under this section shall be imposed on any educational institution unless a reasonable opportunity of being heard has been provided to such institution:provided further that no penalty under this section shall be imposed except on the recommendation of the vedic education councilact to have overriding effect8 the provisions of this act shall have effect notwithstanding have anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the overriding effect time being in forceremoval of difficulties9 (1) if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of a period of two years from the commencement of this act(2) every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliamentpower to make rules10 (1) the central government may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this act(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonsthe vedic period is considered among the most glorious periods in indian historythis was a period when civilisation grew and flourished socially, culturally, educationally and spiritually the richness of vedic culture is so clearly evident in vedic literature - the vedas being the most prominent among them it is not surprising that the vedic philosophy enshrined in this literature pervaded all walks of vedic life a grave misconception that has subsisted over centuries is that vedic literature is predominantly religious in character on the contrary, vedas are eternal and their appeal is universal since they transcend all religions in fact, the essence or core of all religions, where they all agree, is the true vedic religionvedas talk about equality, universal brotherhood, harmonious development of life and a rational, thinking the essence of vedic knowledge, therefore, lies in those philosophical aspects that teach people to lead a life to its perfection this is exactly what was sought to be achieved by imparting education in gurukulsunlike the modern education, which is largely academic in nature, vedic education was more comprehensive in nature it was not intended just to ensure employability of the pupils rather, it aimed at formation of individual character and inculcation of a sense of righteousness, self- control and discipline towards this end, vedic education touched all aspects of human life - from physical development to sublimation of instincts, commitment to motherland and indebtedness to mother earthconsidering the relevance of these objectives in the present age and the contribution vedic education can make towards the objective of creating a responsible citizenry, the bill provides for:—(i) compulsory vedic education of non-religious character in educational institutions; (ii) establishment of a vedic education council for this purpose; (iii) imposition of pecuniary penalty or derecognition for failure to comply with theprovisions of the bill; and(iv) empowering the vedic education council to recommend which class or category of students or educational institutions shall be exempt from the provisions of the bill the bill seeks to achieve the above objectsnew delhi;nishikant dubeyjanuary 23, 2018 financial memorandumclause 4 of the bill provides for constitution of the vedic education council consisting of such number of members as may be prescribed and for salary and other allowances payable to its members, officers and staff clause 6 provides for making available adequate funds to the council by the central government for carrying out the purposes of the bill the bill, therefore, would involve expenditure out of the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of fifteen crore rupees per annum will be incurred out of the consolidated fund of india for the purpose of the billa non-recurring expenditure of about rupees two crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 10 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will relate to matters of details only the delegation of legislature power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for making teaching of vedic education compulsory in educational institutions and/or matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(shri nishikant dubey, mp)mgipmrnd—1926ls(s3)—25-10-2018