New Delhi, Jul 3 (IANS): The government on Wednesday introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha for establishing a New Delhi Arbitration Centre to create an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalized arbitration.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill, 2019 which had been promulgated on March 2. It seeks to set up an autonomous and independent institution for better management of arbitration in India.

The Minister said it will also consider the acquisition and transfer of undertakings of the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution and to vest them in the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre for the better management of arbitration.

The Bill, Prasad said, seeks to declare the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre an institution of national importance.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said there was a need for an autonomous arbitration body which must be accountable. "Transparency needed to be increased. We need a robust arbitration centre so that it can truly meet the international criteria."

A similar Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on January 4. But it lapsed with the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.