New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- The government accomplished two legislative businesses in the Parliament on Monday amid din, while the Rajya Sabha passed the bill to ensure expeditious payments to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, which seeks to bring ease of compliance for the banking sector. Underscoring the need to bring a legislation to speed up payments for small and medium enterprises in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Union minister for MSME Jitan Ram Manjhi said that the sector is "the backbone" of the Indian economy. He had introduced the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Rajya Sabha on July 28. While replying to a discussion on the bill in the House, he said: "The proposed amendments shall incentivise the growth of the micro, small and medium enterprises, enable them to scale up and become champions of growth." Over the years, the MSME landscape has undergone a change which requires that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006 to be amended to facilitate growth of the sector, he added. The bill provides for notifying a national digital platform for free and voluntary registration of MSMEs and address their liquidity issues by mandating all central public sector enterprises to route the settlement of invoices through trade receivables discounting system (TReDS) for procurement of goods and services from MSMEs. The bill also seeks to empower the courts to order for payment at least 50% of the awarded amount to MSME suppliers, if the application to set aside decree, award or order is pending for more than six months, he said. Besides, the bill improves ease of doing business for MSMEs, strengthens dispute resolution mechanism, promotes digitalisation and enhances compliance for them, he added. The bill was passed by voice vote despite the House witnessed continuous sloganeering and protests from Opposition members seeking home minister Amit Shah's explanation pertaining to the police action against student protesters in Delhi. Stating objective and reasons behind the proposal to repeal the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 and replace the same with introduction of the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, Sitharaman said, the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 was enacted to facilitate the use of certified copies of bank records as evidence in legal proceedings without requiring production of the original records. The act was enacted at a time when banking records were predominantly maintained in physical form. With the advancement of technology and growth of digital banking, bank records are increasingly created, stored and maintained using contemporary technology. It has, therefore, become necessary to modernise and strengthen the existing legal framework to meet the requirements of the banking system....