Private Member's Bill: Why Only 14 Ever Became Law in India

Any MP who is not a minister can introduce a Private Member's Bill — it's a backbencher's law-making tool.

Only about 14 such bills have ever become law since 1947, and none since 1970.

They are taken up only on Fridays, often the most poorly-attended sitting of the week.

Tiruchi Siva's 2014 transgender rights bill cleared Rajya Sabha in 2015 — the first PMB passed by a House in decades.

Even when they fail, these bills set the agenda and force the government to act later.