Arms (Amendment) Bill became an Act as President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the bill which was earlier passed by the Parliament which proposes punishment for possession and manufacture of illegal weapons in the country.
President gave his acceptance on Saturday to the new Act which proposes one year’s time to deposit extra firearms to the police station or with licensed arms dealer and also increases the period of a firearm license from three years to five years.
ALSO READ: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019: Everything you need to know
A gazette notification reads “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Arms (Amendment) Act, 2019 (48 of 2019), the Central Government hereby appoints the 14th day of December 2019, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.”
The new Act amends Arms Act, 1959 to reduce their illegal usage and reduce illegal arms smuggling.
It was introduced to control the use and possession of arms in the country and ban use, transfer, conversion, testing, proofing, manufacture or sale of firearms without a licence.