Subhechcha Ganguly 
No more lavish Indian weddings, please? The “Prevention of Wasteful Expenditure on Special Occasions Bill 2020” was discussed in Lok Sabha on Friday, August 4, 2023. The private member’s bill was introduced in January 2020 by Congressman Jasbir Singh Gill. In addition to regulating the amount spent on presents for newlyweds, the new bill seeks to set restrictions on the number of people who may be invited and the foods that may be offered during weddings.
Instead of expensive gifts, Gill advised making philanthropic contributions to disadvantaged people, orphanages, or non-governmental organisations (NGOs).The Bill, according to Gill, intends to stop the extravagant expenditure that puts a lot of hardship on the bride’s family’s finances. Gill added that many people have turned to selling their homes and land plots and taking out loans to pay for lavish weddings. He asserted that this “could go a long way in checking female foeticide” because a girl kid would no longer be seen as a burden.
He discussed a personal experience. He saw that no one touched the food from at least 129 of the 285 food trays at the Phagwara wedding he attended in 2019. It had all been wasted, he declared.
Only 100 guests from both sides of the family shall be invited, and the number of dishes served should not exceed 10. The Bill also limits the amount of money that can be spent on wedding presents to Rs 2,500.The MP claimed to have done the same in his own family; at his son and daughter’s weddings, just 30 to 40 people attended, according to The Indian Express.
