Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed two Bills to repeal 245 obsolete and archaic laws, including the 158-year-old Calcutta Pilots Act of 1859 and the 1911 law, the Prevention of Seditious Meeting Act.

Referring to the old and, in many cases, irrelevant pre-independence laws, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said their presence was an "unfortunate part of India's colonial legacy" and that as proud Indias, the government had decided to repeal these laws to showcase the government's "pro-reform" approach. The law minister also said the government had repealed a total of 1824 outdated laws since PM Narendra Modi took over the reins of the country.