The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a long awaited bill to regulate and supervise assisted reproductive technology(ART) clinics and to establish a national registry and registration authority in the country which is emerging as a major centre in the multi-million dollar fertility services industry. The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2021 provides for penal provisions with offences punishable with hefty fines and tougher sentences(8 to 12 years).