Streamline regulations: Jan Vishwas Bill is a step in the right direction

The recent passage of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, is expected to improve the ease of doing business. The Bill amended 784 provisions in 79 pieces of parliamentary legislation. Of those, 717 have been decriminalised while 67 aim to improve ease of living. The amendments cover a wide range of laws across sectors, including the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; the Pharmacy Act, 1948; the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006; the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010; the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, as well as several other laws governing commerce, industry, environment, and taxation. The broader objective is replacing criminal penalties, particularly imprisonment for minor procedural violations, with graded monetary penalties and a structured adjudication mechanism with appellate provisions.

 

The scale of the problem the government intends to address is enormous. As Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently noted, around 50 million pending court cases involve minor offences, and many of those should not have required judicial intervention. The government has indicated that the amendments could help reduce a large number of such cases and shift them to the executive domain from the judicial. This will reduce litigation, lower compliance costs, and improve the overall business environment. Another important feature of the Bill is the introduction of graded enforcement, such as advisory notices, warnings, and monetary penalties instead of immediate criminal action. This is particularly important for micro, small, and medium enterprises, which often struggle with complex compliance requirements and are disproportionately affected by criminal provisions for minor violations.

 

Notably, the Bill is not a standalone reform. It is part of a broader and consistent policy intervention over the past decade and is aimed at improving the business environment. The Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 central Acts. The present Bill expands that effort by decriminalising hundreds more. Similarly, the Corporate Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposed amendments to the Companies Act, 2013, and the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008, to further ease compliance while strengthening governance standards. Complementary reforms such as amendments to the insolvency law, rationalisation in goods and services tax, and the consolidation of labour laws into four Codes indicate a sustained attempt to simplify regulation and reduce compliance burdens. The government is consciously attempting to reduce regulatory uncertainty and improve the business environment.

 

However, decriminalisation alone cannot guarantee ease of doing business. The real problem in India is not just criminal provisions but the sheer number of compliances, approvals, and regulatory overlaps between the Centre and states. If these are not reduced significantly, there is a risk that businesses, particularly smaller ones, will continue to face hurdles. Compliance issues are one reason why businesses in India are reluctant to scale up their operations. Therefore, the next stage of reform must focus on reducing the number of compliances, simplifying procedures, harmonising regulations across states, and expanding the scope of faceless and digital governance systems. The success of the Jan Vishwas reform will ultimately depend on implementation. Adjudicating officers must function transparently, penalties must be proportionate to the offences committed, and there must be strong appellate mechanisms to prevent misuse of power. Regulatory reform must aim at simplification. This will automatically address many problems.