The Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Shri Jitin Prasada, introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha today. Building on the reform trajectory initiated in 2023, the Bill proposes the amendment of 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries. The legislation seeks to modernise India's regulatory landscape by rationalising over 1,000 offences, removing redundant clauses that hinder economic momentum.
The Bill identifies a critical shift from criminal penalties for minor, technical, or procedural defaults to civil and administrative enforcement mechanisms. By replacing imprisonment with monetary penalties and warnings, the framework aims to mechanically reduce the litigation burden on courts while advancing a governance model based on trust. These gaps collectively point toward a transition from "punitive policing" to proportionate regulation, facilitating both Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living.
Strategic Revisions and Operational Timelines
Decriminalisation Scale: Proposes the decriminalisation of 717 provisions, targeting minor non-compliances to eliminate the threat of imprisonment for technical errors.
Graded Enforcement Protocols: Introduces a structured penalty hierarchy, including warnings for first-time contraventions, to ensure that the state's response is in proportion to the nature of the offence.
Administrative Adjudication: Mandates the appointment of Adjudicating Officers and Appellate Authoritiesto facilitate the speedy, out-of-court disposal of regulatory disputes.
Citizen-Centric Simplification: Incorporates 67 amendments specifically for the Motor Vehicles Act and New Delhi Municipal Council Act to simplify municipal taxation and vehicle compliance.
Institutional Evolution: Replaces the withdrawn 2025 Bill by incorporating recommendations from the Select Committee (chaired by Shri Tejasvi Surya), which expanded the scope to include 62 additional Central Acts.
What is "Proportionate Regulation"? Proportionate Regulation is a governance principle where the severity of a legal sanction is mechanically aligned with the risk and impact of the non-compliance. In the Jan Vishwas framework, it acts as a mechanical bridge to separate criminal intent from procedural oversight. By replacing jail terms with civil fines for minor defaults, the policy ensures that the "stick" of criminal law is reserved for serious offences, while administrative errors are resolved through fiscal penalties, effectively de-risking the business environment for investors.
Policy Relevance: Transitioning to Trust-Based Compliance
Institutionalises a Risk-Based Regulatory Framework: By removing outdated and redundant provisions, the Bill aligns India’s legal architecture with globally accepted standards of administrative law.
Reduces Judicial Overload: Shifting 717 provisions to an administrative adjudication route directly reduces the number of "minor offence" cases entering the overstrained criminal justice system.
Supports Investment Climate: Eliminating the "fear of imprisonment" for procedural lapses acts as a primary lever for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and encouraging domestic entrepreneurship.
Reframes the Relationship Between State and Citizen: The shift toward "warnings" for first-time offenders benchmarks a trajectory where the state acts as a facilitator of compliance rather than a purely punitive authority.
Strengthens Local Governance Efficiency: Amendments to municipal and motor vehicle acts simplify high-frequency citizen interactions, directly improving the Ease of Living index.
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