What Happened
- Parliament passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 — Lok Sabha on April 1, 2026, and Rajya Sabha on April 2, 2026.
- The Bill amends 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries, decriminalising 717 provisions by replacing imprisonment with civil penalties (fines, warnings, advisory notices).
- An additional 67 provisions have been revised specifically to improve Ease of Living for ordinary citizens — removing criminal liability for minor technical or procedural violations.
- The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on March 27, 2026 and had been reviewed by a Select Committee led by Tejasvi Surya (submitted March 13, 2026), which recommended expanding its scope from an earlier 2025 version covering only 17 laws.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah called the passage a "giant step" toward accelerating ease of living, while PM Modi described it as the creation of a "trust-based governance framework."
- Specific examples of decriminalised actions include: smoking at metro stations, honking violations, and minor regulatory lapses under acts like the Indian Succession Act and Electricity Act — where imprisonment is replaced by fines.
Static Topic Bridges
Decriminalisation of Minor Offences — Concept and Rationale
India's legal framework contains hundreds of provisions under Central Acts that impose criminal penalties — including imprisonment — for minor technical, procedural, or administrative violations. Many of these date to the colonial era and were designed for a different regulatory context. Over time, they have been identified as barriers to ease of doing business and ease of living, since even minor infractions can expose citizens and businesses to criminal prosecution.
- The First Jan Vishwas Act (2023) was the predecessor — it decriminalised minor offences under 42 Central laws, marking the first systematic attempt at legal decriminalisation
- The 2026 Bill is a significant expansion: 79 laws, 784 provisions, 717 decriminalised — nearly double the scale of the 2023 Act
- Key distinction: decriminalisation replaces imprisonment (criminal sanction) with fines or civil penalties, but the underlying activity may still be regulated and violations may still attract financial consequences
- Law Commission of India and Economic Survey have recommended decriminalisation of minor offences multiple times
- Comparable international models: UK Regulatory Reform Act, Singapore's regulatory decriminalisation initiatives
Connection to this news: The Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 operationalises the long-standing policy goal of removing the "fear of imprisonment" for technical regulatory non-compliance — making India's regulatory environment less adversarial for citizens and businesses.
Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living — Government's Reform Framework
Since 2014, India has pursued a twin-track agenda: improving Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for industries and Ease of Living (EoL) for citizens. EoDB reforms have included GST, IBC, corporate law simplifications, and decriminalisation of Company Act provisions. EoL focuses on removing regulatory burdens, harassment, and inconvenience from ordinary citizens' interactions with the state.
- India's World Bank Ease of Doing Business ranking rose from 142 (2014) to 63 (2019) — the World Bank suspended EoDB rankings in 2021, but India's trajectory was significant
- Decriminalisation of Companies Act (2019 and 2020 amendments): removed criminal penalties for minor compoundable offences, creating in-house adjudication mechanisms
- Jan Vishwas Act 2023: first systematic decriminalisation across multiple laws — 42 Acts, replacing imprisonment with fines for 183 provisions
- Jan Vishwas Bill 2026: 79 laws, 784 provisions amended; 717 provisions decriminalised
- The approach follows the "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" philosophy — reducing the coercive power of the state in regulatory matters while preserving accountability through financial penalties
Connection to this news: The Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 is the most significant expansion of India's decriminalisation reform agenda, extending what began with the Companies Act and the 2023 Jan Vishwas Act into a comprehensive overhaul of Central law's criminal provisions.
Parliament's Role in Legislative Reforms and Select Committees
The Jan Vishwas Bill 2026's journey through Parliament — including referral to a Select Committee — illustrates the legislative process for complex multi-law omnibus bills. Select Committees allow detailed scrutiny, stakeholder consultation, and amendment recommendations before a bill returns to the floor for passage.
- Select Committee: A committee of Parliament constituted for a specific bill; members are drawn from both Houses; can call witnesses and examine provisions in detail
- The Jan Vishwas Select Committee (chaired by Tejasvi Surya) reviewed the 2025 version covering only 17 laws and recommended expansion to 79 laws — a significant broadening
- Rajya Sabha's role in legislative scrutiny is particularly important for Central laws affecting all states; the upper house's review adds a federal dimension
- Omnibus bills amending multiple laws simultaneously are increasingly used to implement broad policy shifts efficiently — but face criticism for insufficient debate on each affected law
- Article 107 (money bills) and Article 111 (assent of President) govern the passage and enactment of bills; the Jan Vishwas Bill is an ordinary bill requiring passage by both Houses
Connection to this news: The Select Committee's recommendation to expand the bill's scope from 17 to 79 laws shows how parliamentary scrutiny can strengthen rather than dilute reform legislation — a positive example of the parliamentary committee system working effectively.
Key Facts & Data
- Lok Sabha passed: April 1, 2026 (by voice vote)
- Rajya Sabha passed: April 2, 2026
- Scope: 79 Central Acts; 23 Ministries; 784 provisions amended
- Decriminalised: 717 provisions (imprisonment replaced with fines/civil penalties)
- Ease of Living provisions: 67 additional provisions revised
- Introduced in Lok Sabha: March 27, 2026
- Select Committee: chaired by Tejasvi Surya; report submitted March 13, 2026
- Earlier version (2025): covered only 17 laws — expanded after Select Committee review
- Predecessor: Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 — covered 42 Acts, 183 provisions
- Examples of decriminalised acts: metro smoking violations, honking, minor lapses under Indian Succession Act, Electricity Act