What Happened
- Both houses of Parliament passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 — Lok Sabha on April 1 and Rajya Sabha on April 2, 2026, both by voice vote.
- The Bill amends 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries, with 784 total provisions amended: 717 decriminalised (replacing jail terms with fines and civil penalties) and 67 provisions amended to ease everyday living compliance.
- Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, replying to the debate, stated the Bill aims to foster ease of doing business and ease of living by removing the threat of imprisonment for minor, technical, and procedural offences.
- The legislation replaces criminal penalties (jail sentences) with monetary fines, warnings, adjudication proceedings, and improvement notices across a wide range of regulatory laws.
- The Bill is the second iteration of the Jan Vishwas approach, building on the Jan Vishwas Act 2023 which had decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 Central Acts.
Static Topic Bridges
The Jan Vishwas Framework: Decriminalisation as Governance Reform
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 — the first such legislation — was passed in August 2023 and decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries. It was based on the principle that criminal penalties (especially imprisonment) for minor or technical regulatory violations create unnecessary fear among citizens and businesses, deterring compliance rather than encouraging it. The 2023 Act covered laws ranging from the Environment Protection Act to the Food Safety and Standards Act.
- Jan Vishwas Act 2023: 42 Central Acts, 183 provisions, 19 Ministries.
- Jan Vishwas Bill 2026: 79 Central Acts, 784 provisions, 23 Ministries — a near-doubling in scale.
- Decriminalisation methods include: removing imprisonment entirely, converting imprisonment to fine, introducing compounding of offences, and establishing adjudication mechanisms.
- Adjudicating Officers and Appellate Authorities are created under amended Acts to handle penalty disputes without burdening criminal courts.
Connection to this news: The 2026 Bill represents a significant scaling-up of the 2023 reform, expanding the decriminalisation project to cover more laws and ministries — a signal of continued commitment to trust-based governance.
Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Regulatory Rationalization
India's Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) rank improved from 142 (2014) to 63 (2019) in the World Bank Doing Business Index before the index was discontinued. A key barrier identified was the large number of regulatory compliance requirements backed by criminal penalties — making ordinary business violations prosecutable offences. The DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) has driven EoDB reforms including Jan Vishwas, rationalisation of inspections, and the decriminalisation of minor offences under the Companies Act.
- India's Doing Business rank in 2014 was 142nd; by 2019 it had improved to 63rd (World Bank, now discontinued).
- Minor violations under laws like FSSAI, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, and Environment-related rules previously carried jail terms — creating "inspector raj" dynamics.
- The Jan Vishwas 2023 Act's implementation by IPR authorities (effective August 1, 2024) decriminalised IP violations under the Trade Marks Act, Patents Act, and Copyright Act.
- The 2026 Bill covers 23 Ministries, including those handling food safety, environment, labour, chemicals, and commerce.
Connection to this news: The 2026 Bill directly addresses a longstanding critique that Indian regulatory law over-criminalises minor violations — reducing the compliance burden and the risk of arbitrary prosecution for entrepreneurs, professionals, and citizens.
Governance Philosophy: Trust-Based Regulation
The Jan Vishwas Bills embody a shift from a "compliance-through-fear" model (where violations triggered criminal prosecution) to a "trust-based governance" model where graduated, proportionate responses — warnings, fines, adjudication — replace blanket criminalisation. This aligns with the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission's recommendations on reducing regulatory overload and with NITI Aayog's work on rationalising compliance requirements.
- The 2nd ARC (2005-2009) had recommended pruning India's regulatory overgrowth across central and state legislation.
- PM Modi's Independence Day speech in 2022 highlighted "maximum governance, minimum government" as a key principle.
- The National Action Plan for Business Reforms (NAPBR) includes decriminalisation as a pillar.
- The shift from criminal to civil/regulatory penalties is consistent with global best practices in regulatory compliance — the UK, Australia, and Singapore use this model extensively.
Connection to this news: Minister Goyal's statement that the Bill "brings swift and proportionate penalties" directly invokes this philosophy — the 2026 law institutionalises proportionality as a legal principle across 79 Acts.
Key Facts & Data
- Jan Vishwas Bill 2026 passed: Lok Sabha (April 1), Rajya Sabha (April 2, 2026)
- Acts amended: 79 Central Acts across 23 Ministries
- Provisions amended: 784 total; 717 decriminalised, 67 for ease of living
- Jan Vishwas Act 2023 (predecessor): 42 Acts, 183 provisions, 19 Ministries
- Scale-up in 2026 vs 2023: ~2x more Acts, ~4x more provisions
- Key proponent in Parliament: Piyush Goyal (Commerce and Industry Minister)
- Mechanism: Jail terms replaced by fines, adjudication officers, improvement notices, compounding
- Objective: Ease of Doing Business + Ease of Living through trust-based governance