What Happened
- Parliament passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, amending 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries.
- Of these, 717 provisions have been decriminalized to promote Ease of Doing Business, while 67 provisions facilitate Ease of Living.
- In the health sector, key amendments cover the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; the Pharmacy Act, 1948; the Food Safety and Standards Act; the Clinical Establishments Act, 2010; and the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021.
- Criminal penalties for minor procedural violations — particularly imprisonment — have been replaced with graded monetary penalties, warnings, improvement notices, and civil penalties.
- Specifically, 57 provisions had imprisonment removed entirely, 158 had fines eliminated, 113 had imprisonment and fines converted to civil penalties, and 17 had imprisonment terms reduced.
Static Topic Bridges
Decriminalization of Economic Offences in India
India has pursued a phased approach to decriminalizing minor economic and regulatory offences to reduce the burden on courts and remove the fear of imprisonment for procedural lapses. The first Jan Vishwas Act of 2023 amended 183 provisions across 42 Central Acts, replacing criminal penalties with civil ones. The 2026 version expands this dramatically to 784 provisions across 79 Acts, making it one of the most sweeping legislative rationalization exercises in Indian history.
- Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 covered 42 Acts under 19 Ministries; the 2026 Bill covers 79 Acts under 23 Ministries
- The approach uses adjudicating officers and appellate authorities instead of criminal courts
- Periodic increases in penalty quantum are built into the framework to maintain deterrence
- Over 1,000 offences have been rationalized across both versions
Connection to this news: The 2026 Bill represents the second and larger wave of this decriminalization agenda, specifically targeting health sector regulations where minor procedural non-compliance previously attracted disproportionate criminal penalties.
Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940
The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is the primary legislation regulating the import, manufacture, distribution, and sale of drugs and cosmetics in India. It covers allopathic medicines, traditional systems (Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani), and cosmetic products. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) under the Ministry of Health administers this Act, with the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) serving as its head.
- Section 26A empowers the Central Government to regulate, restrict, or prohibit manufacture and sale of any drug posing health risks
- The Central Drugs Laboratory (Section 6) functions as the apex analytical testing body
- The Drugs Consultative Committee (Section 7) advises on uniform administration across states
- The accompanying Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 classify drugs under schedules with specific storage, sale, and prescription guidelines
Connection to this news: The Jan Vishwas Bill, 2026 amends this Act by replacing imprisonment for minor regulatory non-compliance (such as labelling deficiencies or procedural delays in registration) with proportionate monetary penalties, while retaining strict criminal action for serious violations affecting patient safety.
Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Reforms
India's Ease of Doing Business reform agenda focuses on simplifying regulatory compliance, reducing licensing requirements, and shifting from a punitive to a facilitative governance model. India improved from rank 142 in 2014 to 63 in the World Bank's last Doing Business report (2020). The trust-based governance framework seeks to treat citizens and businesses as partners rather than potential offenders.
- The Jan Vishwas framework establishes adjudicating officers for faster resolution instead of overburdened criminal courts
- Warnings and improvement notices replace first-offence imprisonment in many sectors
- The reforms are expected to reduce compliance costs for small pharmacies, food businesses, and clinical establishments
- Commerce and Industry Minister indicated the amendments would make India more attractive to investors
Connection to this news: By removing the threat of imprisonment for minor health sector violations — such as a pharmacy's documentation lapse or a food business's labelling error — the Bill directly reduces compliance anxiety for over a million small health-related businesses across India.
Clinical Establishments Act, 2010
The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 provides for registration and regulation of all clinical establishments — from small clinics to large hospitals — to ensure minimum standards of facilities and services. It was enacted to create a national framework where previously only some states had their own clinical establishment laws.
- Applies to all recognized systems of medicine (allopathy, AYUSH) including single-doctor clinics
- Mandates compulsory registration with district-level registering authorities
- National Council for Clinical Establishments sets minimum standards
- Previously, non-compliance with registration could attract criminal proceedings
Connection to this news: The Jan Vishwas Bill, 2026 amends this Act to emphasize monetary penalties for non-compliance that does not pose immediate risks to patient safety, enabling corrective action without resorting to criminal prosecution — particularly beneficial for the vast number of small and rural clinical establishments.
Key Facts & Data
- 784 provisions amended across 79 Central Acts administered by 23 Ministries
- 717 provisions decriminalized; 67 amended for Ease of Living
- 57 provisions: imprisonment removed entirely; 113: imprisonment and fines converted to civil penalties
- 5 key health sector Acts amended: Drugs and Cosmetics Act (1940), Pharmacy Act (1948), Food Safety and Standards Act, Clinical Establishments Act (2010), National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act (2021)
- The 2023 Jan Vishwas Act had covered 183 provisions across 42 Acts — the 2026 version is over 4 times larger in scope
- Over 1,000 offences rationalized across the two Jan Vishwas legislations combined