New Delhi, March 27 -- The government on Friday introduced in the Lok Sabha the second edition of the Jan Vishwas Bill seeking to amend certain provisions to decriminalise a host of minor offences to promote ease of doing business, rejecting objections raised by Congress members.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, which was introduced by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, proposes to amend 79 central acts administered by 23 ministries.
A total of 784 provisions are being proposed to be amended, out of which 717 provisions are being decriminalised to foster ease of doing business, and 67 provisions are proposed to be changed to facilitate ease of living.
At the introduction stage, Congress Members K Kavya and GK Padavi opposed the introduction of the bill, stating that it infringes on the basic structure of the Indian Constitution by changing imprisonment for violations with fines.
Padavi urged the government to resend the bill to the select committee or a joint parliamentary committee.
"This is an administrative oversight...the Bill is arbitrary and encourages corruption, and it should be reexamined," Padavi said, adding that a dissent note has been given in the select committee report also.
On this demand, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wanted to know whether a bill can be resubmitted to a parliamentary panel.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said there is no provision for resending the bill to the parliamentary committee for scrutiny, and there is no precedent.
Responding to the Congress objections, Prasada said that only minor offences of a procedural nature have been proposed to be replaced with a fine.
Major violations and serious offences have not been diluted in any manner, he said, adding that the reform process has been carefully structured to exclude critical areas, such as the laws related to national security, labour courts, armed forces and international obligations.
"These are not under this purview. So, these are all minor offences that have been done away with," Prasada said, adding that extensive consultations have been held on the provisions of the bill.
He said that Parliament has the power to amend the Constitution, and the bill seeks to make minor changes in other legislation.
Prasada added that the bill enhances ease of doing business and living by decriminalising minor offences and implementing measures, such as revising fines and penalties proportionate to the offence, and setting up appellate authorities.
"It proposes to amend 79 central acts, administered by 23 ministries, or a total of 784 provisions, are being proposed to be amended, out of which 717 provisions are being decriminalised to foster ease of doing business and 67 provisions are being proposed to facilitate ease of living," he said.
The bill proposes to remove imprisonment in 57 provisions and fines in 158 provisions. Also, imprisonment is proposed to be reduced in 17 provisions, and imprisonment and fine are proposed to be converted to a penalty in 113 provisions.
The bill also proposes 67 amendments under the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994, and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to facilitate ease of living.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.