In a major step towards simplification, the Government of India has laid the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, in the Lok Sabha. This bill is the next leg of the 2023 Act that seeks to continue the process of decriminalising the petty and technical offences by streamlining the procedural requirements and making the penal provisions more lenient and the industry and business-friendly and simplify the environmental and forest approvals.
Key Objectives of the Bill:
- Decriminalisation: The bill seeks to decriminalise 288 minor offences by doing away with the imprisonment provision in those cases.
- Warnings not Punishment: First-time offences under 10 Acts, including 76 instances so far, will only get an advisory or warning.
- Graduated Fines: Instead of prison time, offenses will merit fines that increase with repeat offenses.
- Escalating Fines: Monetary fines to increase by 10% once every three years post earning the enforcement of the law.
- Extensive Coverage: The amendments cut across 355 sections of 16 Central Acts, including the Motor Vehicles Act 1988.
Expected Impact:
- Business Confidence: The bill hopes to increase business confidence by erasing fear of imprisonment for petty offences.
- Lesser burden on Judiciaries: It promotes dispute resolution through compounding and administrative mechanism, so that Judiciary remains unclogged with petty issues.
- Ease of Living: The reforms are in lines with government’s “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” approach intending to free this …Policymaker’s need-confidence with Social Sector Statistics and Data which is an important factor in progress.
Next Steps:
The law is said to be a 'Select Committee' of the Parliament that would examine the Bill in quite detail. The committee must report back by the first day of the next session, when the bill will be debated and voted on.
Month: Current Affairs - August 21, 2025
Category: current affairs daily