Decriminalisation of Economic Offences
Rationale and Approach
Criminalisation of minor regulatory violations — such as paperwork delays, labelling errors, or procedural non-compliance — imposes a disproportionate burden on businesses and individuals. Imprisonment provisions for technical defaults deter investment, create regulatory anxiety, and clog the judicial system with low-stakes cases. The global best practice, endorsed by economic reform bodies, is to use civil and administrative penalties for regulatory non-compliance while reserving criminal law for genuine fraud, harm, and public safety violations.
- Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 (the predecessor): decriminalised 183 provisions across 42 Central Acts administered by 19 Ministries — the first wave of this reform
- Jan Vishwas Bill, 2026: 784 provisions across 79 Central Acts, 23 Ministries — a fourfold expansion
- Approach: Replace imprisonment with monetary penalties; introduce warnings for first-time offences; grade penalties by severity
- Key sectors covered: drugs and cosmetics, food safety, pharmacy, clinical establishments, allied health professions, commerce, trade, environment (select provisions)
● Tracked since March 25, 2026 · last seen April 09, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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