The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday, August 18, 2025, by the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal. Following its introduction, the Bill has been referred to a Select Committee of the Lok Sabha for scrutiny, with a mandate to submit its report by the first day of the next session of Parliament.
This Bill is the second of its kind, building upon the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023. The 2023 Act decriminalized 183 provisions across 42 central Acts, administered by 19 ministries and departments. The new bill seeks to further expand the government's reform agenda, aimed at improving the ease of doing business and promoting ease of living for citizens.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, proposes to amend a total of 355 provisions across 16 Central Acts. A significant portion, 288 provisions, are slated for decriminalization to foster a better business environment. The remaining 67 amendments are designed to facilitate ease of living for the general public. The Bill aims to ease the applicability of these acts.
One of the key features of the proposed amendments is to address minor, technical, or procedural defaults. Instead of imprisonment, the bill suggests replacing such penalties with monetary fines or warnings. For first-time contraventions of 76 offences under 10 Acts, an advisory or warning would be issued. The bill also focuses on rationalizing penalties, ensuring that they are proportionate to the offense, with graduated penalties for repeated offences.
To reduce the burden on the judicial system, the bill empowers designated officers to impose penalties through administrative processes. Furthermore, the Bill includes a provision for an automatic 10% increase in fines and penalties every three years, eliminating the need for repeated legislative amendments to revise these figures.
Several acts that were part of the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023, are proposed for further decriminalization under the current bill. These include The Tea Act, 1953, the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. In the Motor Vehicles Act, the bill aims to provide relaxation and clarity in compliance, including state-wide vehicle registration instead of jurisdiction-specific, driving licence renewal effective from the date of renewal if applied after expiry, a grace period of 30 days after licence expiry, and claims tribunals empowered to condone filing delays up to 12 months. The amendments also include provisions under the New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1994, and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, to make compliance smoother for citizens.
The government has hailed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025, as a significant milestone in India's regulatory reform journey. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stated that the bill seeks to enhance trust-based governance for ease of doing business.
The introduction of the bill, however, occurred amidst protests by opposition parties. These parties were demanding a discussion on the voter rolls revision in Bihar and other issues. In addition to the Jan Vishwas Bill, The Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was also introduced. This bill aims to include the Indian Institute of Management, Guwahati, to the schedule of the Indian Institutes of Management Act to make it an institution of national importance.
