The government may present the Jan Vishwas bill’s second version to Parliament shortly

According to a senior government source on Wednesday, the Union government may introduce the second version of the Jan Vishwas Bill in Parliament shortly in an effort to significantly simplify conducting business and improve living standards by decriminalizing some laws and lowering the cost of compliance.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal tasked attendees of a day-long symposium on ease of doing business with coming up with swift solutions to cut down on additional regulatory costs for individuals and enterprises. He said, “We can try to do a ‘Jan Vishwas Bill’ [2.0] in the Winter Session if I get enough by the end of this month.”

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) organized the conference together.

Goyal questioned the conference attendees, “But it will need some really fast, heavy weight lifting from all of you.” Therefore, consider some low-hanging fruit and see if we can obtain 200–300 sections of various laws that are low-hanging in nature and can immediately provide some relief to the general public, small businesses, MSMEs, and small traders, as well as assist our startups in their innovation efforts and lessen the paperwork that investors must complete.

The Lok Sabha approved the previous iteration of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023 on June 27 and the Rajya Sabha approved it on August 2. On December 22, of last year, the measure was presented in the Lower House and was then submitted to the joint committee of Parliament. The committee has suggested looking at other laws and doing a decriminalization exercise like to this.

At least 39,000 compliances have already been decreased, according to an official who asked to remain anonymous, and around 3,400 law requirements have been decriminalized.

According to Goyal, the Narendra Modi administration trusts the business community to generate prosperity for the country and believes in taking action. But he issued a warning: don’t use erroneous legal interpretations to excuse illegal activity. “Usually, when a group of people abuse the law, someone has to take a seat and figure out how to fix it, which is how the laws keep getting complicated,” the minister said.

He gave an example of how there were fewer parts and subsections in the original Income Tax Act. “But with creative ideas being misused to circumvent the law,” he said, the government had to come up with answers, and as a result, laws continued to get more intricate by introducing new clauses.

Goyal also urged people to join together with businesses, consultants, and other citizens to simplify the process of enforcing laws by following their intended purpose rather than looking for ways to get around them.

Goyal described the current administration as “decisive,” alluding to the purported policy stalemate within the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), which was previously dominated by Congress.

“Someone, who wants everyone of us [ministers] to become a facilitator and your [business and people] buddy in need, is leading this [NDA administration] decisively, Narendra Modi. He want for everyone of us to work hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, with every one of you in your efforts to strengthen the country, Goyal said. “We think you are the right people to lead the country into the future; all we can do is offer you a little boost or assistance.”

The Union minister also encouraged companies to use the National Single Window System (NSWS) and report any inadequacies or ways to make it better. It is India’s time, and we are living at a fortunate period. The economy has improved during the last five years, going from a vulnerable five to a top five. As the world’s fastest-growing major economy, Prime Minister Modi has committed to transforming India into a developed country by 2047, and he has provided the foundation by making significant investments and solid macroeconomic fundamentals accessible. Future Indian economy would be fueled by aspirational young India, he said.