Lok Sabha passes Jan Viswas Bill aimed at improving ease of doing business

livemint.com:

ease of doing business in the country. The NDA government has repealed 1,486 laws and once the present bill gets parliament’s nod, the number of laws removed from statute books will go up to 1,562, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said. The 108-page Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 covers the Boilers Act, The Aadhar Act, 2016, the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, The Collection of Statistics Act, The Government Securities Act, 2006, and The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, among others.

Besides decriminalization of minor offenses, the Bill envisages the rationalization of monetary penalties. It proposes a 10% increase in the minimum amount of fine and penalty levied, after every three years of enactment of the Act. “A web of outdated rules and regulations causes trust deficit.

It has been the endeavor of the government to achieve the principle of ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’, redefining the regulatory landscape of the country under the Ease of Living and Ease of Doing Business reforms..." said Goyal in the ‘statement and objectives’ of the Bill. Meghwal further added that he is moving an official amendment to add 11 more bills to the list, bringing the total to 76. The 11 bills added through the amendment are colonial-era laws, he stressed..

He said the repealing of old laws is part of the government’s efforts to improve “ease of living as well as ease of doing business". In his brief remarks, the minister took a jibe at the previous UPA government, saying not even a single law, which is not required in the current scenario, was repealed. The Repealing and Amending Bill also aims to correct a “patent error" in one of the laws by replacing certain words.