Itanagar, April 3 Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said that the passage of the Jan Vishwas Bill in Parliament marked a decisive shift towards governance based on trust, highlighting the Centre's efforts to reduce criminalization and simplify laws to improve the ease of doing business.
Parliament passed the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, on Thursday to amend 784 provisions in 79 central laws to decriminalize and rationalize minor offenses, further improving the business environment and preventing harassment of people.
In a series of posts on X, Khandu said that the proposed legislation reflects India's transition from a system driven by the fear of penalties to one based on compliance, fairness, and trust.
He observed that the Bill introduces reforms such as warnings before punishment, proportionate penalties, faster and fair resolution of disputes, and a dynamic penalty framework aimed at creating a system that trusts citizens while encouraging responsible compliance.
The chief minister said that India had for decades carried the burden of outdated and colonial-era laws.
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 seeks to replace these with modern provisions that ensure balanced punishments, instead of excessive criminalization, while promoting governance that supports citizens and businesses.
"From fines of Rs 10 in 1871 to policies aligned with the realities of 2026, this is reform, and this is New India," Khandu said in one of the posts.
Highlighting the scale of the reforms, he said that the legislation proposes the decriminalization of more than 1,000 offenses, while 784 provisions across 79 Acts are being reformed.
In addition, 717 business-related provisions are being simplified and 67 citizen-centric reforms introduced, he said.
Khandu said that the Bill builds on the foundation of the Jan Vishwas initiative launched in 2023 and now expands its scope across 23 ministries, signaling a major shift from "red tape to reform and from control to trust".
He added that the amendments aim to move away from outdated punitive provisions by converting several offenses from criminal penalties to civil penalties, removing imprisonment in multiple cases and introducing warnings for first-time defaults.
The chief minister pointed out that the changes are expected to enable quicker resolution of cases through compounding of offenses, thereby reducing litigation and improving administrative efficiency.
The amendments also address specific provisions in existing laws.
For instance, the Bill proposes removing imprisonment for minor non-disclosure offenses under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, while eliminating obsolete provisions under the Coir Industry Act, 1953, reflecting the government's broader push to modernize the legal framework.
Describing the reforms as part of a broader governance transformation, Khandu said the Bill seeks to create a citizen-friendly regulatory environment that promotes economic activity while ensuring accountability.
"Less fear, more trust. Simpler laws, better lives. A future-ready Bharat is taking shape," he added.