The Centre will handhold states to rationalise, decriminalise and simplify their laws on the lines of what is being done at the national level, secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Rajesh Kumar Singh said on Thursday.
This exercise would be made part of the Business Reform Action plan and would help states in their ease of doing business ranking, he said while briefing media persons on the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill that has been passed by the two house of Parliament.
He said the process of easing rules and reducing compliance burden for businesses and people would continue even after the passage of the Bill.
“We intend to follow with an inter-ministerial working group which will look at other provisions where further simplification, rationalisation or decriminalisation is possible,” Singh said.
He said there would be many more rounds of this exercise with the overall objective to promoting ease of doing business and ease of living.
The Working Group for Decriminalisation of Legislation is headed by Secretary DPIIT.. Industry associations and chambers, legal professionals and experts, and representatives of seven ministries will be a part of this working group. To enhance the effectiveness of the group, different other institutions like National Housing Bank, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Central Pollution Control Board have also been included.
The Jan Vishwas bill amended 42 existing Acts administered by 19 ministries. Within these Acts that deal with different areas of business, 183 provisions have been changed to decriminalise offences that are minor, procedural and technical in nature.
Some of the Acts that will be amended through the bill are The Press and Registration of Books Act, The Boilers Act, The Indian Forest Act, The Drugs and Cosmetics Act, The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act, The Warehousing Corporations Act, The Food Corporations Act, The Patents Act, The Prevention of Money-laundering Act and The Food Safety and Standards Act.