Goyal introduces bill to decriminalise minor offences to promote ease of doing business

Besides the decriminalisation of minor offences, the bill envisages the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence, bolstering trust-based governance

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal speaks in the Rajya Sabha during the Winter Session of Parliament | Photo Credit: PTI

The government on Thursday introduced a Bill in the Lok Sabha seeking to decriminalise minor offences to promote ease of doing business. The Bill was later referred to a joint committee of both Houses of Parliament.

The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022, which was introduced by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal also envisages the rationalisation of monetary penalties, depending on the gravity of the offence and bolstering trust-based governance. The Bill will amend certain enactments for decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to further enhance trust-based governance for ease of doing business, Mr. Goyal said. It was later referred to a 31-member joint parliamentary committee.

The members of the committee from the Lok Sabha include P.P. Chaudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal, Rajendra Agrawal, Poonam Pramod Mahajan, Gaurav Gogoi, A. Raja and Sougata Roy. The names of 10 members from the Rajya Sabha will be announced later.