Jan Vishwas Bill 3 in works, says Piyush Goyal; simpler rules, lower compliance burden next focus

The government is working on a third edition of the Jan Vishwas Bill that will go beyond decriminalising minor offences and focus on simplifying procedures, reducing compliance burden and making business operations easier, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday.Speaking at the World Bank Group’s workshop on the Business Ready (B-READY) framework, Goyal said the next phase of reforms would aim to make doing business more comfortable through easier rules and less intimidating paperwork, PTI reported.“We are now working on a Jan Vishwas Bill number 3, where possibly, we’ll go beyond decriminalising laws, (and) look at simplification of processes and procedures, reducing compliance burden, reducing intimidating forms to make the life of businesses, better and more comfortable,” PTI quoted Goyal as saying.He said these steps were helping make laws more contemporary and relevant for 21st century India.The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 was passed by Parliament on April 2. It amended 784 provisions across 79 central laws to decriminalise and rationalise minor offences, with more than 1,000 offences addressed through those changes.Earlier, the first Jan Vishwas law was rolled out in 2023 to promote ease of doing business by decriminalising minor offences through amendments in 183 provisions of 42 Acts.Goyal also stressed the need to make both entry and exit of businesses easier.“And now we have another 100 industrial parks planned under the Bhavya Scheme,” he said.On trade, the minister said India had finalised nine free trade agreements in the last three-and-a-half years.“In the next 2 years. I expect at least another 6 or 7 more FTAs… collectively, covering 50 developed, rich and prosperous countries,” he said.Without naming the country, Goyal said he held talks on Wednesday evening with a minister from a nation with which he was meeting for the first time.“And in the meeting that we have decided to immediately study our two economic situations… prepare terms of reference and in July, we’ll be having a joint economic and trade council (JETCO) meeting where we hope to sign terms of reference for another Free Trade Agreement,” he added.According to a social media post by the minister, he met Gabriela Sommerfeld Rosero, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility of Ecuador, and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment ties.