Indian economic reforms over the last eleven years have been guided by a singular objective – to make doing business easier, faster, and more transparent. The key drivers of this transformation have been the removal of archaic, obsolete laws, and the decriminalisation of business-related offences. The government, by focusing on legal modernisation, compliance simplification, and regulatory trust-building, has fundamentally changed business-government interaction mechanisms. These initiatives, introduced under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, have brought speed, clarity, and confidence to the Indian business environment.

The Burden of Archaic Laws Before 2014

Before 2014, businesses had to navigate a maze of overlapping regulations, colonial-era legislation, and rigid enforcement mechanisms. While these laws had outlived their purpose, they continued to exist on the books, leading to confusion, litigation, and compliance burden for businesses, especially for MSMEs and startups.

These laws, many from the British Raj, included the Indian Treasure Trove Act (1878), the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act (1950), and redundant licensing frameworks that did not align with modern practices of the time. These were proving to be a particular challenge for MSMEs and startups, which struggled under the weight of outdated provisions that imposed criminal penalties for minor offences.

A New, Reform-Driven Vision for Modern India

In his first term, Prime Minister Modi set a clear agenda to build a business environment that rewards honesty, supports risk-taking, and aligns with modern India’s aspirations. Translating this vision into action required a fundamental overhaul of the legal and regulatory system.

In the following years, India witnessed a nationwide legal rationalisation drive that focused on repealing old laws, streamlining compliance, decriminalising procedural lapses, and digitising government-to-business interaction mechanisms.

Legal Clean-Up at Scale: Empowering the Future

The systematic repeal of outdated and obsolete laws that had burdened the country’s legal and business landscape under PM Modi qualifies as one of the most decisive reforms. The government has removed more than 1,500 archaic Central Acts from the statute books.

This clean-up was initiated with a focused phase approach, with 72 laws being repealed in 2015, followed by 105 more in 2016, and 182 in 2017. The government doubled down on its approach between 2019 and 2023, repealing over 1,400 additional Central Acts that were not in tune with modern practices or had become redundant. As of now, the Modi government has abolished over 1,500 redundant laws.

The majority of these laws, regulating salt production, manual ledger maintenance, or telegraph operations, dated back to the colonial era and held little relevance in today’s age and economy. The government, by removing layers of legal clutter, reduced confusion and duplication, aligning the governance systems with the aspirations of a New India that is open for business, built on trust, and equipped to lead the world.

Decriminalisation and the Jan Vishwas Act

Another distinctive feature of PM Modi’s reform agenda has been the decriminalisation of minor business-related offences to foster an enabling and less punitive regulatory environment. More than 3,700 provisions that had earlier imposed criminal penalties for procedural or technical lapses have been amended since 2014. These provisions spanned areas such as corporate governance, labour laws, environmental safety, and food safety.

The government's reform shift assumed urgency with the enactment of the Jan Vishwas Act (2023), which amended 183 provisions across 42 distinct laws. The Act reformed criminal sanctions with administrative or monetary penalties, reducing the fear of prosecution for businesses. Significantly impacted laws include the Legal Metrology Act, the Food Safety and Standards Act, the Information Technology Act, and the Environment (Protection) Act.
By decriminalising key laws, the Modi government has reduced litigation, encouraged innovation, and built trust, making it easier to do business in the country.

Compliance Rationalisation and Making Business Simpler

The government has launched a massive drive to reduce compliance in daily business-related operations by rationalising more than 42,000 compliances across various ministries and departments. This includes the removal of redundant filings, digitisation of application and renewal processes to eliminate delays, and the merger of multiple registers and licenses into simpler formats. The government has also reduced overlapping inspections, cutting down on unnecessary interruptions in business operations.

With these steps, the Modi government has successfully reduced paperwork and brought down compliance related costs, benefiting businesses and facilitating a faster and more responsive business environment.

A Legal Reset for a Business-Ready Bharat

The PM Modi-led government has transformed India’s regulatory foundations over the last eleven years by replacing legal clutter with clarity, fear with trust, and red tape with reform. The government’s resolve to build a better Bharat is reflected in the repeal of 1,500 obsolete laws, decriminalisation of more than 3,700 minor offences, and the rationalisation of 42,000 compliances. The impact has been outstanding – India’s startup ecosystem is the third largest in the world with over 1.61 lakh recognised startups, over 17.7 lakh jobs created, and a digitally empowered MSME sector that now contributes over 45% to the country’s exports and employs more than 26 crore people. Reforms brought in by the government have restored confidence in the system, laying the ground for innovation-driven growth.

The removal of archaic laws reflects a governance model that is evolving in step with the aspirations of a forward-looking, business-ready Bharat, firmly focused on achieving developed nation status by 2047.