NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved amendments to the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2023, which seeks to decriminalise minor offences by amending 183 provisions in 42 Acts with a view to promote ease of business, sources said.

It proposes to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts administered by 19 ministries. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill was introduced by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in the Lok Sabha on December 22 last year. After that, the bill was referred to a joint committee of parliament.

The panel held discussions with all 19 ministries or departments along with the legislative department and department of legal affairs. It adopted its report in March this year, which was laid before Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

It stated that the government should amend the provisions with retrospective effect to reduce backlog of court cases.