The Public Trust (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, has been passed by both Houses of Parliament, which is an important step towards further enhancing the ease of doing business and ease of living in the country.
The Bill reflects the Government’s commitment to promote a trust-based governance framework and ensure proportionate regulation by reducing the compliance burden on individuals and businesses.
As per the provisions of the Bill, 784 provisions of 79 Central Acts administered by 23 ministries have been amended. Of these, 717 provisions have been decriminalized to facilitate ease of doing business, while 67 provisions have been amended to make living easier. This information has been given in a release.
Overall, the Bill aims to rationalize over 1,000 offenses by removing minor offences, thereby improving the regulatory environment and creating a more conducive ecosystem for both businesses and citizens.
Within the health sector, amendments include the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940; Pharmacy Act, 1948; Food Safety and Standards Act; Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010; and key laws including the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021. These reforms are consistent with the overarching objective of simplifying compliance while maintaining strong safeguards for public health.
A key feature of these reforms is that criminal penalties, particularly imprisonment, for minor procedural violations have been replaced with graded monetary penalties. This signals a shift towards a more relaxed regulatory framework, while maintaining strict action for serious violations that affect public health and safety.
Several provisions in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 have been amended to impose financial penalties in place of imprisonment and introduce a structured adjudication mechanism.
Specifically, an adjudication mechanism has been introduced for violations under Section 27A(ii) and Section 28A. This ensures that minor violations in the case of cosmetics (except counterfeit or adulterated) will not require court intervention and can instead be addressed through the civil penalty framework.
Additionally, violations such as non-maintenance of documents or non-furnishing of information, which were earlier punishable through court-imposed fines or imprisonment, can now be dealt with through this civil penalty mechanism.
For the first time, the Act provides for the appointment of adjudicating authorities by the Central Government and State Governments, as well as a defined procedure relating to the issue of show cause notices, provision for personal hearing and an appellate mechanism.
This reform will significantly reduce the burden on the courts, reduce the complexity of litigation and enable faster resolution of minor compliance issues. This will particularly benefit the cosmetics industry as it will enable systematic and predictable disposal of minor violations such as procedural lapses such as non-maintenance of statutory records or documents, which will now be free from long drawn-out litigation.
Similarly, the amendments made to the Pharmacy Act, 1948 aim to modernize the penal provisions and increase accountability by increasing financial penalties for non-compliance. These reforms are also in line with the updated legal frameworks.
Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the provisions have been simplified to strengthen enforcement, while also ensuring that punishment is commensurate with the nature of the offence. This supports a balanced approach between regulatory oversight and ease of compliance.
The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 has been updated to emphasize monetary penalties for non-compliance, especially in cases where the deficiencies do not pose an immediate threat to patient safety. This encourages corrective action without resorting to criminal proceedings.
Additionally, the National Allied Health Services Commission Act, 2021 has been strengthened to ensure compliance with professional standards and regulatory requirements, with provisions for penalties to deter violations while maintaining proportionality.
The alignment of these reforms across multiple health-related laws reflects a coherent policy approach aimed at harmonizing regulatory frameworks. By standardizing the transition from criminal to civil penalties and implementing adjudication mechanisms, these amendments ensure consistency, predictability and proportionality in enforcement.
This coordination reduces regulatory fragmentation, simplifies compliance requirements and provides clarity to stakeholders working across different segments of the health sector.
The involvement of 23 ministries in implementing these reforms underlines the government’s holistic approach towards improving the regulatory framework.
This broad participation reflects the Government’s determination to promote ease of doing business and ease of living across all sectors, while ensuring that reforms are comprehensive, coordinated and impactful.
Overall, these measures are expected to improve compliance, reduce litigation and create greater confidence among stakeholders and regulatory authorities, while continuing to protect public health and public interest.
