Centre moving quickly on deregulation norms to enhance ease of business for India Inc

The deregulation measures will help those segments of local industry which may be hurt by the higher tariffs imposed by the US.

Measures aimed at easing compliance burden for Indian Inc - announced during the Union Budget 2025-26 - have been put on fast-track, a senior government official told Moneycontrol requesting anonymity.

It is learnt that the steps are targetted at a faster implementation of proposals around Ease of Business 2.0, a successor to the reform push by the government since 2014.

The Centre plans to quickly set up a high-level committee for regulatory reforms, in order to streamline norms for the non-financial sector, speed up simplification of foreign investment rules, and a faster rollout of the second edition of the Jan Vishwas Bill that seeks to further decriminalise minor offences.

“Proposals around EODB 2.0, decriminalisation, simplifying tax processes will be sped up. We must use this opportunity to speed up deregulation, the committee on regulatory reforms, which will be set up soon. Speed up the process of decision making on deregulation in many areas,” the government official said.

The deregulation measures are aimed to help the segments of industry that may have been exposed to higher tariffs by US President Donald Trump.

India’s exports to the US are currently facing a 25 percent tariff, scheduled to double from August 27, even though exports such as electronics, pharmaceuticals and petroleum products are currently exempt.

During the FY26 budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a slew of measures to further enhance ease of doing business in India, including setting up of a committee to review norms on certifications, licenses and permissions for the non-financial sector. The committee is expected to submit its recommendation within a year of being set up.

The budget also proposed an Investment Friendliness Index of States, expected to be launched in 2025 to further enhance competitive cooperative federalism, as well as seek a better framework under the Financial Stability and Development Council to spur growth of the financial sector.

“Because globally the environment is uncertain, wherever we can give certainty, we will do so. Diversification of exports will take time; therefore, the focus should be on domestic reforms,” the official said.

Steps are already underway to implement the Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 that aims to decriminalise more than 100 provisions in various laws. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 18 and is expected to be soon sent to a Select Committee of Parliament.

“There are very low hanging fruits of policy making, deregulation, lowering compliance, simplifying processes. These are the nuts and bolts that needs to be fixed,” the official said.