The Telangana Legislative Assembly has passed the Telangana Praja Viswasam (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, which seeks to decriminalise minor offences, reduce regulatory disputes and improve ease of doing business in the state.
State Legislative Affairs and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu said the legislation had been drafted in line with the Centre’s Jan Vishwas legislation. That central law decriminalised more than 180 minor offences and replaced them with monetary penalties, according to the minister’s statement in the Assembly.
The Telangana bill is intended to provide scope for compromise in certain offences, reduce legal disputes, improve transparency and regulatory efficiency, and remove outdated and unnecessary legislation. The proposal places the state’s business-regulation framework within a broader effort to reduce the use of criminal provisions for relatively minor compliance violations.
According to the minister, officials from the Industries department consulted other departments before identifying more than 400 offences that could be decriminalised. The stated objective is to promote ease of doing business by reducing the legal burden associated with minor violations while retaining regulatory oversight through penalties and other compliance mechanisms.
The measure is also relevant to the way businesses interact with state departments. Decriminalisation can change the consequence of a violation from potential criminal proceedings to a monetary penalty in cases covered by the legislation. However, the report does not specify the individual laws and offences included in the final bill, the penalty amounts, or the date on which the changes will take effect.
The minister said the Industries department would undertake efforts to create awareness about the rules and regulations under the legislation. This will be significant for smaller establishments, which may otherwise face difficulty understanding changes spread across multiple departmental laws and procedures.
During the Assembly debate, members also raised concerns about the difficulties faced by small business owners in securing bank loans. In response, the government said it would instruct the State Level Bankers Committee to address these difficulties, particularly for entrepreneurs from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class and minority communities.
The banking-related assurance forms a separate component of the government’s response to concerns raised during the debate. The report does not indicate whether the bill itself changes lending rules or eligibility requirements. Instead, the proposed instruction to the State Level Bankers Committee is intended to address access-to-credit issues faced by small businesses.
The Telangana legislation follows the Lok Sabha’s passage of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, on April 1. That central bill sought to amend provisions across different laws by decriminalising and rationalising minor offences to promote ease of doing business and ease of living.
The next stage will depend on the bill’s formal processing and implementation by the state government. The specific offences covered, the applicable monetary penalties, the commencement date and the procedures for compromise will determine how the reform affects businesses and regulatory departments in practice.
