Reforms for ease of doing business in Budget FY26

New Delhi: To improve ease of doing business, Budget FY26 proposed four sets of reforms including setting up a High-Level Committee for Regulatory Reforms to review all non-financial sector regulations, certifications, licenses and permissions and an Investment Friendliness Index of States.

Impact evaluation of the current financial regulations and decriminalization of more than 100 provisions in various laws are also part of this “modern, flexible, people-friendly, and trust-based regulatory framework appropriate for the twenty-first century”.

“A light-touch regulatory framework based on principles and trust will unleash productivity and employment. Through this framework, we will update regulations that were made under old laws,” finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.


A High-Level Committee for Regulatory Reforms will be set up for a review of all non-financial sector regulations, certifications, licenses, and permissions. The committee will be expected to make recommendations within a year. The objective is to strengthen trust-based economic governance and take transformational measures to enhance ‘ease of doing business’, especially in matters of inspections and compliances. States will be encouraged to join in this endeavour.

An Investment Friendliness Index of States will be launched in 2025 to further the spirit of competitive cooperative federalism.

Besides, the government will work on Jan Vishwas Bill 2.0 to decriminalize more than 100 provisions in various laws. In the Jan Vishwas Act 2023, more than 180 legal provisions were decriminalized.

Under the Financial Stability and Development Council, a mechanism will be set up to evaluate impact of the current financial regulations and subsidiary instructions. It will also formulate a framework to enhance their responsiveness and development of the financial sector.