Working on law to promote ease of doing business; may bring bill in winter session: Piyush Goyal

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the ministry is working on a law to decriminalise certain provisions to promote ease of doing business.

A bill in this regard is expected to be introduced in the forthcoming winter session of Parliament, he added.

The minister urged the industry to "quickly" give feedback on reducing compliances and decriminalising unnecessary sections.

"We have focused on ease of doing business. We continue to reduce the compliance burden for our businesses.Give us, feedback quickly because, in the winter session, we are proposing to come out with a very holistic amendment to the laws related to businesses to ease the burden, and reduce compliances," Goyal said while addressing PHDCCI's Annual Session 2022.

He said that the government has decriminalised many laws.

"We are working on many many other laws currently. DPIIT (Department for promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) is spearheading this in consultation with other ministries," he added.

He also said that in this difficult global situation, India has managed its inflation numbers.

The wholesale price-based inflation eased to an 11-month low of 12.41 per cent in August.

However, retail inflation cut short its three-month declining trend and inched up to 7 per cent in August, mainly due to higher food prices, according to official data.

"We have continued to have reined in our inflation numbers pretty significantly compared to the rest of the world...Germany has reached 11 per cent," he said.

In India, inflation used to hover in double digits before 2014 and the country used to grapple with 8 per cent, 9 per cent and 10 per cent, but "today only 7 per cent compared to the rest of the world", Goyal added.

Amid the global uncertainties at present, India is still a "shining star" in the world and continues to be the "fastest" growing economy, he said.

On free trade agreements, the minister said these pacts are win-win for both the trading partners and domestic industry should get out of the "protectionist mindset".