New Delhi: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government remains steadfast in reducing regulatory burdens, besides enhancing trust-based governance and taking steps to make India a ‘seamless and export-friendly’ economy. “A robust manufacturing sector, free from unnecessary regulatory bottlenecks, will further attract both domestic and foreign investments, driving economic growth,” Sitharaman said while addressing a post-budget webinar. “Decriminalisation of business related laws reduces the legal risks, allowing industries to operate with greater confidence. Over 42,000 compliance requirements have already been removed, and over 3,700 legal provisions have been decriminalised since 2014. In the Jan Vishwas Act 2023, more than 180 legal provisions were decriminalised,” the finance minister said. In her 2025-26 Budget speech, Sitharaman had announced that a high-level committee for regulatory reforms will be set up for a review of all non-financial sector regulations, certifications, licences, 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,” she had said. The government is hopeful that the infrastructure sector will help create jobs and strengthen industries as the Centre has proposed effective capital expenditure at Rs 15.48 lakh crore (4.3 per cent of the GDP) in the last budget announcement for the next fiscal. Of this total outlay, the government has allocated a whopping Rs 11.21 lakh crore as core capital expenditure, which is 3.1 percent of the GDP. The finance minister also said that the government’s ‘unprecedented’ push for infrastructure development helps create jobs, strengthen industries, and also lays the foundation for greater private sector participation in India’s growth story. “The pathway for reforms are complemented by the government’s unwavering focus on capital expenditure as a driver of economic growth,” she said.
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