 A great move made by the Modi government a couple of days back on 8th June 2020 by proposing the decriminalization of certain offenses for improving business sentiment and the unclogging court processes. The stakeholders have been invited to propose and submit their comments and suggestions within 15 days which is by 23rd June 2020 regarding the decriminalization of a particular statute itself or any particular provision in a statute along with a set of rationale for the same. Let me give you an insight into the self-proposal of the Government of India on the other side of the clip. According to the Government of India, decriminalizing of minor offenses is one of its focus areas. The risk of imprisonment for actions or omissions that are necessarily not fraudulent or outcome of malefied intent is a big barrier and impediment in attracting investments. The resultant ambiguity in legal processes and the time taken for resolution in the courts of disputes harms ease of doing business. Criminal penalties including imprisonment for minor offenses disincentivize business sentiment and obstructs investments both from domestic and foreign investors. This according to the Government has become even more significant post-COVID-19 response strategy to help revive the economic growth and improving the justice delivery system. In view of the nature of pendency in all segments of the courts as well as the huge backlog delay in adjudication of legal cases, legislative measures are in the process of taking shape to help resolve trust in doing business as indicated by the Government. Thus, in this pursuit, the Government considers it important that a balance is found so that malefied intent is punished while other less serious offenses are compounded. Consequently, a framework is contemplated where a penalty is levied which is sufficient to act as a deterrent. The Government believes that action taken for the decriminalization of certain offenses can go a long way in improving ease of doing business and helping unclog the court system and even the prisons for that matter. The Government has identified the following principles for reclassifying the criminal offenses to compoundable offenses. First, decrease the burden on businesses and inspire confidence amongst investors. Two, focus on economic growth, public interest and national security which should remain of paramount importance. Three, mensaria which is malefied criminal intent plays an important role in the imposition of criminal liability. Therefore it is critical to evaluate the nature of non-compliance, that is fraud as compared to negligence or inadvertent omissions. And finally, the habitual nature of non-compliance, undoubtedly as this exercise is likely to have a large scale impact across society, the Government of India is doing a stakeholder consultation exercise which I mentioned in the beginning. Hence to have overall consensus, the Department of Financial Services of the Ministry of Finance which administers the acts and statutes as shown in the images in front of you invites the comments of state governments, UT administrations, civil society, non-governmental organizations, academicians, public and private sector organizations, multilateral institutions and members of the public to submit their suggestions to the department. The government's said communication dated 8th June 2020, running into 18 pages is publicly available on several websites, I mean you may just google search and you will be able to lay hands on that communication. The said communication lists out relevant acts administered by the department and their specific sections containing criminal provisions with an adjacent column table to add your suggestions, comments and rationale. So overall a great move by the Modi government and I request all the viewers to overwhelmingly send in your comments and suggestions in order to support this highly called for progressive measure. See you again next time with a new video.