Bhubaneswar: In a landmark legal reform aimed at promoting trust-based governance, the Government of Odisha has approved the Odisha Jan Vishwas Ordinance, 2025.

The move seeks to decriminalize minor and procedural regulatory offences, rationalize penalties, and ease compliance under several State laws.

The ordinance aligns with the Central Government’s Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, which advocates replacing criminal sanctions for non-serious defaults with proportionate civil penalties.

Odisha’s initiative, covering 16 State Acts across nine departments, is designed to enhance both Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Ease of Living (EoL).

Under the new framework, imprisonment for minor procedural lapses will be replaced by graded civil penalties, and administrative adj

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