Vaishnaw makes a case for reforming economic laws to suit India's growth requirement

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday made a case for reforming economic laws to suit India's growth requirement as has been done through enactment of three new criminal laws to replace the colonial-era legislations.

Addressing an event organised by government think tank NITI Aayog, Vaishnaw said the country is going to witness changes in criminal jurisprudence with the enactment of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Act.

"Similarly, the economic laws too need to change in view of our current needs and growth requirements," the Minister of Communication, Railways and Electronics & IT said.

The three criminal laws got the Parliament's approval on December 21 last year and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent on December 25. These legislations will replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.

"If you hire 2,000 good lawyers then you can reform about 35,000 laws in the next 5 years," he added.

Vaishnaw asserted that in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term, the government will give greater focus on manufacturing sector as this sector has a huge employment generation potential.

Vaishnaw also launched government think tank NITI Aayog's platform 'NITI For States', a digital public infrastructure for policy and governance.

He also inaugurated the 'Viksit Bharat Strategy Room' at NITI Aayog.

The 'Viksit Bharat Strategy Room' will enable visualization and engagement with insights, sharing of information and knowledge to enable effective in-person decision-making.

A multi-sectoral live repository of 7,500 best practices, 5,000 policy documents, over 900 datasets, 1,400 data profiles, and 350 NITI publications will be part of the new platform, according to an official statement.

The platform will equip government officials with robust, contextually relevant, and actionable knowledge and insights, thereby enhancing the quality of their decision-making, the statement said.