Laws are being tweaked to boost ease of doing biz

Key bills that are awaiting Parliament's sanction will change the face of the shipping and ports sector in the country, enhancing the ease of doing business as well as giving impetus to jobs and the economy, says Union minister for ports, shipping and waterways Sarbananda Sonowal.

- Smriti Kak Ramachandran

In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Sonowal speaks about the new bills, the changes that have taken place in the shipping sector in the last decade and how the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government's focus on the north-eastern region has resulted in a transformation on the ground in sectors such as health, infrastructure and tourism. Edited excerpts:

There are four bills piloted by your ministry that are awaiting passage in Parliament. How will the legislation impact the sector?

Since Independence, the Indian legal system had been clogged with thousands of obsolete, colonial laws, which created confusion, prolonged legal tussles and eroded our nation's credibility and trust in the fast-changing global scenario.

This led to decades of wasted opportunities and avenues, abysmally slow growth and immense poverty and misery for our people. Through Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visionary initiative of 'Reform to Transform', this government has repealed more than 1,500 old and redundant laws since 2014.

The objective is to streamline our legal system for ease of understanding, doing business and for effective governance by repealing and replacing old laws with updated ones in line with global best practices. The Bills of Lading Act, 1856 is being repealed and replaced with the Bills of Lading Bill, 2024 and the India Carriage of Goods Act, 1925 is being repealed and replaced by the Carriage of Goods Bill, 2024. Since the subject matter of the Acts is still relevant for maritime trade, the laws are being retained by way of the updated Bills.

A new clause empowering the central government to issue directions for carrying out any or all provisions of the Acts has been included.

What will be the impact of these bills?