(July 27): India’s lower house of parliament on Thursday (July 27) approved a legislation that seeks to simplify and decriminalise minor offences to help the ease of doing business by replacing imprisonment with monetary penalties.

The bill that will amend 183 provisions across 42 acts in 19 ministries such as agriculture, environment and media, was passed by a majority of the lawmakers amid ruckus in parliament over the violence in Manipur state. Converting punishments to monetary penalties means prosecutions at courts are not necessary, according to the legislation.

Doing away with outdated laws and regulations will improve trust and boost the ease of doing business, particularly for small companies, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has scrapped over 2,000 obsolete rules and laws in the past nine years to improve governance and help businesses.