At a Lucknow conference on Legal Metrology reform, India's regulators signalled a shift from counting inspection notices to counting compliances achieved, writes Jyothi V K, General Counsel and Sr. Vice President, Aditya Birla Fashion-ABFRL
What does it take to move from regulatory enforcement to regulatory trust? That was the question I carried with me after a day of conversations about the changing face of Legal Metrology in India. As the Chairperson of RAI's Advocacy Committee, I represented the RAI delegation at a one-day conference on Legal Metrology Reforms and Effective Implementation of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, organised by the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, and the Department of Legal Metrology, Government of Uttar Pradesh, in Lucknow on 3 September 2026.

The conference was presided over by Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs; Anupam Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs; Ranvir Prasad, Principal Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh; and senior officers from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh.

Reform, perform, transform, inform
The day's discussions centred on the scope of the Jan Vishwas Act and, more significantly, on how the government's approach to implementing it is changing. Khare captured that philosophy in four words: reform the processes under the law, perform by strengthening capabilities including OIML certification, transform how the law is actually implemented, and inform stakeholders through periodic communication.

She spoke with evident pride about India's standing in international legal metrology. India has been a member of the International Organization of Legal Metrology since 1956, and in August 2023 its Legal Metrology Division became the 13th OIML Issuing Authority under the OIML Certification System, a framework that harmonises legal metrology requirements across countries. That recognition strengthened India's role in the wider international system in a way the domestic Legal Metrology Act, 2009, alone could not.

Gatekeeper to facilitator
Mishra traced the longer arc of the reform, describing Legal Metrology's shift from a gatekeeper function to a facilitating one. Among the changes he set out: the decriminalisation of three offences under the Legal Metrology Act, the introduction of improvement notices that let businesses fix specified non-compliances rather than face immediate penalty, more regular engagement with retailers, the replacement of licensing requirements with simpler registration in certain areas, and the establishment of new testing facilities.

One line from the day stayed with me in particular: that the success of enforcement should be measured not by the number of inspection notices issued, but by the number of compliances achieved and consumers protected. That is a genuine shift in regulatory philosophy, and the government backed it with specifics, plans for more GATC laboratories to verify weights and measures, alongside a stated intent to concentrate enforcement on the violations that actually harm consumers: deliberate fraud, short quantity, manipulation and tampering.

RAI at the table
The conference ran several plenary sessions through the day, including one on digital governance in Legal Metrology reform, one on simplifying compliance without weakening consumer protection, and one on moving from a compliance mindset to a trust-based, data-driven one, with participation from RAI alongside FICCI, ASSOCHAM and PHDCCI.

I represented RAI's Advocacy Committee in the session on digital governance, presenting some of the practical challenges retailers face in implementing Legal Metrology rules. The response from government officials was encouraging, and what mattered more was their evident willingness to listen to industry's actual experience on the ground.

On behalf of RAI, I thanked the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Legal Metrology Department for creating space for that dialogue, and for their continuing work on deregulation, ease of compliance and trust-based governance. I also reaffirmed RAI's commitment to working with government toward a simpler, more efficient regulatory environment for retail.

A day that lived up
What struck me most was how genuinely the day tried to translate the philosophy behind Jan Vishwas, literally, people's trust, into the actual mechanics of implementation.

Jyothi V K, General Counsel and Sr. Vice President, Aditya Birla Fashion-ABFRL

Khare's guidance to Legal Metrology authorities was direct: they need to actively drive how the law is implemented, not simply enforce it, and act as catalysts for ease of doing business. Her openness to suggestions, and her invitation to industry to bring real examples and workable solutions to the table, made the exchange feel like a genuine dialogue rather than a formality.

The Government of Uttar Pradesh hosted the day generously, with the kind of warmth Lucknow is known for. Boarding my flight home, I found myself thinking of the city's familiar line: Lucknow aaye hain, toh muskuraiye. After a day that showed regulation moving from enforcement toward facilitation, dialogue and trust, I did.