UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Government Introduces Improvement Notice Mechanism under the Legal Metrology Act

Q1. The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 was introduced and piloted in Parliament by the Minister of State of which one of the following Ministries?

  • A. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
  • B. Ministry of Law and Justice
  • C. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
  • D. Ministry of Corporate Affairs

Q2. The Select Committee that scrutinised the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill and recommended widening its scope was chaired by which one of the following?

  • A. Shri Tejasvi Surya
  • B. Shri Jitin Prasada
  • C. Shri Piyush Goyal
  • D. Shri Pralhad Joshi

Q3. The graded enforcement structure introduced for offences under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2026 — proceeding from an improvement notice through to a criminal fine — comprises how many tiers?

  • A. Two
  • B. Three
  • C. Four
  • D. Five

Q4. The Improvement Notice mechanism for first-time procedural non-compliances under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 was introduced through which one of the following legislative instruments?

  • A. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026
  • B. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023
  • C. Consumer Protection Act, 2019
  • D. Legal Metrology (General) Rules, 2011

Q5. Which one of the following was the first omnibus central legislation enacted specifically to decriminalise minor offences across multiple Central Acts, serving as the template for later trust-based regulatory reforms?

  • A. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023
  • B. Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020
  • C. Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026
  • D. Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Act, 2021

Q6. Of the total provisions amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026, how many were decriminalised to promote Ease of Doing Business?

  • A. 717
  • B. 784
  • C. 183
  • D. 67

Q7. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), an executive agency that came into existence in 2020, was established under which one of the following enactments?

  • A. Consumer Protection Act, 2019
  • B. Consumer Protection Act, 1986
  • C. Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016
  • D. Legal Metrology Act, 2009

Q8. Which one of the following is the custodian of India's national measurement standards and the National Metrology Institute that provides traceability to the SI units?

  • A. CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL)
  • B. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
  • C. International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML)
  • D. Indian Institute of Legal Metrology (IILM)

Q9. In the context of the Jan Vishwas Acts of 2023 and 2026, the 'decriminalisation' of an offence most precisely refers to which one of the following?

  • A. Replacing criminal liability such as imprisonment with civil/monetary penalties adjudicated administratively rather than through criminal courts
  • B. Repealing the provision entirely so that the act is no longer an offence of any kind
  • C. Reducing only the term of imprisonment while retaining the offence as a criminal one
  • D. Transferring the trial of the offence from magistrates to special fast-track courts

Q10. Within India's quality and consumer-protection ecosystem, 'legal metrology' is most precisely defined as which one of the following?

  • A. The application of legal/statutory requirements to measurements and measuring instruments to guarantee accuracy in trade and protect consumers
  • B. The development and certification of voluntary product quality standards and conformity marks for goods
  • C. The scientific establishment and maintenance of primary measurement standards and physical constants in laboratories
  • D. The adjudication of consumer disputes and grievances arising from defective goods and deficient services