Key Laws Passed By Parliament In 2025: From Tax Overhaul To Insurance And Online Gaming
2025 recap: The list of important laws passed by Parliament and approved by the President.
The Narendra Modi-led government has cleared over a dozen crucial legislations in 2025 through the Parliament, covering areas from shipping and sports to taxation and nuclear energy. These bills were approved by Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and then received President Droupadi Murmu's assent to become the law of the land.
The government projected many of these bills as a continuation of its reform agenda, aimed at easing norms and simplifying compliances for private and foreign players in various industries.
Notably, the Parliament meets for three sessions in a year: Budget (February to May), Monsoon (July to September) and Winter (November to December). The Budget session is conducted in two phases.
Here is a list of some of the key laws passed, along with brief explanations of their main objectives:
The Income-Tax Act, 2025
It replaced the Income-Tax Act, 1961 to simplify the language and remove redundant provisions. The Act provides for faceless collection of information and assessment of tax cases. It comes into force from April 2026.
Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025
It introduces amendments to various taxation laws, often related to corporate taxes, excise duties, or simplifying tax compliance procedures.
Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025
The Act establishes a legal and regulatory framework for the online gaming industry, focussing on consumer protection, responsible gaming, and preventing illegal activities. It bans real money gaming apps.
The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Bill, 2025
The Act raises foreign direct investment limit from 74% to 100% in the insurance sector, rationalises penalties, and eases regulatory hurdles for intermediaries.
The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act 2025
The law consolidates and modernises India's nuclear legal system, enables limited private participation in the nuclear sector under regulatory oversight and establishes a graded liability framework.
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The Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025
The law seeks to improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India for better transparency, governance, and efficiency, by updating definitions, enhancing technology use, and ensuring broader stakeholder representation (including non-Muslims/women) in Boards.
Merchant Shipping Act, 2025
The law modernises and consolidates the laws governing merchant shipping in India, aiming to ease ship registration, improve safety standards, and align with international conventions.
Indian Ports Act, 2025
The Act updates the regulation of major and non-major ports across the country to boost infrastructure, investment, and efficiency in the port sector.
Coastal Shipping Act, 2025
It simplifies regulations for ships operating in Indian coastal waters to promote and increase coastal cargo traffic.
National Sports Governance Act, 2025
The Act aims to ensure greater transparency, accountability, and better management in the functioning of National Sports Federations (NSFs) and other sports bodies in India.
National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Act, 2025
The Act amends the existing anti-doping law to strengthen the mechanism for drug-free sports, often to align with international World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) codes.
Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2025
The law amends the existing Act to bring in reforms aimed at boosting exploration, transparent auctioning of mineral blocks, and improving ease of doing business in the mining sector.
The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Act, 2024
The law reforms the legal framework for exploration and production of oil and gas. It introduces a single permit system namely, petroleum leases, which will substitute the extant system.
Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Act, 2025
It amends the IIM Act, typically to fine-tune the governance structure, roles of the Director and Chairperson, or to facilitate the establishment of new IIMs.
The Health Security se National Security Cess Act, 2025
The law allows the levy of a cess on the production of goods such as pan masala to replace the compensation cess that was part of the GST system.
