Centre for Civil Society (CCS) in India has won the 2026 Asia Liberty Award, recognizing more than a decade of work to remove outdated laws and build a more predictable, accountable system of governance.

The award was announced during Asia Liberty Forum in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where Atlas Network partners and colleagues from across the region gathered to exchange ideas, learn from one another, build new connections, and celebrate progress for liberty.

An outdated law may look like a forgotten line in an old legal code. For an entrepreneur, it can mean uncertainty, arbitrary enforcement, or even the threat of criminal punishment for ordinary business activity. CCS recognized that removing those barriers could give millions of people greater freedom to work, build, and plan for the future.

From Legal Clutter to Greater Freedom

Since 2014, CCS has developed a systematic method for identifying obsolete, redundant, and burdensome laws across India. Its early “Repeal of 100 Laws” report offered government officials a clear, evidence-based path for simplifying the country’s legal framework rather than relying on one-off reforms.

The Law Commission of India cited CCS’s research, and 23 central laws recommended by the organization were repealed in 2015. CCS then expanded the work across state and national jurisdictions, collaborating with state governments, law universities, research institutions, and legal experts.

By 2024, CCS had identified 534 laws for repeal and contributed to the removal of 216 laws at the national and state levels. Behind each number is a step toward a legal system that is easier to understand, more consistent to navigate, and less open to arbitrary use.

A Fairer Way to Regulate

CCS has also helped move the conversation beyond repealing entire laws. Its more recent work examines individual provisions that impose disproportionate criminal penalties on entrepreneurs, small businesses, and people working in the informal economy.

Using an in-house framework, CCS reviewed 560 business laws across seven jurisdictions and recommended replacing unnecessary criminal provisions with civil or administrative measures. Some of those recommendations were later reflected in national decriminalization efforts, including the Jan Vishwas 2.0 legislation.

This approach advances what CCS calls trust-based governance: rules should help people comply and reserve criminal punishment for genuine wrongdoing. Clearer, more proportionate regulation gives entrepreneurs greater certainty, reduces opportunities for discretionary harassment, and allows more people to participate confidently in the economy.

Recognition with Reach

The Asia Liberty Award recognizes both the reforms CCS has helped achieve and the patient work that made them possible: rigorous research, relationships with decision-makers, public education, and the persistence to keep going as political opportunities changed.

“Centre for Civil Society has provided an example for think tanks around the world by setting such an ambitious, long-term vision and working steadily toward it with purpose and care. As a local organization which understands the day-to-day reality of ordinary Indians, CCS was able to identify important opportunities for reform that could meaningfully reduce the uncertainty and arbitrary punishment associated with these outdated laws. Thanks to their work, entrepreneurs across the country are able to plan and invest in their futures with more confidence” said Atlas Network Executive Vice President of Programs Casey Pifer. “The Asia Liberty Award recognizes not only CCS’s contribution to a better entrepreneurial landscape, but also their patient commitment to building the expertise and relationships required for holding government accountable to the people it serves.”

CCS was selected from a finalist group that also included Samriddhi Foundation in Nepal and Foundation for Economic Freedom in the Philippines. Together, the three organizations demonstrated how locally led policy reform can remove barriers to entrepreneurship, strengthen property rights, and give people more control over their futures.

Atlas Network’s Regional Liberty Awards are part of our Coach, Compete, Celebrate!® model. By bringing proven reforms onto a regional stage, the awards give freedom champions the recognition they deserve and help successful ideas reach peers confronting similar barriers in their own communities.

Please join us in congratulating Centre for Civil Society on winning the 2026 Asia Liberty Award and in celebrating all three finalists for their contributions to a freer, more prosperous Asia.