The Industrial Relations Code (Amendment) Bill 2026 received Presidential assent on February 16, 2026, marking a landmark moment in India's labour law reform journey. The amendment effectively repeals three historic labour legislations: the Trade Unions Act 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 — laws that had governed India's labour landscape for decades.\n\nThe 2026 amendment consolidates and updates provisions under the Industrial Relations Code 2020, which was one of four labour codes enacted to streamline India's fragmented labour law framework (the other three being the Code on Wages 2019, the Code on Social Security 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020).\n\nA significant social provision in the amendment mandates compulsory health check-ups for workers above the age of 40, introducing a preventive health dimension into India's formal labour welfare system for the first time. This aligns with broader public health policy priorities.\n\nThe repeal of the Trade Unions Act 1926 — a century-old law — is particularly notable as it consolidates union recognition, registration, and collective bargaining norms under a single modern framework. Similarly, the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, enacted in the immediate post-independence era, is replaced by updated dispute resolution mechanisms.\n\nFor RAS aspirants, this topic is relevant to polity (labour legislation, concurrent list, central-state relations), economy (labour market reform, ease of doing business), and social justice dimensions of the RPSC syllabus.