The Indian government has placed the draft Central Rules under all four Labour Codes open for public comment until January 18, 2026, with the Industrial Relations Code Rules deadline extended to January 29, 2026. This marks a landmark step in India's most sweeping labour reform since independence.
The four Labour Codes — the Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code (2020), Code on Social Security (2020), and Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (2020) — were enacted to consolidate 29 central labour laws into a simpler, unified framework. Together, these codes cover the entire lifecycle of employment: hiring, wages, workplace safety, social security (provident fund, gratuity, ESIC), and dispute resolution.
The draft rules define practical implementation details such as fixed-term employment norms, threshold limits for factories, definitions of 'worker' and 'employee', gig and platform worker benefits, and the procedure for retrenchment and layoffs. For Rajasthan, a state with large informal sector employment and a significant textile and mining industry, these rules carry direct implications for MSMEs, construction workers, and seasonal agricultural labour.
Employers across sectors are urged to review the draft rules and file objections or suggestions with the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Once finalised, these rules will replace existing subsidiary legislation under 29 older laws and bring uniformity across states that have not yet enacted state-specific rules. The reform is expected to ease the cost of compliance, reduce inspector raj, and improve the social security coverage of the unorganised workforce — estimated at over 90% of India's total workforce.