Occupational Safety and Working Conditions Central Rules, 2026

Occupational Safety Central Rules 2026: final Gazette

The Ministry of Labour and Employment published G.S.R. 345(E) on 8 May 2026 under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. The instrument is titled the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026. It states that the Rules extend to the whole of India and come into force on publication in the Official Gazette. The notification describes a preceding December 2025 draft, the public comment period and the Central Government's consideration of responses. It also supersedes listed older central instruments, with a saving for actions already done or omitted. This is the final 2026 notification, not the earlier draft.

Subjects covered by the lengthy Rules

The Gazette includes detailed chapters, annexures and prescribed forms. It addresses occupational safety and health, conditions of work and procedures relevant to covered establishments. The supersession list refers to earlier central rules concerning mines, construction work, contract labour, inter-state migrant workers, working journalists, cinema workers and sales-promotion employees. That list illustrates the breadth of the subject matter but does not mean every provision applies to every employer. Identify the establishment and activity before reading a specific chapter. For a licence, registration, safety standard or return, consult the operative rule and its form instead of extrapolating from a general article.

Jurisdiction and transition checks

A reader should distinguish the national territorial extent of the Central Rules from the question of which authority and detailed requirements govern a particular establishment. The Code, definitions, appropriate-government provisions, state rules and sector-specific chapters may all be relevant. An employer reviewing a contractor, factory, mine or construction site should map each existing process to the new provision that actually applies. The notification's savings language matters for historical registrations and actions. Avoid treating a broad title as proof of a specific registration deadline or safety threshold without reading the clause. For high-impact operational changes, obtain a site-specific legal and safety review.

Official Gazette and further verification

The attached Ministry Gazette PDF for G.S.R. 345(E) contains the complete bilingual Rules and annexures. It is the primary source for this Library item. This original summary is designed for discovery, not to reproduce a 300-page instrument or substitute for the legal text. Check later amendments and official directions before updating an establishment's licence, register, training or contractor controls, and preserve the source citation used for each decision.