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Apprentices Act, 1961

Section 11: Obligations of employers

Section 11 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 explained with current 2025-26 amendments, employer controls, evidence and connected Rules.

Law Hub L8Data reviewed on 17 July 2026India-first compliance

What section 11 does

Lists core employer duties: training arrangements, qualified supervision, contract compliance, stipend and records.

Connected instrument: Schedules V and VI

Finin2min practical reading

  • Identify the apprentice category, trade, establishment jurisdiction and applicable portal before applying the provision.
  • Separate statutory apprenticeship from internships, probation, traineeships and ordinary employment.
  • Do not treat scheme reimbursement as a substitute for the employer’s underlying statutory obligations.
  • Preserve the contract, approvals, portal trail and training evidence as one auditable file.

Employer control and evidence pack

  • Executed/registered contract and portal acknowledgement
  • Training plan, attendance/work diary and supervisor records
  • Stipend bank/DBT evidence where relevant
  • Adviser approval, correspondence or order where the section requires it

Statutory text extract

Extracted from the bundled official/consolidated source. For sections amended in 2026, the current overlay above controls over older consolidated wording.

11. Obligations of employers.—Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Act, every
employer shall have the following obligations in relation to an apprentice, namely:—
          (a) to provide the apprentice with the training in his trade in accordance with the provisions of
     this Act, and the rules made thereunder;
         (b) if the employer is not himself qualified in the trade, to ensure that a person6[who possesses the
     prescribed qualifications] is placed in charge of the training of the apprentice;7***
          8
          [(bb) to provide adequate instructional staff, possessing such qualifications as may be prescribed,
     for imparting practical and theoretical training and facilities for trade test of apprentices; and]
          (c) to carry out his obligations under the contract of apprenticeship.

Compliance consequence

Failure should be tested against sections 30, 31 and 31A as in force from 22 June 2026, alongside contract termination/compensation consequences and any portal or scheme action.

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