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Apprentices Act, 1961

Section 24: Constitution of Councils

Section 24 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 24 does

Provides for constitution and functioning of apprenticeship councils.

Connected instrument: Central Apprenticeship Council Rules

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.

24. Constitution of Councils.—(1) The Central Government shall, bynotification in the Official
Gazette, establish the Central Apprenticeship Council and the State Government shall, by notification in
the Official Gazette, establish the State Apprenticeship Council.
    (2) The Central Apprenticeship Council shall consist of 2[a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman] and such
number of other members as the Central Government may think expedient, to be appointed by that
Government by notification in the Official Gazette from among the following categories of persons,
namely:—
          (a) representatives of employers in establishments in the public and private sectors,
          (b) representatives of the Central Government and of the State Governments, 3***
         (c) persons having special knowledge and experience on matters relating to 4[industry, labour and
     technical education, and]
          5
           [(d) representatives of the All India Council and of the Regional Boards.]
    (3) The number of persons to be appointed as members of the Central Apprenticeship Council from
each of the categories specified in sub-section (2), the term of office of, the procedure to be followed in
the discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of the
Council shall be such as may be prescribed.
   (4) The State Apprenticeship Council shall consist of 2[a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman] and such
number of other members as the State Government may think expedient, to be appointed by that
Government by notification in the Official Gazette from among the following categories of persons,
namely:—
          (a) representatives of employers in establishments in the public and private sectors,
          (b) representatives of the Central Government and of the State Government 5***
         (c) persons having special knowledge and experience of matters relating to 6[industry, labour and
     technical education, and]
          7
           [(d) representatives of the Board or of the State Council of Technical Education.]
    (5) The number of persons to be appointed as members of the State Apprenticeship Council from
each of the categories specified in sub-sections (4), the term of office of, the procedure to be followed in
the discharge of their functions by, and the manner of filling vacancies among, the members of the
Council shall be such as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, determine.
    (6) The fees and allowances, if any, to be paid to 6[the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman] and the
other members of the Central Apprenticeship Council, shall be such as may be determined by the Central
Government and the fees and allowances, if any, to be paid to 6[the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman]
3. The word “and” omitted by s. 18, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-12-1974).

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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