Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 68

Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 · XI

Section 68: Code not to apply in certain cases

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 68 — Governs code not to apply in certain cases and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to— (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and not for the…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 20261 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

(1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to— (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and not for the purpose of obtaining minerals for use or sale subject to such conditions relating to number of employees, depth of excavation and other matters as may be prescribed by the Central Government;
(b) any mine engaged in the extraction of kankar, murrum, laterite, boulder, gravel, shingle, ordinary sand (excluding mouldings and glass sand and other mineral sands), ordinary clay (excluding kaolin, china clay, white clay or fire clay), building stone, slate, road metal, earth, fullers earth (marl, chalk) and lime stone subject to such conditions relating to workings, open cast workings and explosives as may…
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Central Government may declare that the provisions of this Code shall apply to such mine or part thereof as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
(3) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (2), if at any time any of the conditions specified in clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) is not fulfilled in relation to any mine referred to in that sub-section, the provisions of this Code not set out in sub-section (1), shall become immediately applicable, and it shall be the duty of the employer of the mine to inform about such non-…

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.

Thresholds and timelines in the text

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Employer, Employee / worker, Central Government, Authority / officer

Full statutory text — Section 68

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

68. Code not to apply in certain cases.—(1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in
sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to—
      (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and
   not for the purpose of obtaining minerals for use or sale subject to such conditions relating to number
   of employees, depth of excavation and other matters as may be prescribed by the Central Government;
      (b) any mine engaged in the extraction of kankar, murrum, laterite, boulder, gravel, shingle,
   ordinary sand (excluding mouldings and glass sand and other mineral sands), ordinary clay (excluding
   kaolin, china clay, white clay or fire clay), building stone, slate, road metal, earth, fullers earth (marl,
   chalk) and lime stone subject to such conditions relating to workings, open cast workings and
   explosives as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
   (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Central Government may declare that
the provisions of this Code shall apply to such mine or part thereof as may be prescribed by the Central
Government.
    (3) Without prejudice to the provisions contained in sub-section (2), if at any time any of the
conditions specified in clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) is not fulfilled in relation to any mine
referred to in that sub-section, the provisions of this Code not set out in sub-section (1), shall become
immediately applicable, and it shall be the duty of the employer of the mine to inform about such non-
fulfilment to such authority in such manner and within such time as may be prescribed by the Central
Government.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to— (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and not for the purpose of obtaining minerals for use or sale subject to such conditions relating to number of employees, depth of excavation and other matters as may be prescribed by the Central Government;
Additional operative limb — (b) any mine engaged in the extraction of kankar, murrum, laterite, boulder, gravel, shingle, ordinary sand (excluding mouldings and glass sand and other mineral sands), ordinary clay (excluding kaolin, china clay, white clay or fire clay), building stone, slate, road metal, earth, fullers earth (marl, chalk) and lime stone subject to such conditions relating to workings, open cast workings and explosives as may…
Central Rule mapping — 108. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer, Employee / worker, Central Government, Authority / officer.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 68 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

Rule 108

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

Section 35

Related Labour Hub resources

State overlays Forms Labour litigation

A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.

Worked example

For an establishment affected by code not to apply in certain cases, the compliance owner should identify the applicable sector and authority, document the prescribed control/notice/record and retain inspection or training evidence. A text point to test is: “(1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to— (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and not for the purpose of obtaining minerals for use or sale subject to suc” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 108.

Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.

Q&A — Section 68

What does Section 68 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 68?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) The provisions of this Code, except those contained in sections 35, 38, 40, 41 and 44, shall not apply to— (a) any mine or part thereof in which excavation is being made for prospecting purposes only and not for the purpose of obtaining minerals for use or sale subject to such conditions relating to number of employees, depth of excavation and other matters as may be prescribed by the Central Government;” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 68 contain a proviso or explanation?

No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 68?

No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 68?

The current concordance maps Section 68 to Central Rule(s) 108.

Is Section 68 currently operative?

All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.

Source & verification trail

Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗

Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗

Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗

Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.