Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 70

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

Section 70: Employment of persons below eighteen years of age

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 70 — Governs employment of persons below eighteen years of age and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 202670 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) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), apprentices and other trainees, not below sixteen years of age, may be allowed to work, under proper supervision, in a mine or part thereof by the manager as referred to in section 67:
Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector-cum- Facilitator or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall be obtained before they are allowed to work.
(3) The Central Government may prescribe the provisions for medical examination of apprentice, other trainee and employee in the mine to ensure their fitness to work and to prevent the persons below sixteen years of age to work as apprentice or trainee and those who are not adults to work as such employee.

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector-cum- Facilitator or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall be obtained before they are allowed to work.
Explanation.—In this section, “apprentice” means an apprentice as defined in clause (a) of section 2 of the Apprentices Act, 1961(52 of 1961).

Thresholds and timelines in the text

Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.—(1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), apprentices and other trainees, not below sixteen years of age, may be allowed to work, under proper supervision, in a mine or part thereof by the manager as referred to in section 67:
(3) The Central Government may prescribe the provisions for medical examination of apprentice, other trainee and employee in the mine to ensure their fitness to work and to prevent the persons below sixteen years of age to work as apprentice or trainee and those who are not adults to work as such employee.

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Employee / worker, Central Government, Inspector-cum-Facilitator

Full statutory text — Section 70

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.

70. Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.—(1) No person below eighteen years of
age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
   (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), apprentices and other trainees, not below
sixteen years of age, may be allowed to work, under proper supervision, in a mine or part thereof by the
manager as referred to in section 67:
   Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector-cum-
Facilitator or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall be obtained before they are allowed to work.
   (3) The Central Government may prescribe the provisions for medical examination of apprentice,
other trainee and employee in the mine to ensure their fitness to work and to prevent the persons below
sixteen years of age to work as apprentice or trainee and those who are not adults to work as such
employee.
   Explanation.—In this section, “apprentice” means an apprentice as defined in clause (a) of section 2 of
the Apprentices Act, 1961(52 of 1961).

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
Additional operative limb — (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), apprentices and other trainees, not below sixteen years of age, may be allowed to work, under proper supervision, in a mine or part thereof by the manager as referred to in section 67:
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector-cum- Facilitator or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall be obtained before they are allowed to work.
Numerical or timing control — Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.—(1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.
Central Rule mapping — 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176. 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: Employee / worker, Central Government, Inspector-cum-Facilitator.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 70 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

Section 67

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 employment of persons below eighteen years of age, 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: “Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.—(1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176.

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 70

What does Section 70 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 70?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 70 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that in the case of trainees, other than apprentices, prior approval of the Chief Inspector-cum- Facilitator or an Inspector-cum-Facilitator shall be obtained before they are allowed to work.”

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 70?

The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “Employment of persons below eighteen years of age.—(1) No person below eighteen years of age shall be allowed to work in any mine or part thereof.” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 70?

The current concordance maps Section 70 to Central Rule(s) 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176.

Is Section 70 currently operative?