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

Section 87: Emergency standards

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 87 — Governs emergency standards and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 20260 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) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may direct the Directorate General Occupational Safety and Health formerly known as the Directorate General of Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes or any Institution authorised in matters…

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

Central Government

Full statutory text — Section 87

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.
87. Emergency standards.—(1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of
safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where
the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may direct the Directorate General Occupational Safety and
Health formerly known as the Directorate General of Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes or any
Institution authorised in matters relating to standards of safety in hazardous processes, to lay down
emergency standards for enforcement of suitable standards in respect of such hazardous processes.
   (2) The emergency standards laid down under sub-section (1) shall, until they are incorporated in the
rules made under this Code, be enforceable and have the same effect as if they had been incorporated in
the rules made under this Code.

How to apply this provision

  1. Primary statutory test — (1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may direct the Directorate General Occupational Safety and Health formerly known as the Directorate General of Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes or any Institution authorised in matters…
  2. Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Central Government.
Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 87 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

Related Labour Hub resources

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 emergency standards, 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) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may direct the Directorate General Occupational Safety and Hea”

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 87

What does Section 87 of the OSHWC Code cover?

Section 87 — Governs emergency standards and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may…

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 87?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) Where the Central Government is satisfied that no standards of safety have been prescribed in respect of a hazardous process or class of hazardous processes, or where the standards so prescribed are inadequate, it may direct the Directorate General Occupational Safety and Health formerly known as the Directorate General of Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes or any Institution authorised in matters…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 87 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 87?

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

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 87?

No direct Central Rule is recorded in the current concordance. That does not exclude a relevant scheme, notification, State rule or enabling provision.

Is Section 87 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.

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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.
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Editorial owner: CA Nikhil Gupta · Official-source set checked 20 August 2026; provision-level professional review remains matter-specific
Educational purposes only. Exact notified law, rules, schemes, regulator instruments, judicial decisions, state overlays, portal behaviour and facts must be checked before reliance. Verify with a qualified professional.