Labour Hub › OSHWC Code › Sections › Section 129

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

Section 129: Power to exempt public institution

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 129 — Defines the statutory power concerning exempt public institution and the conditions attached to its exercise. Key operative text: The appropriate Government may exempt, subject to such conditions as it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing process is carried on and which is attached to a public institution maintained for…

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

The appropriate Government may exempt, subject to such conditions as it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing process is carried on and which is attached to a public institution maintained for the purposes of education, training, research or information, from all or any of the provisions of this Code:
Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the institution or who are inmates for the institution, and the…

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…

Thresholds and timelines in the text

Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Appropriate Government

Full statutory text — Section 129

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.

129. Power to exempt public institution.—The appropriate Government may exempt, subject to such
conditions as it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing process is
carried on and which is attached to a public institution maintained for the purposes of education, training,
research or information, from all or any of the provisions of this Code:
   Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and
holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate
Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of
the persons employed in or attending the institution or who are inmates for the institution, and the
appropriate Government is satisfied that the provisions of the scheme are not less favourable than the
corresponding provisions of this Code.

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — The appropriate Government may exempt, subject to such conditions as it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing process is carried on and which is attached to a public institution maintained for the purposes of education, training, research or information, from all or any of the provisions of this Code:
Additional operative limb — Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the institution or who are inmates for the institution, and the…
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…
Numerical or timing control — Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…
Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Appropriate Government.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 129 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Forms mapped

No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.

Other sections cited in this text

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

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 power to exempt public institution, 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: “Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, inte” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result.

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 129

What does Section 129 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 129?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “The appropriate Government may exempt, subject to such conditions as it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing process is carried on and which is attached to a public institution maintained for the purposes of education, training, research or information, from all or any of the provisions of this Code:” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 129 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…”

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 129?

The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “Provided that no such exemption shall be granted from the provisions relating to hours of work and holidays unless the persons having the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the appropriate Government, a scheme of the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the…” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 129?

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 129 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.