The four labour codes that have captured headlines since late November 2025 are likely to be fully operational from April 1, 2026, as the ministry has begun enforcing rules under the notified law.
On November 21, 2025, the four labour codes – Code on Wages, 2019, Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 – were notified.
To enforce any law, the government needs to notify rules under that to operationalise the legislation. Before that, the central and state governments are required to pre-publish the draft rules for public feedback.
On December 3, 2025, Labour & Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya revealed that the draft rules under the four labour codes will be revealed shortly, while addressing CII IndiaEdge 2025. The minister said that, earlier, the central government as well as states had pre-published draft rules. However, he added, that was a long time ago, and now there is a need to bring the draft rules back in sync with the present times.
As per a senior official, the government will allot 45 days for public comments after the draft rules are pre-published, before finalising the ones for final notification. The official added that the government plans to enforce these rules from April 1, 2026, which will mark the beginning of fiscal year 2026-207.
While answering queries, Minister Mandaviya explained that the number of working hours for a worker is still 8 hours per day under the new codes, which will replace 29 fragmented laws with a unified, modern framework. As per the minister, the new framework will provide workers with the option of overtime, which is an international practice.
Minister Mandaviya stated that the government aims to provide social security to 100 crore workers by March 2026, up from the current 94 crore. The social security coverage expanded from 19% in 2015 to over 64% in 2025.
As labour is part of the concurrent subject list, centre and state governments will have to notify the rules under the four codes in order to enforce them across the country. These codes are meant to be the next transformative step by broadening worker protection, easing business operations and promoting a pro-worker labour ecosystem.
Minister Mandaviya also highlighted various provisions of the labour codes, like mandatory appointment letter, free health check-up for workers of the age of 40 years and above, equal work, equal pay and equal opportunity for women for work in different shifts.
