Factories Act, 1948 · Chapter VII: Employment of Young Persons
Section 71: Working hours for children
The Factories Act, 1948 was repealed and replaced by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 from 21 November 2025. It still applies to matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides.
(1) No child shall be employed or permitted to work, in any factory—
(a) for more than four and a half hours in any day; [(b) during the night.
Explanation.—For the purpose of this sub-section “night” shall mean a period of at least twelve consecutive hours which shall include the interval between 10 P.M. and 6 A.M.]
(2) The period of work of all children employed in a factory shall be limited to two shifts which shall not overlap or spread over more than five hours each; and each child shall be employed in only one of the relays which shall not, except with the previous permission in writing of the Chief Inspector, be changed more frequently than once in a period of thirty days.
(3) The provisions of section 52 shall apply also to child workers and no exemption from the provisions of that section may be granted in respect of any child.
(4) No child shall be required or allowed to work in any factory on any day on which he has already been working in another factory. [(5) No female child shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between 8 A.M. and 7 P.M.]
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.