What replaced the CLRA Central Rules
The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, notified on 8 May 2026, supersede the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971 and fourteen other central rule sets. Employers now work with one electronic registration, one set of registers and one annual return, mostly through the Shram Suvidha portal.
Central or state rules? The Central Rules apply where the Central Government is the appropriate government (for example central PSUs, mines, railways, banks and some other sectors). Most private factories and establishments in Jharkhand fall under the state government. Tracker sources reviewed for this article showed Jharkhand's rules under the Codes still at draft stage. Until a state notifies final rules, its earlier rules continue under the savings provisions, so treat the central formats as the direction of travel and confirm the Jharkhand Gazette before switching forms.
Old versus new at a glance
| Item | Under the CLRA regime | Under the OSH Central Rules, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor licence threshold | 20 or more contract workers | 50 or more contract workers |
| Licence application | Paper or state portal | Form XXI, electronically on Shram Suvidha |
| Licence validity | Usually one year, renewed annually | Five years |
| Security deposit | Varied | Bank guarantee of ₹1,000 per contract worker covered, with caps for very large numbers |
| Multi-state work | Separate licences | A single licence can cover more than one state or all of India |
| Principal employer registration | Separate CLRA registration | Part of the unified establishment registration |
| Annual return | Separate contract labour return | Part III of the unified annual return in Form XVII, by the end of February |
Obligations to note
- Wages: contractors must pay within seven days after the end of the wage period. If a contractor fails to pay, the principal employer must step in.
- Work orders: the work order and its prescribed particulars must be reported electronically.
- Annual increment: workers regularly employed by a contractor under mutually accepted employment standards get an annual increment of at least 2% of wages.
- Registers and wage slips: contractors use the Code on Wages formats (Forms I, IV, V and IX).
Checklist for principal employers
- List every contractor with their current headcount, and identify who needs a licence at 50 or more workers.
- Check that existing registrations have been moved to the unified registration on Shram Suvidha.
- Add OSH Code compliance clauses to work orders: licence, wage dates, PF/ESI deposits and the 2% increment where it applies.
- Verify contractor wage payment and statutory deposits every month before releasing bills.
- Collect the data for Part III of Form XVII throughout the year, not in February.
Need help setting this up? See contract labour compliance services.
This article is general information on the law as reviewed on 6 November 2026, not legal advice. Forms and rules change, and state rules may differ from the Central Rules. Check the official Gazette notification for your state before acting, or get in touch for advice on your establishment.