Now, Rajasthan set to amend Apprentices Act

Expected to help industry get skilled workers and generate more opportunities for the state's youth

After announcing a series of labour reforms to attract investment in Rajasthan, the state government has now decided to amend another central law, the Apprentices Act, 1961. It is expected the move will help industry get skilled workers and generate more opportunities for the state’s youth.

The Act was last amended in 1973, when the training of graduates and diploma holders in engineering and technology was brought under its purview.

Since the Vasundhara Raje-led government came to power in Rajasthan in December 2013, 18 companies have either invested or are in the process of investing Rs 34,380 crore in the state. Raje’s government has already announced it will amend the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Factories Act, 1948, and the Contract Labour Act, 1970. These Acts, along with the Apprentices Act, fall under the Concurrent List; amendments to these require the state Assembly’s and, subsequently, the President’s assent. These amendments will be taken up by the Rajasthan Assembly in two weeks.

“Amendments will be made in the Apprentices Act, 1961, to create larger opportunities of employment for the youth,” Raje announced on micro-blogging site Twitter late on Monday.

State parliamentary affairs minister Rajendra Rathore said, “The state will be able to fix the number of apprentice-training related seats in industry and establishments. And, the stipend for apprentices will be no less than the minimum wage. The state government will bear half the cost to train apprentices, if their number exceeds 250,” he said.

The Apprentices Act controls and regulates training of apprentices. Currently, the Act covers 254 categories of industries. According to the Act, it is obligatory for these establishments to appoint apprentices and impart theoretical and practical training to them.

Sources in the state government say after the amendments, the appointment of apprentices will be voluntary and industry will be allowed to design courses according to their needs. “We are not changing the provisions of the Act regarding the punishment. What we are doing is making it more flexible. There will be less prosecution in such cases. The intention is to generate more employment the way we are doing through amendments to other three Acts,” Rajiv Mehrishi, chief secretary of Rajasthan, told Business Standard.

“The Apprentices Act, 1961, was written for a very different India. It has scared away employers because it requires an employer to seek a licence for every apprentice. It has imprisonment provisions for not engaging with the Act. Also, it micro-specifies location, duration and trades,” said Manish Sabharwal, who headed the Planning Commission’s sub-committee on remodelling India’s apprenticeship regime. “Apprentices are vital to building skills,” he adds.

India has only 300,000 apprentices, compared with three million in Germany, 10 million in Japan and 10 million in China. The Act was last amended in 1973 to bring the training of graduate and diploma holders in engineering and technology under its purview.
RAJASTHAN REFORMS
Why employers not keen on appointing apprentices under the current Act:

• Separate permissions from both state and central governments
• Only a few trades from the services sector are covered
• Complex and cumbersome record-keeping process
• Stipend is governed by the Act
• Act decides ratio of apprentices-to-workers
• Training period is decided by the government
• Apprentices cannot be terminated during training
• Training cost is high
• Employer faces imprisonment of six years or fine or both for violating the rules under the Act
• Training curriculum are outdated