Decriminalising offences under Apprenticeship Act to boost skilling

Under the amended section 30, there will be advisory for first-time offenders and censure for subsequent offences, and thereafter, leading to penalties, if any

In a bid to boost India’s skilling ecosystem and help the industry absorb more apprentices, the government has replaced penalties under the Apprenticeship Act, 1961 with advisories, censures, and graded fines.

 

The move is part of the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025. Earlier, Section 30 of the Apprenticeship Act prescribed penalties in the form of fines for non-compliance — which included not hiring apprentices, furnishing false information, or failing to maintain work conditions.

 

For example, a fine of ₹500 per apprenticeship is slapped for the first three months and thereafter ₹1,000 per month is charged till the number of seats is filled up in case a company failed to engage requisite apprentices.

 

Under the amended Section 30, there will be advisory for first-time offenders and censure for subsequent offences, and thereafter, it will lead to penalties, if any. Earlier in 2014, a prison term of six months for offences listed under Section 30 was done away with.

 

Experts believe the move will not just encourage adoption, but also improve outcomes. “Earlier, employers faced criminal prosecution for trivial issues like procedural lapses and tactical contraventions. By decriminalising, the government has replaced fear with facilitation. The new framework introduces advisory for first offence and graded penalties for subsequent ones.

 

This is a welcome step and will help in aligning with the broader national objective of scaling up apprenticeships as a key pillar of workforce readiness, benefitting the industry to build a future-ready workforce,” said Rishi Agrawal, co-founder, TeamLease RegTech. 

 

Legal expert Ashwini Kumar says that the change will result in better implementation of the law and protect against unintentional lapses. In the long run, the burden on the appellate judicial system will see a systematic decrease as more people would prefer paying fines.

 

The National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) is the flagship programme of the skill ministry to promote apprenticeship in the country. Launched in August 2016, the scheme is currently in its second phase and covers 49 sectors. Under this, the central government shares partial stipend support, limited to 25 per cent of the minimum prescribed stipend payable to apprentices.

 

It is subject to a maximum of ₹1,500 per apprentice per month during the training period.

 

The stipend support is disbursed directly to the apprentices’ bank accounts through the direct benefit transfer (DBT) mechanism.

Latest data shows that nearly 400,000 apprentices have been engaged under the scheme till July in the current financial year, against a target of 1.3 million apprentices. Since its inception, a total of 4.1 million apprentices have been engaged across the country from FY19 to July 2025. Of this, over 2.1 million have completed their apprenticeship training.