Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in India
Social Justice & Development
- PYQs8
- Articles1
Background
UPSC cares about OSH as it's a critical aspect of social justice, labour welfare, economic development, and governance. Industrial accidents highlight regulatory failures, the plight of vulnerable workers, and the need for effective policy implementation and enforcement.
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) refers to the laws, standards, and programs aimed at protecting the safety, health, and welfare of people engaged in work. In India, OSH is governed by various statutes and regulations, including the recently enacted Labour Codes, aiming to prevent workplace accidents, injuries, and illnesses.
Facts & tables
- Persistent Safety Failures
- Indian industry frequently experiences accidents due to failures in basic safety management and a 'cost over safety' mindset.
- Common Causes
- Lack of proper ventilation, protective equipment, rescue protocols in confined spaces, and inadequate maintenance are recurring issues.
- Vulnerability of Contract Labour
- Contracted workers face higher risks due to less training and fragmented accountability, contributing significantly to accident patterns.
- Policy Context
- Accidents highlight challenges in the gradual implementation of India's new occupational safety framework, alongside old problems like manpower shortages and class-based exposure to hazardous labour.
| Type | Reference |
|---|---|
| Conceptual area | Labor & Demographic Economics |
| Conceptual area | Welfare Schemes & Social Policies |
| Body | Role |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Labour and Employment | Formulates policies and oversees implementation of osh standards |
| Directorate General Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) | Provides advisory, training, and research on osh to industries and government |
Prelims angle
Prelims angle: Multi-statement analysis
Prelims angle: Factual recall
- OSH aims to protect worker safety, health, and welfare.
- Indian industry faces persistent safety failures due to management lapses.
- Key issues: 'cost over safety' mindset, manpower shortages, contract labour vulnerability.
- New OSH framework (Labour Codes) implementation is ongoing but faces challenges.
- Accidents often stem from accumulation of organizational weaknesses.
| Year | Framing tags |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Factual recall, Conceptual understanding |
| 2023 | Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures |
| 2022 | Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall |
| 2021 | Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall |
| 2018 | Multi-statement analysis, Conceptual understanding |
| 2018 | Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures |
| 2017 | Factual recall, Multi-statement analysis |
| 2016 | Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures |
Timeline
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Labor & Demographic Economics
Conceptual area
-
Welfare Schemes & Social Policies
Conceptual area
-
Prelims 2016
Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
-
Prelims 2017
Factual recall, Multi-statement analysis
-
Prelims 2018
Multi-statement analysis, Conceptual understanding
-
Prelims 2018
Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
-
Prelims 2021
Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
-
Prelims 2022
Multi-statement analysis, Factual recall
-
Prelims 2023
Multi-statement analysis, Policy measures
-
Prelims 2024
Factual recall, Conceptual understanding
-
Foreseeable accidents: On the recent industrial accidents in India
OSH in India faces challenges like poor enforcement, cost-cutting leading to safety compromises, and vulnerability of contract workers, despite ongoing policy reforms and the introduction of new Labour Codes.
See also
Past papers
2016–2024 · 8 questions
In the news
Foreseeable accidents: On the recent industrial accidents in India
OSH in India faces challenges like poor enforcement, cost-cutting leading to safety compromises, and vulnerability of contract workers, despite ongoing policy reforms and the introduction of new Labour Codes.
Try these PYQs
With reference to Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, consider the following statements:
1. Private and public hospitals must adopt it.
2. As it aims to achieve universal health coverage, every citizen of India should be part of it ultimately.
3. It has seamless portability across the country.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission aims to provide digital health IDs for all Indian citizens to help hospitals, insurance firms, and citizens access health records electronically when required. Statement 1 is incorrect. Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has not made it mandatory for adoption by private and public hospitals. Its adoption so far would be voluntary. Participation in ABDM is voluntary including for citizens. Participation of a healthcare facility or an institution is also voluntary and shall be taken by the respective management (government or private management). Statement 2 is incorrect. The aim of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is to facilitate the ease of access to medical records and it is not been mandated to have every citizen as its part though the facility is available to every citizen on a consent basis. Statement 3 is correct. ABDM will have a national footprint and will enable seamless portability across the country through a Health ID Personal Health Identifier.
Consider the following statements in relation to Janani Suraksha Yojana:
1. It is safe motherhood intervention of the State Health Departments.
2. Its objective is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality among poor pregnant women.
3. It aims to promote institutional delivery among poor pregnant women.
4. Its objective includes providing public health facilities to sick infants up to one year of age.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Statement 1 is incorrect: Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a 100% Centrally Sponsored Scheme under the National Health Mission (NHM). It is a central intervention implemented by states, not an intervention of the State Health Departments. Statement 2 is correct: The primary objective is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by encouraging safe, institutional births. Statement 3 is correct: The scheme provides a cash incentive to mothers to promote institutional delivery, particularly among those from BPL, SC, and ST households. Statement 4 is incorrect: While care for sick infants is a priority under the National Health Mission, the provision of free facilities for sick infants up to one year of age is specifically a feature of the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) launched in 2011. JSY, launched in 2005, is primarily a conditional cash transfer scheme for delivery.
Which of the following is/are the aim/aims of "Digital India" Plan of the Government of India?
1. Formation of India's own Internet companies like China did.
2. Establish a policy framework to encourage overseas multinational corporations that collect Big Data to build their large data centres within our national geographical boundaries.
3. Connect many of our villages to the Internet and bring Wi-Fi to many of our school, public places and major tourist centres
Select the correct answer using the code given below
* Statement 1 is not correct: The formation of India’s own internet companies, similar to China’s approach, is not an aim of the Digital India programme. The initiative focuses on creating digital infrastructure, providing digital services, and promoting digital literacy — not establishing government-backed internet firms. * Statement 2 is not correct: The Digital India plan does not include any policy framework to attract foreign multinational corporations to build data centres in India. While data localisation and data centre policies have emerged later under different frameworks, they are not part of the original Digital India objectives. * Statement 3 is correct: One of the key aims of Digital India is to connect villages through broadband and to provide Wi-Fi access in schools, public places, and tourist centres. This is part of its core pillars like Broadband Highways, Public Internet Access Programme, and Early Harvest Programmes.
Consider the following statements:
1. The Factories Act, 1881 was passed with a view to fix the wages of industrial workers and to allow the workers to form trade unions.
2. N.M. Lokhande was a pioneer in organizing the labour movement in British India.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
Statement 1 is incorrect. The Factories Act of 1881 did not address worker wages or the formation of trade unions. Its primary focus was on improving working conditions, especially for children. It limited working hours for children, prohibited child labour under a certain age, and mandated breaks during the workday. Statement 2 is correct. N.M. Lokhande is indeed considered a pioneer of the labour movement in British India. He actively campaigned for better working conditions and worker rights.
With reference to Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, consider the following statements
1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
2. It, among other things, will also impart training in soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial and digital literacy.
3. It aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the National Skill Qualification Framework.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Statement 1 is Incorrect. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) is responsible for PMKVY, not the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Statement 2 is Correct. PMKVY goes beyond technical skills training and incorporates soft skills, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and digital literacy to make participants more employable. Statement 3 is Correct. A core objective of PMKVY is to bridge the gap between the skills of the unregulated workforce and industry requirements by aligning them with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF). This standardization helps ensure a minimum level of competency and improves employment opportunities.
Show 3 more PYQs
With reference to the casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements:
1. All casual workers are entitled for Employees Provident Fund coverage.
2. All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment.
3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account.
Which of the above statements are correct?
Statement 1 is not correct: The Government had launched a scheme viz Casual Labourers (Grant of Temporary Status and Regularization) Scheme of Government of India, 1993. As per the scheme, Temporary status would be conferred on all casual labourers who were in employment and who have rendered a continuous service of at least one year, which means that they must have been engaged for at least 240 days (206 days in case of offices observing 5 days week). Statement 2 is correct: The Supreme Court has decreed that casual workers are also entitled to social security benefits as stipulated in the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act. The Court's ruling stemmed from its interpretation of Section 2(f) of the EPF Act, wherein the definition of an "employee" encompasses a broad scope, including any individual engaged directly or indirectly in connection with an establishment's work and receiving wages. A bench of the Supreme Court affirmed this viewpoint. Statement 3 is correct: The government has the authority to specify through a notification that an establishment or industry is obligated to disburse wages exclusively via its bank account.
With reference to ‘Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion’, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. This initiative aims to demonstrate the improved production and post-harvest technologies and to demonstrate value addition techniques, in an integrated manner, with a cluster approach.
2. Poor, small, marginal and tribal farmers have a larger stake in this scheme.
3. An important objective of the scheme is to encourage farmers of commercial crops to shift to millet cultivation by offering them free kits of critical inputs of nutrients and micro-irrigation equipment.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Statement 1 is correct. The Initiative for Nutritional Security through Intensive Millets Promotion aims to demonstrate improved production and post-harvest technologies in an integrated manner with a cluster approach. Statement 2 is also correct. Millets are mainly grown in regions of low annual rainfall and poor arid soil. It is inadequate, small, marginal and tribal farmers, who cannot afford costly irrigation practices, depend on the cultivation of millets. Hence these farmers benefit from the scheme and have a larger stake in this scheme. Statement 3 is not correct. There is no such provision to encourage commercial crop farmers to shift to millet cultivation.
With reference to the 'Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan', consider the following statements:
1. This scheme guarantees a minimum package of antenatal care services to women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy and six months post-delivery health care service in any government health facility.
2. Under this scheme, private sector health care providers of certain specialities can volunteer to provide services at nearby government health facilities.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
* Statement 1: Incorrect. The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) provides a minimum package of antenatal care (ANC) services only during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. It does not cover post-delivery health care services for six months. The focus is on ensuring safe pregnancies through early detection and management of high-risk cases. * Statement 2: Correct. Under PMSMA, private sector health care providers (such as gynecologists, radiologists, and physicians) can volunteer to provide free services at nearby government health facilities on the 9th of every month. This public-private partnership enhances access to specialized care for pregnant women.