Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship vide Gazette Notification No.G.S.R.686 (E) dated September 25, 2019, notified the Apprenticeship (Amendment) Rules, 2019 with, inter-alia, below changes:
- 7 (seven) definition clauses are inserted, which includes ‘degree apprentice’, and 'fresher apprentice’
- The period of apprenticeship is increased from maximum 2 (two) years to maximum 3 (three) years
- A new rule is added to exempt applicability of any labour laws to an apprentice and to consider an apprentice as a trainee and not a worker
- Every establishment employing 30 (thirty) or more number of workers shall compulsorily engage apprentice [earlier it was not obligatory to engage apprentices for an establishment with 40 (forty) or more workers]
- Ratio of apprentices to workers in a financial year is increased from 10% to 15% and a minimum of 5% is to be reserved for fresher apprentices and skill certificate holders
- Minimum rates of stipend payable to apprentices are increased from INR 4984 per month to INR 9,000 per month for graduate apprentices or degree apprentices
- Prohibition of engaging trade apprentices between 10 pm to 6 am is removed for apprentices above the age of eighteen. For those below eighteen, working hours to be between 8 am to 6 pm only.
- Schedule-I Group 35 is amended to include computer hardware and network technician
Source: http://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2019/212757.pdf