Confined Space Entry Requirements in India

India's main statutory confined-space rule was section 36 of the Factories Act, 1948. Since 21 November 2025 that Act stands repealed by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (OSH Code), which leaves the detailed confined-space requirements to standards the Central Government is to notify. Until those arrive, rules made under the repealed Acts stay in force where they don't contradict the Code. Sewers and septic tanks fall under a separate law, the Manual Scavengers Act, 2013.

Approach: I searched the DGFASLI document library and the Indian chemical-safety rules, which hold only training material on confined spaces. The legal text comes from the Gazette copy of the OSH Code, the Labour Ministry's Factories Act text, handbook and FAQs, and the Social Justice Ministry's Gazette copy of the 2013 Act.

1. Legal status after the Labour Codes

• Commencement: the Ministry's March 2026 FAQs say the Codes took effect on 21.11.2025 (FAQs, 16.03.2026).
• Repeal: s.143(1) repeals the Factories Act, 1948, the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986, the BOCW Act, 1996, the Mines Act, 1952 and nine other Acts (OSH Code, Gazette text, p.76).
• Savings: under s.143(3), any rule, regulation or notification made under the repealed Acts "shall remain in force to the extent they are not contrary to the provisions of this Code till they are repealed by the Central Government" (p.77).
• Who regulates factories: for a factory, the "appropriate Government" is the State where it is located (s.2(1)(d)(ii)). So each State's factory rules continue under the savings clause. I did not review individual State rules.

2. OSH Code provisions that cover confined spaces

• Standards to come (s.18): the Central Government "shall declare, by notification, standards" for factories, mines, docks, construction and other workplaces. These include the matters in the Second Schedule. A State may amend them with the Centre's prior approval (s.18(4)).
• Second Schedule items that apply:
  • (16) "precautions against dangerous fumes, gases, etc."
  • (17) "precautions regarding the use of portable electric light"
  • (13) pits, sumps and floor openings
  • (39) means of escape for dock workers in holds, bins and hoppers
  • (41) dangerous or harmful environments at docks
  • (58) for construction, preventing inhalation of dust, fumes, gases or vapours and "adequate ventilation of every working place or confined space"
• General duties: the employer "shall ensure that workplace is free from hazards which cause or are likely to cause injury or occupational disease" (s.6(1)(a)). Under s.14, workers may report a likely "imminent serious personal injury or death" to the employer and the Inspector-cum-Facilitator at the same time.
• Competent person: this is now a person or institution recognised by the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator (s.2(1)(l)).
• Rules and standards still pending: the Ministry's February 2026 employer handbook says "details will be prescribed in the Rules that the Central Government will notify" (Compliance Handbook, p.4). The March 2026 FAQs still describe the Central Rules as draft (FAQ, 13.03.2026). I found no notified s.18 confined-space standard.

3. The repealed Factories Act rule (historical text)

These sections no longer apply in their own right, but they are the basis of the State factory rules that remain in force (Factories Act text, Labour Ministry, p.23):

• s.36(1): no person "shall be required or allowed to enter" any chamber, tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined space where gas, fume, vapour or dust may be present enough to overcome a person, unless it has "a manhole of adequate size or other effective means of egress."
• s.36(2): before entry, all practicable measures must be taken to remove the gas, fume, vapour or dust to within permissible limits and to stop it getting back in. In addition, one of these must apply:
  • (a) a competent person has given a written certificate, based on a test they carried out themselves, that the space is reasonably free from dangerous gas, fume, vapour or dust; or
  • (b) the entrant wears suitable breathing apparatus and a belt attached to a rope whose free end is held by someone outside.
• s.36A: inside such spaces, no portable electric light or appliance above 24 volts unless adequate safety devices are provided. Where flammable gas, fume or dust is likely, only flame-proof lamps or lights may be used.

4. Sewers and septic tanks: Manual Scavengers Act, 2013

From the Social Justice Ministry's Gazette copy (MS Act, 2013):

• Commencement: a notification dated 1 October 2013 brought the Act into force on 6 December 2013.
• "Hazardous cleaning" (s.2(1)(d)): manual cleaning of a sewer or septic tank without the employer providing protective gear and other cleaning devices and ensuring safety precautions are observed, "as may be prescribed or provided in any other law."
• Prohibition (s.7): no person, local authority or agency "shall" employ anyone for hazardous cleaning of a sewer or septic tank. This applies from a date each State notifies, no later than one year after commencement.
• Penalties (s.9):
  • first offence: up to two years' imprisonment, a fine up to two lakh rupees, or both;
  • repeat offence: up to five years' imprisonment, a fine up to five lakh rupees, or both.
• Mechanised cleaning (s.33): local authorities and agencies have a duty to use "appropriate technological appliances" for cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
• Rules not checked: the 2013 Rules hold the actual gear list and entry precautions. I couldn't open an official copy, so I give none of their figures.

5. Construction, docks and DGFASLI practice

• Not confirmed: I couldn't open official copies of the BOCW Central Rules, 1998 or the Dock Workers Regulations, which are expected to carry confined-space and harmful-environment provisions. Both stay in force under s.143(3) as far as they don't contradict the Code. I also did not check the mining regulations.
• What DGFASLI teaches: its institutes run courses on "Permit-to-Work related provisions in confined Space Work and Hot Work", emergency response and rescue ^[1]. Its excavation course covers "Safe Confined Space Entry", the work permit system, IS 3764:1992 and IS 4756:1978 ^[2]. Its September 2026 course covers oxygen deficiency or enrichment, toxic and flammable gases, and engulfment ^[3]. These are training notices, not law.

If you tell me the State and the type of site (factory, port, construction or municipal sewer work), I can look for that State's factory rules or sewer-cleaning provisions next.