Panaji: The Goa government on Thursday passed a Bill in the Legislative Assembly seeking to amend provisions of the Factories Act, 1948 to extend daily working hours in factories and increase the permissible limit for overtime work.
The Factories (Goa Amendment) Bill, 2025 was tabled by State Factories and Boilers Minister Nilkanth Halarnkar on Thursday during the ongoing monsoon session of the House.
The Bill amends section 54 of the Central Act, as applicable to Goa, by enhancing the daily limit of working hours for adult workers from the existing nine hours to ten hours.
It also seeks to amend Section 65 of the Act to raise the maximum number of overtime hours permitted in a quarter from 125 to 144 hours.
The statement of objects and reasons attached to the Bill states that the proposed amendments are aimed at facilitating the Ease of Doing Business by reforming and simplifying regulatory frameworks.
“The amendments will provide greater flexibility in factory operations and align with evolving industrial needs while ensuring compliance with statutory safeguards,” the Bill notes.
The government has clarified that the proposed changes do not entail any financial implications and no delegated legislation is envisaged under the Bill.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant told the House that the Bill would be referred to the President of India’s assent before implementing it.
