Andhra cabinet okays bill for women to do night shifts in factories

THe Andhra Pradesh storage locker chaired by chief government minister N Chandrababu Naidu on midweek sanctioned an amendment to the Factories move, 1948, that will allow women to work night shifts in factories with adequate safety and transport facilities.The cabinet approved amendments to several key sections of the Factories Act, 1948, said state information and public relations minister Kolusu Parthasarathy. “Accordingly, the AP Factories Amendment Bill, 2025 will be passed in the assembly to reduce procedural burdens on industries. Women will be allowed to work night shifts with adequate safety and transport facilities,” the minister said.According to the bill, women employees would be allowed to work in night shifts between 7pm and 6am. This would be applicable only after obtaining prior written consent of the employees, as well as providing them pick-up and drop off facilities and other security measures, he said.The minister further said that the cabinet felt that there would be increased investments in the industrial sector only if labour laws were relaxed. “At present, women employees working in factories are entitled to do overtime work only for 50-75 hours every three months. Now, the cabinet has decided to amend the Factories Act, relaxing conditions to enable women employees to do 144 hours of overtime work,” said Parthasarathy.The cabinet also approved the home department’s proposal to grant special remission to 17 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment, eligible as on February 1, 2025. The order follows the issuance of permanent guidelines for premature release of prisoners sentenced to life in accordance with orders of the Supreme Court.“Prisoners who have undergone an actual sentence of 14 years for offences punishable with death and 7 years for offences punishable with life imprisonment are eligible for this remission,” he said.The minister said prisoners released through remission will have to appear before the police station in their jurisdiction once every three months. If the released prisoners commit any crime later, their remission will be cancelled, he added.The cabinet further approved a proposal by the information technology, electronics and communications department for establishment of Andhra Pradesh State Quantum Mission (SQM), under which Quantum Valley will be established in Amaravati for undertaking research in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity by working with institutions like IIT Madras, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and IBM.“It will help attract world-class researchers and bring international investments to the state,” he said. Total of 50 acres of land have been allocated for the development of Quantum Valley in Amaravati through Andhra Pradesh capital region development authority (APCRDA) and a detailed project report has been submitted, said the minister. “IBM will deploy their “156-qubit Quantum System 2” in the state, while TCS will partner in software development and L&T will participate in the development of Quantum Valley Tech Park,” he added, and further said that a Quantum Summit will be organized in June 2025 to develop strategic action plans with international experts.