Daily Current Affairs – 22 November 2025

Explore the Daily Current Affairs 22 November 2025, relevant for UPSC exam. Download quick REVISION NOTES from our telegram channel – https://t.me/CivilMentorIAS.

	Pre Labour Reforms	Post Labour Reforms
Formalisation of Employment	No mandatory appointment letters	Mandatory appointment letters to all workers. Written proof will ensure transparency, job security, and fixed employment.
Social Security Coverage	Limited Social Security Coverage	Under Code on Social Security, 2020 all workers including gig & platform workers to get social security coverage. All workers will get PF, ESIC, insurance, and other social security benefits.
Minimum Wages	Minimum wages applied only to scheduled industries/employments; large sections of workers remained uncovered	Under the Code on Wages, 2019, all workers to receive a statutory right minimum wage payment. Minimum wages and timely payment will ensure financial security.
Preventive Healthcare	No legal requirement for employers to provide free annual health check-ups to workers	Employers must provide all workers above the age of 40 years with a free annual health check-up. Promote timely preventive healthcare culture
Timely Wages	No mandatory compliance for employers payment of wages	Mandatory for employers to provide timely wages, ensuring financial stability, reducing work stress and boosting overall morale of the workers.
Women workforce participation	Women’s employment in night shifts and certain occupations was restricted	Women are permitted to work at night and in all types of work across all establishments, subject to their consent and required safety measures. Women will get equal opportunities to earn higher incomes – in high paying job roles.
ESIC coverage	ESIC coverage was limited to notified areas and specific industries; establishments with fewer than 10 employees were generally excluded, and hazardous-process units did not have uniform mandatory ESIC coverage across India	ESIC coverage and benefits are extended Pan-India – voluntary for establishments with fewer than 10 employees, and mandatory for establishments with even one employee engaged in hazardous processes. Social protection coverage will be expanded to all workers.
Compliance Burden	Multiple registrations, licenses and returns across various labour laws.	Single registration, PAN-India single license and single return. Simplified processes and reduction in Compliance Burden.

Other sector specific reforms:

1. Gig & Platform Workers: ‘Gig work’, ‘Platform work’, and ‘Aggregators’ have been defined for the first time. Aggregators must contribute 1–2% of the annual turnover, capped at 5% of the amount paid/payable to gig and platform workers.
2. Women Workers: Women are permitted to work night shifts and in all types of work (including underground mining and heavy machinery), subject to their consent and mandatory safety measures.
3. Youth Workers: To ensure a decent standard of living, workers will receive wages as per the floor wage determined by the Central Government.
4. Beedi & Cigar Workers: Minimum wages guaranteed for all. Working hours capped at 8 -12 hours per day, 48 hours per week has been capped.
5. Plantation Workers: Plantation workers are now brought under the OSHWC Code and the Social Security Code.
6. IT & ITES Workers: Release of Salary mandatory by the 7th of every month. Transparency and trust ensured.

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Key Takeaways from the Judgment:

1. No fixed timelines: The Court rejected mandatory timelines for Governors/President to act on Bills, calling it judicial overreach and a violation of separation of powers.
2. No “deemed assent”: It struck down the idea that inaction for a defined period leads to automatic assent, overruling its earlier April 2025 judgment.
3. Governors not fully bound by Council of Ministers: The Court held Governors’ powers under Articles 200 – 201 are “constitutional functions”, not strictly tied to ministerial advice.
4. Reservation option always open: Even if the Assembly re-passes a Bill after reconsideration, the Governor may still reserve it for the President.
5. Presidential assent has no accountability mechanism: The President is not required to follow a timeline or give reasons, nor can the Court compel a decision.
6. Only limited judicial remedy: A “limited mandamus” may be issued for extreme delay—but with no definition of what constitutes delay.

Major concerns:

• Potential for indefinite delays: Without timelines, Governors can sit on Bills indefinitely—no legal consequences.
• Weakening of elected State legislatures: Even a reconsidered, re-passed Bill does not bind the Governor, contrary to parliamentary conventions.
• Undermining ministerial responsibility: Not treating the Council of Ministers’ advice as binding resurrects old discretionary powers removed by the framers.
• No remedy for Bills referred to the President: Once reserved, States cannot compel action or re-pass the Bill for binding approval.
• Encourages political misuse: Historically, such delays have occurred in many Opposition-ruled States (Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana).

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Proposed guidelines:

1. Definition of Obscene Digital Content: Formal definition under IT Act Sec 67, Cable TV Act 1995, Cinematograph Act 1952, IPC/BNS.
2. New “Obscenity” Section in Code of Ethics: Platforms must avoid content that is:
   • Indecent, vulgar, suggestive, obscene
   • Repulsive or offensive
   • Portrays criminality as desirable
   • Shows “slandering, ironical, snobbish” attitude towards ethnic/linguistic groups
   • Harmful to public morals or children
   • Likely to provoke violence or social disharmony
3. OTT Platforms Compliance: Content must be fit for public exhibition under Cinematograph Act.
4. Application Across Digital Media: Applies to social media, OTT, digital news uniformly.

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Daily Current Affairs 22 November 2025

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