Which Indian States Require CCTV to Run Women at Night (2026 Tracker)
Yes — most Indian states now require CCTV to run women on the night shift, but the exact rule varies by state. India's OSH Central Rules, 2026 make CCTV a standard condition for employing women 7 PM–6 AM; retention and other conditions are set state by state. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka confirm ~45-day retention scoped to the women's shift; several other states require cameras without a confirmed retention figure. Check your state below before you run the shift.
If you have ever searched this and been told "it depends on your state," you are not wrong — and that is exactly why we maintain a dated table instead of a slogan. The night shift is not a compliance trap; it is a door. A large share of India's manufacturing capacity sits idle after dusk because the second and third shifts are short of legally-clearable labour. In most states the law now says: install the safeguards, get written consent, and you may run women at night. CCTV is usually the cheapest item on that checklist. Get it right once and the shift is yours.
Key points
- The condition is real, but it is a permission, not a ban. State notifications say you may run women 7 PM–6 AM if you meet the safeguards. CCTV is one of them.
- CCTV is nearly universal in these notifications; retention length is not. Only some states name a number (commonly 45 days). Where no number is confirmed, do not assume — ask your factory inspectorate.
- The scope in Maharashtra is narrow. Rule 102-B's CCTV/retention duty is written around women's night shifts and their access routes/transport, not as a factory-wide surveillance mandate.
- Everything is in transition. The OSH Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and repeals the Factories Act, 1948; state Factories-Act notifications continue only until state rules under the OSH Code replace them. Treat every date below as "current, verify before you rely."
- Consent and transport matter as much as cameras. Every state pairs CCTV with written consent, safe transport (often GPS-tracked), lighting, women security/supervisors, and a working Internal Complaints Committee.
State-by-state tracker (dated, sourced)
The table below is scoped to the CCTV question for women's night-shift work. "Retention" means the minimum footage-storage window a state's rule names. Where a state requires cameras but names no number, we say so rather than guess. Rows marked not confirmed — verify mean we could not source the specific point to the standard this tracker holds.
| State | CCTV required for women night shift? | Retention | Other key conditions | Status / notified date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | Yes — Rule 102-B, scoped to women's night shift (7 PM–6 AM), workplace + access routes | 45 days (confirmed) | Written consent retained 3 yrs; min. 2 women on duty per location; safe transport home-to-factory; grievance meeting every 8 weeks; well-lit toilets/exits | Maharashtra Factories (Second Amendment) Rules, 2025 — notified 3 Oct 2025 | SCC Online, King Stubb & Kasiva |
| Gujarat | Yes — CCTV in and around the factory | 45 days (confirmed) | Women in batches of ≥10; women security at entry/exit; transport with female guard, CCTV + GPS; ≥1/3 supervisory staff women on night shift; 12-hr rest on shift change; written consent | Factories (Gujarat Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 — promulgated 1 Jul 2025 | JSA, Khaitan & Co |
| Karnataka | Yes — CCTV inside + surrounding areas + transport vehicles | ≥45 days (confirmed) | Women in batches of ≥10 and ≥2/3 of night-shift strength; written consent; fortnightly report to Inspector of Factories; 12-hr gap between shifts | Notification No. D 61 KaBaSe 2015 — dated 20 Nov 2019 (verify current status under Labour Codes) | greytHR, Agama Law |
| Haryana | Yes — CCTV coverage within and around the premises; CCTV/GPS in vehicles | Not confirmed — verify | Women in groups of ≥4; written consent (incl. supervisors/security); safe transport; POSH compliance; online self-certification within 2 weeks | Notification dated 4 Jul 2025, one-year window — revised 13 Oct 2025; confirm the live version and renewal | India Law, Trilegal |
| Uttar Pradesh | Yes — CCTV in factory premises + transport, with GPS | Not confirmed — verify | Blanket exemption for factories; written consent; safe transport; 7-day cure period for non-compliance | Notification dated 27 May 2022, conditions relaxed 19 Feb 2024 | AZB & Partners, greytHR |
| Rajasthan | Yes — CCTV in premises + transport, with GPS tracker | Not confirmed — verify | Shops & Establishments route; 3-yr exemption; written consent; safe transport | Notification dated 7 Mar 2024 (effective 19 Mar 2024, 3 yrs) | AZB & Partners |
| Tamil Nadu | Likely yes — CCTV named for transport vehicles; premises safeguards required. Factory-specific CCTV/retention text not confirmed — verify | Not confirmed — verify | Shops & Establishments: women 8 PM–6 AM with consent; safe transport; POSH; ≤10.5 hrs/day. Round-the-clock permission extended 3 yrs from 5 Jun 2025 | Multiple orders; latest S&E extension Jun 2025 (factory-side, verify) | JSA, Nishith Desai |
| Andhra Pradesh | Yes — CCTV at boarding/alighting points (by establishment or police) | Not confirmed — verify | Written consent; safe transport; well-lit passages/facilities; driver bio-data + pre-employment screening | Exemption route (verify current notification) | AZB & Partners, Nishith Desai |
| Telangana | Likely yes — transport with GPS + security mandated; explicit CCTV/retention text not confirmed — verify | Not confirmed — verify | Women 8:30 PM–6 AM; written consent; free transport with security; ≥5 women together; rest rooms, crèche, ladies' toilets | Exemption route (verify current notification) | greytHR, AZB & Partners |
| National baseline | Yes — CCTV surveillance listed among special conditions for women 7 PM–6 AM | Set by state rules (no single central number) | Written consent; safe pick-up/drop from residence; well-lit facilities; standard OSH safeguards | OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 — notified 8 May 2026 (state rules under the OSH Code still being framed) | SCC Online, Legality Simplified |
This tracker reflects notifications reported as of July 2026. States revise these orders frequently and many operate on annual-renewal exemptions, so confirm the live notification with your State Factory Inspectorate / Labour Commissioner before running the shift.
What this means for your floor
Read the table for your state, then act on three things:
- Cameras where the law looks. In Maharashtra the duty is framed around the women's night shift, their movement paths, and transport — not the whole plant. Cover entry/exit, walkways to toilets and rest rooms, boarding/alighting points, and the vehicle. That is a handful of well-placed cameras, not a re-wire.
- Retention you can prove. Where a number is confirmed (45 days in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka), your recorder must hold that window and let you export a clip on request. Where retention is not confirmed, ask your inspectorate — do not under-provision storage on a guess.
- Footage is personal data. Recording women workers pulls you into India's DPDP obligations too: signage, one stated purpose, minimisation, and access control. See DPDP and worker CCTV in Indian factories so the same cameras that unlock the shift don't create a second liability.
For the broader legal picture — consent, transport, ICC, and how the CCTV clause fits the full safeguard list — see our pillar guide on the women's night-shift CCTV requirement for factories.
Frequently asked questions
Which Indian states legally require CCTV to run women on night shifts in 2026? Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka explicitly require CCTV with a 45-day retention window, scoped to women's night-shift work. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh require CCTV coverage (premises and/or transport) but a specific retention figure is not confirmed in the sources we could verify. Tamil Nadu and Telangana mandate transport/premises safeguards including cameras, but the exact factory-side CCTV text should be verified against the live state notification. Nationally, the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 list CCTV among the conditions for women's night work and leave retention to state rules.
How long must I keep the footage? Where a state names a number, it is commonly 45 days (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka). Several states require cameras without publishing a retention figure. Do not assume 45 days everywhere — confirm with your State Factory Inspectorate. Note also that DPDP pushes the other way: keep footage only as long as your stated purpose needs, then auto-overwrite.
Is CCTV a factory-wide requirement or only for the night shift? In Maharashtra (Rule 102-B) the CCTV and retention duty is written around the women's night shift, their access routes, and transport — not the entire factory at all hours. Other states are similarly framed around the night-shift safeguard. Read your specific notification; scope drives both camera count and cost.
The Factories Act was repealed by the OSH Code — are these state notifications still valid? The OSH Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and consolidates the Factories Act, 1948. Existing state notifications generally continue in force where they do not conflict with the Code, until each state frames its own rules under the new regime. This is a live transition, so treat all dates here as current-and-verify rather than settled.
Do I need consent and transport too, or just cameras? Cameras alone are never enough. Every state pairs CCTV with written, voluntary consent (never a condition of employment), safe transport — often GPS-tracked with a female guard — adequate lighting, women security/supervisors, and a functioning Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH Act, 2013.
Before you run the shift
The camera line item is small; the payoff — a legally clearable second or third shift — is not. Two ways to move:
- Size the win. Use our guard-and-shift ROI calculator to compare the cost of compliant cameras and transport against the output an unlocked night shift adds.
- Get a camera plan. Tell us your state and floor layout and we'll map exactly where the cameras go to satisfy your notification — request a camera plan. Mama's AI reads those same feeds afterward, so the cameras you install for compliance become a second brain watching the floor at night, not just a DVR blinking in a cabin.
This tracker is general information, current to July 2026, not legal advice. Night-shift notifications change often and many run on annual renewals — confirm the live rule with your State Factory Inspectorate or Labour Commissioner, and take formal advice, before you rely on it.