LUCKNOW, Nov. 13 -- The Uttar Pradesh government has extended the scope for women to work in night shifts between 7 pm and 6 am, provided they give their consent which must be registered with the state labour department.

The move follows enforcement of the Uttar Pradesh Factories (Amendment) Act in the state after it got President Droupadi Murmu's assent recently.

Previously, women were allowed to work in only 12 categories of hazardous industries, but now the number has been expanded to all 29 hazardous sectors, officials said.

Under the new provisions, the state government is empowered to extend the maximum daily working hours in factories to 12 hours, provided that the total weekly working hours do not exceed 48, a state government ...