Jaipur, Oct. 29 -- Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has approved major amendments to labour laws aimed at promoting trade, protecting child and adolescent workers, and strengthening women's safety at workplaces, officials said. The new Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 and Rajasthan Factories (Amendment) Rules, 2025 introduce stricter age limits for employment, extend working and overtime hours, and mandate special safety provisions for women in factories, aligning with the Centre's compliance and deregulation framework. According to the approved ordinance, the employment of young children in shops and commercial establishments will now be strictly prohibited. The minimum age for trainees has been raised from 12 to 14 years. Additionally, adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 will not be allowed to work during night hours - a change from the earlier limit of 12 to 15 years. An official release from the CM's office states the ordinance also increases the maximum daily working hours for labourers from 9 to 10 hours and extends the overtime limit from 120 to 144 hours per quarter. The government believes this will improve both efficiency and productivity in the retail and commercial sectors. Under the existing Rajasthan Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958, adolescents aged 12 to 15 were allowed to work for up to three hours a day. The amendment now extends this provision to the 14-18 age group with stricter safeguards. Alongside this, the chief minister has also approved the Rajasthan Factories (Amendment) Rules, 2025, which allow women to work in specific categories of factories while ensuring their safety and privacy. The new rules permit women, except pregnant and nursing mothers, to be employed in certain specialised factory operations - provided that employers ensure robust safety measures. Factories will now be required to provide personal protective equipment such as respiratory safety gear, face shields, heat shields, masks, and gloves. Employers must also maintain air quality standards at the workplace and conduct regular safety training for all workers. These amendments have been made in compliance with the Compliance Reduction and Deregulation Docket received from the Government of India. The reforms aim to enhance workplace flexibility, increase productivity, and ensure stronger protections for women and adolescent workers - marking a major step forward in Rajasthan's labour welfare framework....