CITU conference condemns Labour Codes and new rural jobs, nuclear energy Acts

UPSC Study Note: CITU Conference — Labour Codes, VB-G RAM G Act & SHANTI Act

1. At a Glance

• The 18th All India Conference of CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions), held at Visakhapatnam in January 2026, passed resolutions condemning three major legislative actions of the Union government. [S1]
• The conference is significant for UPSC as it brings together three exam-heavy legislative domains: rural employment law, labour consolidation, and nuclear energy liberalisation. [S1]
• CITU is affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and is one of India's largest central trade union organisations; its positions reflect organised labour's critique of structural reforms. [S1]
• Aspirants must distinguish between the old MGNREGA framework, the new VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, and the SHANTI Act, 2025 — all are exam-active in 2025–26. [S2][S3]

2. Why in the News

• Triggering event: The 18th All India Conference of CITU, Visakhapatnam, 2 January 2026 — CITU General Secretary Tapan Sen announced resolutions on Day 2. [S1]
• Resolution 1: Demanded repeal of VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 and restoration of MGNREGA with enhanced workdays, wages, and 100% Central funding. [S1]
• Resolution 2: Condemned the SHANTI Act, 2025 as "anti-people, anti-sovereignty" legislation opening nuclear energy to private and foreign interests. [S1]
• Resolution 3: Denounced the four Labour Codes as an "attack on workers' rights." [S1]
• Side note: CITU credited worker agitations with preventing privatisation of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant over five years. [S1]

3. Background & Evolution

Labour Codes

• Predecessor laws subsumed: ~29 central labour statutes merged into 4 codes.
• Trade unions have consistently opposed the codes as diluting job security (removal of standing orders threshold, flexibility in hire-and-fire) and weakening collective bargaining. [S1]

MGNREGA → VB-G RAM G Act

• Rationale cited by government: align rural employment with Viksit Bharat 2047 targets; modernise via digital governance; expand scope to livelihood and infrastructure. [S4]

Nuclear Energy: Atomic Energy Act → SHANTI Act

4. Core Static Facts

Four Labour Codes

• Ministry: Ministry of Labour and Employment
• Key controversy: Threshold for standing orders raised to establishments with 300+ workers (from 100); retrenchment/lay-off/closure permission threshold raised similarly in IR Code.

VB-G RAM G Act, 2025

• Full name: Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 [S2]
• Replaces: MGNREGA (2005) effective 1 July 2025 [S4]
• Ministry: Ministry of Rural Development
• Key changes from MGNREGA:

• Unemployment allowance retained in principle but critics argue it is now at governmental discretion, not a legal right. [S1][S2]
• Opposition MPs submitted amendments seeking to restore the name "MGNREGA." [S5]

SHANTI Act, 2025

• Full name: Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India Act, 2025 [S3]
• Presidential assent: December 2025 [S3]
• Ministry: Department of Atomic Energy (under Prime Minister's Office)
• Key provisions:
• Allows private companies and joint ventures to build, own, operate, and decommission nuclear power plants under government licence. [S3]
• Maintains prohibition on FDI in atomic energy — DAE clarified this in Parliament on 10 December 2025. [S3]
• Private sector entry is subject to regulatory oversight; licensing by the government. [S3]
• Predecessor law: Atomic Energy Act, 1962 (state monopoly model)
• CITU position: "Anti-people, anti-sovereignty" — opens "most hazardous and strategic sector" to private/foreign interests. [S1]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• VB-G RAM G: 60:40 funding model shifts fiscal burden to states — poorer states with larger rural labour dependency (Bihar, UP, Odisha) face larger obligations without commensurate fiscal capacity. [S2]
• Labour Codes: Proponents argue flexibility reduces cost of doing business and formalises more workers; critics cite 90%+ workers in informal sector remain uncovered pending implementation. [S1]
• SHANTI Act: Opens ₹-multi-trillion nuclear capacity expansion to private capital; India targets 100 GW nuclear by 2047 under Viksit Bharat energy roadmap. [S3]

Social / Labour Rights

• MGNREGA was a demand-driven entitlement — employment had to be provided within 15 days or unemployment allowance triggered automatically. VB-G RAM G critics argue the new Act converts this into a discretionary programme. [S1][S2]
• Labour Codes' higher threshold for retrenchment permission (300 workers) weakens job security for workers in medium establishments. [S1]
• Women's participation in MGNREGA was historically high (~57%); any weakening of the Act disproportionately affects rural women. [S1]

Legal / Constitutional

• MGNREGA rested on the Right to Work jurisprudence (Article 21, Directive Principles Art. 39, 41, 43) — CITU argues VB-G RAM G undermines the justiciable nature of this right. [S1]
• Labour Codes: Labour is a Concurrent List subject (Schedule VII, List III, Entry 22–24); states must pass their own rules — implementation patchwork is constitutionally inherent. [S1]
• Atomic Energy Act, 1962 was premised on Entry 7, Union List (industries declared by Parliament to be necessary for defence/nuclear energy). SHANTI Act amends/supplements this framework; no constitutional change required. [S3]

Scientific / Technological

• SHANTI Act aims to accelerate Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and large-capacity plant construction through private sector efficiency. [S3]
• India has 22 operational nuclear reactors (as of 2025); government target: 100 GW nuclear by 2047, up from ~8 GW currently.
• Digital-governance backbone in VB-G RAM G: Aadhaar-linked, real-time work tracking — shift from paper-based MGNREGA muster rolls. [S2]

Ethical / Governance

• Shifting MGNREGA's unemployment allowance from a legal right to administrative discretion is criticised as reducing state accountability to rural poor. [S1]
• Nuclear safety concerns: CITU and civil society argue private nuclear operators may prioritise profit over safety; the existing Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 liability cap may be inadequate. [S1][S3]
• Labour Codes pending implementation since 2020 — raises questions of legislative intent vs. administrative will. [S1]

Historical

• MGNREGA (2005) was inspired by Maharashtra's Employment Guarantee Scheme (1977) — the world's first legal guarantee of employment.
• Nuclear state monopoly (1962) was consistent with Nehruvian model; SHANTI Act represents the most significant structural departure from that model. [S3]

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 2025, Winter Session: Parliament passes VB-G RAM G Bill and SHANTI Bill in the same session. [S2][S3]
• 1 July 2025: VB-G RAM G Act comes into force; MGNREGA formally repealed. [S4]
• 10 December 2025: DAE clarifies in Parliament that FDI in atomic energy remains prohibited under SHANTI Act. [S3]
• December 2025: President Droupadi Murmu grants assent to SHANTI Bill. [S3]
• 2 January 2026: CITU's 18th All India Conference, Visakhapatnam — resolutions condemning VB-G RAM G Act, SHANTI Act, and Labour Codes passed; Tapan Sen addresses media. [S1]
• Ongoing (2025–26): Visakhapatnam Steel Plant privatisation remained stalled — CITU attributes this to sustained worker agitation. [S1]
• Opposition amendments to VB-G RAM G Bill sought restoration of "MGNREGA" name — rejected. [S5]

7. Prelims Hooks

1. The 18th All India Conference of CITU was held at Visakhapatnam in January 2026. [S1]
2. CITU General Secretary is Tapan Sen. [S1]
3. VB-G RAM G expands to Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin). [S2]
4. VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 replaced MGNREGA effective 1 July 2025. [S4]
5. Under VB-G RAM G, annual employment guarantee increased from 100 days to 125 days per household. [S2]
6. Wage funding model under VB-G RAM G: 60% Centre, 40% State (was 100% Centre under MGNREGA). [S2]
7. VB-G RAM G provides for wage payment on a weekly cycle (vs. 15 days under MGNREGA). [S2]
8. SHANTI expands to Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India. [S3]
9. SHANTI Act received Presidential assent in December 2025. [S3]
10. SHANTI Act allows private sector to own and operate nuclear plants; FDI remains prohibited. [S3]
11. DAE clarified FDI prohibition on 10 December 2025 in Parliament. [S3]
12. The predecessor law to SHANTI Act: Atomic Energy Act, 1962. [S3]
13. Four Labour Codes: Code on Wages (2019), Industrial Relations Code, Social Security Code, Occupational Safety Health & Working Conditions Code (all 2020). [S1]
14. Labour Codes subsume approximately 29 central labour statutes. [S1]
15. Under Industrial Relations Code, retrenchment/layoff/closure requires government permission only for establishments with 300+ workers (raised from 100). [S1]

8. Mains Relevance

Plausible Mains Questions:

1. "The VB-G RAM G Act, 2025 promises modernisation of rural employment but critics argue it undermines the demand-driven legal guarantee of MGNREGA. Critically examine." (GS-II/III)
2. "The SHANTI Act, 2025 marks a paradigm shift in India's nuclear energy governance. Analyse its potential benefits and risks in the context of India's energy security and safety obligations." (GS-III)
3. "Four Labour Codes promise consolidation and ease of doing business but remain unimplemented years after enactment. Examine the constitutional and administrative reasons for this gap." (GS-II/III)

9. Related Topics to Study Next

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

1. VB-G RAM G does NOT abolish unemployment allowance — it retains it in principle, but critics argue it shifts from an automatic legal right to discretionary provision. Do not state it was "abolished." [S1][S2]
2. SHANTI Act does NOT permit FDI in nuclear energy — it allows Indian private companies; FDI remains expressly prohibited. This is a classic trap. [S3]
3. Labour Codes were enacted in 2019–2020 but are NOT yet in force — rules have not been notified in most states; do not state they are "implemented."
4. CITU ≠ INTUC — CITU is affiliated with CPI(M); INTUC is affiliated with Indian National Congress. Exam options routinely swap these.
5. VB-G RAM G increases days from 100 to 125, NOT to 150 or 200 — common confusion from policy debates citing higher aspirational targets. [S2]

11. Sources

• [S1] "CITU conference condemns Labour Codes and new rural jobs, nuclear energy Acts" — The Hindu, 2 January 2026 — (Tier 4) (Primary article; Tapan Sen quotes, CITU resolutions)
• [S2] "VB–G RAM G Bill 2025 Explained: How It Replaces MGNREGA" — PRS India — https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-viksit-bharat-%E2%80%93-guarantee-for-rozgar-and-ajeevika-mission-gramin-vb-%E2%80%93-g-ram-g-bill-2025 — (Tier 1)
• [S3] "SHANTI Act 2025: Nuclear Power Projects — Relevance For Private Stakeholders" — Mondaq/JSA Law (citing DAE Parliamentary clarification, Presidential assent, FDI position) — https://www.mondaq.com/india/oil-gas-electricity/1727558/shanti-act-2025-nuclear-power-projects-relevance-for-private-stakeholders — (Tier 4 adjacent)
• [S4] "VB-G RAM G Act to replace MGNREGA from July 1" — DD News (Government broadcaster) — https://ddnews.gov.in/en/vb-g-ram-g-act-to-replace-mgnrega-from-july-1-with-new-rural-employment-framework-aligned-to-viksit-bharat-2047/ — (Tier 1 adjacent / government outlet)
• [S5] "Opposition MPs submit amendments to VB-G RAM G Bill 2025 seeking to replace draft law's name to MGNREGA" — Deccan Herald — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/opposition-mps-submit-amendments-to-vb-g-ram-g-bill-2025-seeking-to-replace-draft-laws-name-to-mgnrega-3834953 — (Tier 4)