Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has lifted the time bar for women working in mines.
In a notification issued on February 4, 2019, Ministry announced that women could now be deployed in mines above ground (including opencast mines) as well as mines below ground between 7 pm and 6 am.
Earlier, as per section 46 of the Mines Act-1952, mine owners were allowed to send women workers into the mines only between 6 am and 7 pm. Now the government has exempted women from this rule.