Section 2(j), Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
Definition of "Industry"
Section 2(j) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 defines "industry" broadly as "any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employers" and includes "any calling, service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen." The scope of this definition determines which entities' employees can invoke the Act's dispute-resolution and worker-protection machinery.
- The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 is the principal central legislation governing investigation and settlement of industrial disputes, layoffs, retrenchment, and strikes/lockouts in India (now largely subsumed under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, not yet fully in force).
- Whether an establishment qualifies as an "industry" determines whether its workers get statutory protections such as reference to Labour Courts/Industrial Tribunals and restrictions on retrenchment.
- The definitional ambiguity has been litigated repeatedly since 1960, making it one of Indian labour law's longest-running interpretive questions.
● Tracked since August 19, 2026 · last seen August 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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