Safety on Indian Construction Sites: The Record, the Law and the Cost to a Programme

India has no published national count of construction worker deaths. The statistical apparatus that exists — the Labour Bureau series compiled by DGFASLI — covers factories, while the only peer-reviewed national estimates for construction put annual fatalities between 11,614 and 22,080. Meanwhile the legal ground moved: the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025 and repealed the BOCW Act 1996, with the Central Rules under it notified on 8 May 2026. This report sets out what is actually counted, what the Code now requires of an employer, and what a single fatal incident costs a programme in stoppage, statutory inquiry and criminal exposure.

Part of AECS Research Global's publications programme — drawing on ARG's work across cost management, EPC advisory and integrated project delivery. Download the full report below.