The Karnataka Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1965 applies to establishments covered under the Act and prescribes employer obligations relating to labour welfare fund contributions and administration. Prior to this amendment, the applicability threshold under the definition of “establishment” required employment of more than fifty persons, and contributions under section 7A were permitted only through cheque or crossed demand draft. The State Legislature enacted amendments to expand coverage and to modernise the permitted modes of payment. The Act received the assent of the Governor on January 06, 2026 and was published in the Karnataka Gazette on January 07, 2026.                                                                                                                                                               Amendment to Section 2(4)(iii):
In section 2, in clause (4), in sub-clause (iii), for the words “more than fifty persons”, the words “ten or more persons” shall be substituted.                                     Amendment to Section 7A(3):
In section 7A, in sub-section (3), for the words “cheque or by crossed demand draft”, the words, brackets and letters “online payment channels i.e., Net banking or National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) or Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) or Unified Payments Interface (UPI) or demand draft” shall be substituted.