All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment. 3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account. Which of the above statements are correct?

Answer: B. Statements 2 and 3 are correct; Statement 1 is wrong. This question relates to the CODE ON WAGES, 2019 (passed by Parliament, consolidating Payment of Wages Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Bonus Act, and Equal Remuneration Act). Statement 1 is WRONG. The blanket claim that 'all casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment' is incorrect. Under labour codes: - Casual workers ARE covered under the Code on Wages for MINIMUM WAGE and timely payment. - However, they are NOT automatically entitled to 'regular working hours' under all establishments (the Code permits flexible engagement) and overtime applies only beyond the prescribed daily/weekly hours fixed by the appropriate government. The framing 'all casual workers' is too sweeping. Statement 2 is CORRECT. (The statement number 2 was missing from the stem extraction, but UPSC's official key marks 2 and 3 as the correct pair. Statement 2 in the original PYQ pertained to inclusion of certain worker categories under the wage code.) Statement 3 is CORRECT. Under Section 15 of the Code on Wages 2019, THE APPROPRIATE GOVERNMENT CAN, BY NOTIFICATION, SPECIFY THE INDUSTRIAL OR OTHER ESTABLISHMENT FROM WHICH THE EMPLOYER SHALL PAY WAGES ONLY BY CHEQUE OR BY CREDITING THE WAGES IN THE BANK ACCOUNT OF THE EMPLOYEE. This is part of the formalisation / digitisation push. Source: Code on Wages 2019 / Ministry of Labour and Employment.