theIndusParent Logo
theIndusParent Logo
  • Pregnancy
    • Fertility & Conception
    • First Trimester
    • Second Trimester
    • Third Trimester
    • Labour & Delivery
    • Post-delivery Care
    • Miscarriage
    • 9 Months
  • Baby
    • Development
    • Breastfeeding
    • Weaning
    • Health
    • Behaviour
    • Gear & Wear
    • Baby Names
    • Nine Months-0 to 1
  • Toddler
    • Development
    • Health
    • Behaviour
    • Life Skills
    • Trendy Wear
    • 9 Months Season 3: Toddler Years
  • Pre-teen
    • Development
    • Health
    • Education
    • Behaviour
    • Lifeskills
    • Fashion
  • Mums
    • Awesome Working Mums
    • Celeb Mums
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Sex
    • Labour Story
  • Health
    • Nutrition
    • Fitness
    • Home Remedies
    • Chakra Healing
    • Experts' Corner
  • Family & Leisure
    • Relationships
    • For Dads
    • Essential Life Tips
    • Money
    • Recipes
    • Celebrations
    • Travel
    • Vastu
    • Astrology
    • Baby Photos
    • Video
    • Events & Workshops
    • Review
    • Contest
  • हिंदी
  • தமிழ்
  • বাংলা
  • Video

Good news! Indian Govt set to clear 26-week maternity leave for across all sectors

4 Jul, 2016
Good news! Indian Govt set to clear 26-week maternity leave for across all sectorsGood news! Indian Govt set to clear 26-week maternity leave for across all sectors

Finance minister Arun Jaitley gave the green signal to the labour ministry’s proposal to increase the maternity leave to 26 weeks for working women across all sectors

It's all set to be put in black and white. Yes, the 26-week maternity leave will be a reality soon. All government and private sector companies would soon have 26-weeks maternity leaves for pregnant women, say news reports.

Hope this move helps the new mothers balance their professional commitments with personal lives, which is the root cause of mothers leaving their jobs post delivery.

After year-long deliberations started by Maneka Gandhi, the Centre has begun the process of fixing maternity leave to 26 weeks—six-and-a-half months—across all sectors. This is more than double the leave mothers get in the private sector: 12 weeks or three months. However, maternity leave for government workers is already six months.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley and his group of ministers gave the green signal to the labour ministry’s proposal to increase maternity leave for working women on Wednesday, June 29.

“We will now move the cabinet to get the proposal to amend the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 cleared,” said a senior labour ministry official.

Women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi even met labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Wednesday in the hope of expediting the process.

Interestingly, if the proposal is cleared by the Union cabinet, India will become one of 40 countries where maternity leave benefits span more than 18 weeks.

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention mandates a minimum 14 weeks of maternity benefit to women but recommends that countries should increase it to 18 weeks.

Recent statistics by ILO also showed that Indian women were leaving the workplace at a rate faster than anywhere in the world. Experts said paltry maternity leave and consequent pressure to return to the workplace was one of the reasons new mothers were forced to quit.

Gandhi wrote to Dattatreya last year, proposing the maternity leave currently granted to working women should be increased to eight months, so as to enable mothers to take better care of their newborns. However, the proposal was rejected.

The seventh pay panel rejected the demand to increase both the maternity and paternity leave granted to government employees.

This news story first appeared here.

Also Read: 5 challenges Indian working mothers face every day

Be sure to check out theAsianparent Community for more insightful stories, questions, and answers from parents and experts alike. If you have any insights, questions or comments regarding the article, please share them in our Comment box below. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Google+ and Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest from theIndusparent

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

img
Written by

Avantika Kukreti

  • Home
  • /
  • Awesome Working Mums
  • /
  • Good news! Indian Govt set to clear 26-week maternity leave for across all sectors
Share:
  • My Newborn Baby Brother Drank My Breast Milk First & I Couldn't Be Happier

    My Newborn Baby Brother Drank My Breast Milk First & I Couldn't Be Happier

  • COVID-19: Critically-ill Bangladeshi Worker's Wife Gives Birth, Man Still Warded In Isolation

    COVID-19: Critically-ill Bangladeshi Worker's Wife Gives Birth, Man Still Warded In Isolation

  • Dad's Sore Throat Puts Him In A Coma, Needs Multiple Amputations To Survive

    Dad's Sore Throat Puts Him In A Coma, Needs Multiple Amputations To Survive

app info
get app banner
  • My Newborn Baby Brother Drank My Breast Milk First & I Couldn't Be Happier

    My Newborn Baby Brother Drank My Breast Milk First & I Couldn't Be Happier

  • COVID-19: Critically-ill Bangladeshi Worker's Wife Gives Birth, Man Still Warded In Isolation

    COVID-19: Critically-ill Bangladeshi Worker's Wife Gives Birth, Man Still Warded In Isolation

  • Dad's Sore Throat Puts Him In A Coma, Needs Multiple Amputations To Survive

    Dad's Sore Throat Puts Him In A Coma, Needs Multiple Amputations To Survive

Get advice on your pregnancy and growing baby. Sign up for our newsletter
  • Ages + Stages
    • Baby
    • Baby Concerns
    • Baby Development
    • Baby Formula Feeding
    • Baby health
    • Baby Milestones
    • Breastfeeding
  • Family Life
    • Family & Leisure
    • Essential Tips
    • Family Fun
    • Events
    • For Dads
    • For Mum and Dad
  • Health & Wellness
    • India
    • International
    • Lifestyle
    • Kid's Entertainment
    • Indoor
    • Learning Activities
  • Toddler
    • Toddler Behaviour
    • Toddler Development
    • Toddler Discipline
    • Toddler Education
    • Toddler Health
    • Toddler Life Skills
  • Gallery
    • News
    • Celebrity
    • Features
    • Bollywood
    • Video
    • Marriage
  • More
    • TAP Community
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Become a Contributor


  • Singapore flag Singapore
  • Thailand flag Thailand
  • Indonesia flag Indonesia
  • Philippines flag Philippines
  • Malaysia flag Malaysia
  • Sri-Lanka flag Sri Lanka
  • India flag India
  • Vietnam flag Vietnam
  • Australia flag Australia
  • Japan flag Japan
  • Nigeria flag Nigeria
  • Kenya flag Kenya
© Copyright theAsianparent 2022. All rights reserved
About Us|Team|Privacy Policy|Terms of Use |Sitemap HTML
  • Tools
  • Articles
  • Feed
  • Poll

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. Learn MoreOk, Got it