Paid maternity leave for women working in organised sector
Parliament passed bill raising paid maternity leave to 26 weeks, up from 12 weeks for working women. This move will benefit about 1.8 million women.
The new law will apply to all establishments employing 10 or more people and the entitlement will be for only up to first two children. For third child, only 12 weeks of maternity leave will be sanctioned. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was passed by the Lok Sabha today, months after the Rajya Sabha approved the measure that takes India to the third position in terms of the number of weeks for maternity leave after Canada and Norway where it is 50 weeks and 44 weeks, respectively. Piloting amendments to the old law, Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said while framing the rules, he would try to ensure that maximum benefits reach the pregnant women.
Images: Various sources