Extending maternity benefits to surrogate mothers and adoptive parents, formulating regulatory guidelines for crèches, and, extending paternity leaves are some of the key points that emerged in the final leg of legal deliberation on the Maternity benefits Act 1961 and its 2017 amendment, held earlier this year by the National Commission for Women.
In a welcome move, the Himachal Pradesh Government has approved a proposal that will allow women employees of the state up to six months of leave on adopting a child. Earlier this year, in May, the same cabinet had announced a shorter, 12-week adoption leave for women employees, a provision that’s now been expanded. The amendment further allows women to avail adoption leave from their employers only if their child is younger than three months old.
Last year, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) also decided to grant leaves for 180 days to women who adopt children. However, if the employee has two surviving children, she cannot avail of this benefit.