Defence Minister has approved a proposal for extending the rules for maternity, child care and child adoption leave for women soldiers, sailors and air warriors in the Armed Forces on a par with their officer counterparts.
Key points
- Under the rules, the grant of such leaves to all women in the military, whether one is an officer or any other rank, will be equally applicable. So far, there were no women air warriors or sailors in the Indian Air Force or Navy.
- Both started inducting women in their ranks after the government brought in the Agnipath military recruitment scheme in 2022.
- Only those women soldiers, sailors and air warriors will get the benefits of the new proposal who feature among the 25% of Agniveers inducted into the three services on a merit-based selection after completing their four-year tenure.
- This is because the terms and conditions of the Agnipath scheme state that they cannot marry till they are serving the four-year term under the scheme.
- Women officers in the three services currently are eligible for 180 days of maternity leave, with a provision for extension of a month of leave without pay in exceptional cases and 30 days of leave in the instance of a miscarriage or abortion.
Maternity Benefit Act
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment is implementing the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as amended vide the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017.
- The act provides for paid maternity leave to women workers and crèche facility by establishments.
- Vide Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as amended in 2017, the Government has increased paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks of which not more than eight weeks shall precede the date of expected delivery.
- Depending upon the nature of work assigned to a woman, the Section 5(5) of the Act provides for work from home for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree.
- The Code on Social Security, 2020 has the provisions for enhancement of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provision for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc.
