In what can be termed as a very progressive change, the maternity leave in Odisha has been increased. The announcement has come today from the government of Odisha. Earlier while the maternity period for women in the state was for 90 days. From today onwards the leave period has been doubled to 180 days.
However, women with two or more children will not be able to get this facility. For them, the maternity period will be fixed at 90 days. This is done to ensure that there is proper family planning in the state.
The Lok Sabha had passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act in March 2017, raising the maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. The prenatal leave was also extended from six to eight weeks. But, in the case of a couple having two or more children, the prenatal leave remained six weeks.
Before the amendment of the Act, female workers were entitled to a maximum of 84 days of maternity leave.
