The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 substantially expanded India’s maternity entitlements from the original 1961 Act, the legal instrument behind the 26-week leave standard now familiar to most employers.

What the 2017 Amendment actually changed

Paid maternity leave was extended from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children, with no more than 8 weeks permitted to precede the expected delivery date, third children onward stayed at the original 12 weeks. It introduced a mandatory creche requirement for every establishment with 50 or more employees, with the mother entitled to visit up to four times a day. It added a work-from-home enabling provision, letting an employer and employee mutually agree to a WFH arrangement once the leave period ends, on terms suited to the role. It also extended 12 weeks of benefit to adoptive mothers adopting a child under three months old, and to commissioning mothers in surrogacy arrangements, counted from when the child is handed over. Both the original 1961 Act and this Amendment are now housed inside the Code on Social Security, 2020, which carries these entitlements forward rather than replacing them.

Frequently asked questions

Is the 26-week figure still current?

Yes, that’s the entitlement this Amendment set and the Code on Social Security carries forward, see maternity leave for current mechanics including a March 2026 Supreme Court ruling on adoption age limits.

Does the creche requirement apply to every company?

Only establishments with 50 or more employees, smaller companies aren’t bound by the mandatory creche provision.

Is the work-from-home provision mandatory?

No, it’s an enabling clause, both employer and employee have to mutually agree to it, it’s not an automatic entitlement.

See maternity leave for full current entitlement mechanics, and adoption leave for how this Amendment’s adoptive-mother provision plays out today.