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The Central Government had amended the Maternity Benefit Act in March last year to increase paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for all women in establishments employing 10 or more people.
This had good response in the public sector. However those in the private sector and those in contract jobs didn’t get the benefits of this amendment. The Ministry of Labour is now working on a scheme where the government would bear the cost of maternity leave wages for 7 weeks subject to certain conditions. This expenditure is estimated to be around Rs 400 crore. The Ministry is in the process of getting budgetary approval.
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