BANGALORE: As the number of working women is increasing in the country, the women and child welfare Minister Menaka Gandhi is all set to make some changes to the maternity leave provided for the working women in the private sectors. Currently the maternity leave is 12 weeks, once changes made to the Maternity Benefit Act in 1961, the women will be granted 26 weeks of maternity leave, reports Yahoo News.

Menaka Gandhi stated that, “We had written to the Labour Ministry asking that the maternity leave be extended taking into account the six months of breastfeeding that is required post childbirth. The Labour Ministry has agreed to increase it to six-and-a-half months,” during the leave period the employers are liable to pay full wages to the employees.

The women and child welfare officials also stated that they will be trying to extent the leave to eight months for all working women who work under government or private sectors. The official also added “The Labour Ministry has decided on six-and-a-half months following meetings with various stakeholders. We, however, feel that eight months of maternity leave — for women in government as well as private sectors — is required. We will move a note to the Cabinet Secretariat in this regard. Six months of exclusive breastfeeding is very important to combat malnutrition, diarrhoea and other diseases in infants and to lower infant mortality rate,”

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