Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017?
- 1.Pregnant women are entitled for three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave.
- 2.Enterprises with crèches must allow the mother minimum six crèche visits daily.
- 3.Women with two children get reduced entitlements.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 3 only
Only statement 3 is correct. The 2017 Amendment raised paid maternity leave to 26 weeks, but only for the first two children; a woman with two or more surviving children gets 12 weeks. The crèche rule allows four visits a day, not six, and the leave is 26 weeks in all, not three months before and three after.
- ✗ 1. The Act replaces the old twelve weeks with twenty-six weeks, of which not more than eight weeks may come before the expected delivery. So it is at most 8 weeks before birth and the rest after, not three months on each side.
- ✗ 2. Section 11A requires every establishment with fifty or more employees to have a crèche facility, and the employer must allow four visits a day, including the woman's rest interval. It does not say six.
- ✓ 3. For a woman with two or more surviving children the maximum maternity benefit is twelve weeks, of which not more than six weeks may precede expected delivery, which is less than the 26 weeks for the first two children.
- • Since then The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is one of the nine social-security laws that the Code on Social Security, 2020 incorporates; the four Labour Codes were announced on 21 November 2025 (PIB).
Remember · Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017: 26 weeks (max 8 before delivery) for the first two children, 12 weeks from the third; crèche needed at 50+ employees, four visits a day.
Sources
- The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017, section 2 (Gazette of India Extraordinary, Ministry of Labour and Employment) ↗ “Provided that the maximum period entitled to maternity benefit by a woman having two or more than two surviving children shall be twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of her expected delivery … Provided that the employer shall allow four visits a day to the creche by the woman, which shall also include the interval for rest allowed to her.”
- PIB Backgrounder: India's Labour Reforms (21 Nov 2025), Code on Social Security ↗ “The Employment Exchanges (Compulsory Notification of Vacancies) Act, 1959; The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961; The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·