Update: India's Parliament Passes Increased Maternity Leave

India's Parliament has officially passed an increase to maternity leave in India.  The new law entitles most mothers to 26 weeks of paid leave.

We last reported that India's Upper House of Parliament approved the increase in August, 2016.  However, India's lower house held off approving the legislation until last week.  The new law provides mothers with the following protections:

• Leave may start up to eight weeks before the expected delivery date.
• The introduction of 12 weeks of paid leave for mothers adopting a child younger than 3 months old, and for women having a child through a surrogate.
• All employers with 50 or more employees must provide a crèche (day nursery), and allow the mother four daily visits to the nursery;