LABOUR LAW ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC:- ANALYSIS OF MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT IN INDIA

SUBMITTED BY:- AHMED SHUJA

SEC:- A

ROLL NO:- 02

SESSION:- 2017-18

EMAIL ID:- shuzaahmed007@gmail.com

 INTRODUCTION

A maternity benefit is one that every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable
for, the payment of maternity benefit, which is the amount payable to her at the rate of the
average daily wage for the period of her actual absence. Maternity Benefits should aim to
regulate employment of women employees in certain establishments for certain periods before
and after childbirth and provides for maternity and certain other benefits.

Post Maternity, women work participation rate is negatively affected in labour market. It is
important to recognize that women participation in labour market has significantly increased in
recent years, particularly in urban areas. Further, most of the increase in women participation in
labour market is contributed by young women in urban areas. Since India is committed to
creating a gender friendly labour market environment, there is increasing realization to provide a
conducive working environment. Looking at the large number of women employment in broad
occupational categories, it was but natural to protect and safeguard their health in relation to
Maternity and the children.1

Objcetive of the Act:- The objective of maternity benefits is to protect the dignity of
“Motherhood” by providing the complete & health care to the women & her child when she is
not able to perform her duty due to her health condition. 2 There is need for maternity benefits so
that a woman is to be able to give quality time to her child without having to worry about
whether she will lose her job and her source of income.

The fundamental purpose for providing maternity benefits is to preserve the self-respect for
motherliness, protect the health of women, complete safety of the child etc. Due to the increasing
number of women employees in the government and private sector, it became necessary to grant
maternity leave and other maternity allowances to working women.3

1
Richa Jhanwar, “The Need for Maternity Benefits for Women Employee” Academike (2014).
2
Ibid.
3
Ibid.
 REASONS FOR NEED OF MATERNITY BENEFITS

Economic dependence of women is what gives rise to their subordination in society today. Hence
to remove such subordination and to lay the foundation of equality women too must be made
economically independent and must take an active role in all sectors of business today. To
support such initiative the Government must provide some conditions which are suitable for the
needs of women.

1. Emancipate Discrimination on biological grounds:- Among the problems faced by women

in the economic sphere of life discrimination resulting from their biological role in nature of
childbearing is one. To curb such problem and protect the economic rights of women there is
need for maternity benefits for a female employee. Women are entitled to these benefits as the
child bearing process is intensely painful and can cause bodily damage. This may severely affect
the future work of the woman as an employee and decrease her productivity so there is a need for
maternity benefits for the women worker.4

Economic Independence and considerable relaxation in work:- To safeguard working women

and their rights to remain self-reliant and economically independent, maternity benefits are
required.5 A just social order can be achieved only when inequalities are obliterated and
everyone is provided what, is legally due. When who constitute almost half of the segment of our
society have to be honoured and treated with dignity at places where they work to earn their
livelihood. Whatever be the nature of their duties, their avocation and the place where they work;
they must be provided all the facilities to which they are entitled. To become a mother is the
most natural phenomena in the life of a woman. Whatever is needed to facilitate the birth of child
to a woman who is in service, the employer has to be considerate and sympathetic towards her
and must realize the physical difficulties which a working woman would face in performing her
duties at the work place while carrying a baby in the womb or while rearing up the child after
birth.6

4
Women and Industrial Law: Maternity Benefit Act,
1961 http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/print_this_page.asp?article_id=580, 09/08/2014 (last visited
October 3, 2017).
5
Ibid.
6
Vandana Kandari v. University of Delhi, (2010) 170 DLT 755.
Promoting the idea of maternity leave:- Historically, maternity has been treated as a state of
disability in women workers from undertaking any work during the few weeks immediately
preceding and following child birth. With the emergence of the system of wage labour in the
industrial undertakings, many employers tended to terminate the services of the women workers
when they found that maternity interfered with the performance of normal duties by women
workers. Many women workers, therefore, had to go on leave without pay during this period in
order to retain their employment.

Many others had to bear a heavy strain to keep their efficiency during the periods of pregnancy,
which was injurious to the health of both, the mother and the child. To remove this hardship of
the women workers, the concept of maternity benefit is needed in order to enable the women
workers to carry on the social function of child; bearing and rearing without undue strain on their
health and loss of wages.7

The vast majority of women want to have children at some time in their lives. The economic
arrangements which were there earlier required them to compromise their career and family
goals.8 Hence, although women have taken enormous strides toward gender equity at work, as
long as traditional gender ideologies and assumptions (i.e., sex-typed stereotypes, roles, and
status beliefs) linger9, they won’t have been able to continue in the business unless there is
maternity benefits provision.

CHANGES INTRODUCED BY THE AMENDMENT OF 2017

The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was passed by both Houses of Parliament, and has
received presidential assent on 27 March 2017. The Amendment will come into force on the date
appointed by the Central Government, by notification in the official gazette.

7
Shashi Bala, “Implementation of Maternity Benefit
Act”, http://www.vvgnli.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/099-2012_Shashi_Bala.pdf, 09/08/2014 (last visited
October 4, 2017).
8
Stockard, Jean and Miriam M. Johnson, “Sex and Gender in Society”, New Jersey: Englewood Cliffs (1992).
9
Rudman, Lauria A., “The Social Psychology of Gender”, New York: The Guilford Press (2008)
1. Changes introduced by the Amendment

The Amendment introduces the following changes:

(a) Increase in duration of paid maternity leave: Duration of paid maternity leave for a
woman having less than two surviving children has been increased from 12 weeks (with not
more than 6 weeks preceding the expected date of delivery) to 26 weeks (with not more than 8
weeks preceding the expected date of delivery);

(b) Introduction of surrogacy leave and adoption leave: Paid adoption leave (if the adopted
child is less than three months old) and paid surrogacy leave of 12 weeks from the date when the
child is handed over, has been introduced;

(c) Work from home: The Amendment also introduces the option to work from home after
exhausting the period of maternity leave, on such terms as the employer and the woman may
mutually agree;

(d) Crèche facility: The Amendment makes it mandatory for each establishment with 50 or
more employees to have a crèche facility;

(e) Obligation to notify employees: Employers are also required to inform women of benefits
available under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (MB Act). This needs to be done in writing and
electronically, at the time of the woman's initial appointment.

Other provisions of the MB Act, including the eligibility criteria for maternity benefit, remain
unchanged. Under the MB Act, a woman is eligible to receive maternity benefit if she has
worked for at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately preceding her expected date of
delivery. Further, the prohibition on employing a woman for six weeks following delivery,
miscarriage or medical termination of pregnancy, continues to apply. Unfortunately, no change
has been made to include statutory paternity leave, even though there were discussions in the
Rajya Sabha to introduce child care leave for fathers.
2. Critiques and Concerns

There has been a lot of discussion about the impact of the Amendment, and there are divergent
views on whether the Amendment will be beneficial in the long run. In most countries with
extensive child care benefits, the government shoulders at least some part of the financial
responsibility. In India, however, except for the fraction of employees covered under the
Employee State Insurance Act (ESI Act) (i.e. employees earning not more than INR 21,000 per
month), maternity benefits have to be financed by the employer. Therefore, there is an
apprehension that the requirement of providing increased benefits under the Amendment could
have a negative impact on diversity ratios at the workplace.

Additionally, from an implementation perspective, there are a few issues to be considered:

(a) Who would be eligible for the increased maternity leave: Currently, it is not clear whether
women who are in the midst of their 12-week maternity leave (under the un-amended law), will
be entitled to extend their leave to 26 weeks. In the absence of any clarity on this aspect, one
may look at the clarifications issued by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for
guidance since the ESI Act was also recently amended from 20 January 2017 to provide benefits
similar to the Amendment. The ESIC clarification specifies that the increased maternity leave
can only be availed if the actual or expected date of delivery was on or after 20 January 2017.
Since the subject matter of the benefit is the same under both the acts, it is possible that a similar
approach could be adopted in connection with the Amendment to the MB Act as well. We will
however need to wait and watch if the government takes a more beneficial view and extends the
Amendment's benefit to women who are in the midst of their statutory maternity leave, even if
childbirth is prior to the notified date.

(b) Who will be eligible for adoption and surrogacy leave: Similar questions would arise for
adoption and surrogacy leave. Would an adopting/commissioning mother be eligible to avail
adoption/surrogacy leave if the child is handed over to her before the Amendment is notified, but
if the 12 weeks leave entitlement period has not run out since the notification? Clarifications
from the government on this aspect would also be helpful.
(c) Ambiguity regarding provision of crèche facilities: The Amendment does not expressly
clarify if the crèche facilities must be provided free of cost. Most organizations that have set up
crèche's voluntarily, presently pass on the cost to the employee (sometimes at subsidized rates).
Since most of these companies operate in densely populated urban areas, the cost of extending
such facilities can be significant.

Statutes such as the Factories Act, 1948, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition)
Act, 1970 already contain provisions around crèche facilities. Although not expressly stated,
crèche facilities are usually provided free of cost under these legislations. In the absence of any
clarification on this point under the MB Act, organizations (at least the smaller ones) may be
unwilling to bear the cost of usage of crèche facilities, especially in urban centres where
expenses are higher.

As per the Amendment, the government is required to prescribe the distance of the crèche from
the establishment. However, apart from the distance (and the cost factor discussed above), the
government should also endeavour to provide other clarifications, such as the age till which a
child can be kept in the crèche (the Factories Act, 1948 prescribes an age limit of 6 years),
specific requirements around construction, facilities and staff of the crèche, etc. Standardization
on these aspects would also help address liability issues to some extent, which could be a
significant cause of worry for several establishments setting up crèche facilities for their
employees.

(d) Are visits to the crèche in addition to the nursing breaks: The Amendment specifies that a
woman should be allowed four visits to the crèche each day, which includes the interval for rest
allowed to her. However, no duration has been specified for each break. A separate provision
under the MB Act (Section 11) already permits women to take two nursing breaks (in addition to
their interval for rest) till the child is 15 months old. A plain reading therefore suggests that a
woman may be entitled to 6 breaks a day, which may cause operational strain to the organization.
 INTERNATIONAL ASPECT

Human rights provide a useful legal and normative framework, vocabulary and form of
guidance for public health actions, while enhancing the accountability of Governments.
Human rights and public health have the common objective of promoting and protecting
the well-being of all individuals. Human rights must be promoted and protected in order
to address the underlying determinants of health, including the empowerment of
individuals and communities to respond to health challenges and ensuring equitable,
effective delivery of services.10

Since the development of human rights, some newer aspects have been identified and
ascertained. Some of them are right to pollution-free environment, right to know, right to
development, right to leisure, right against discrimination and torture, right to health and
others. These rights are in addition to other basic rights like right to equality, right to
freedom, right to religion, cultural and educational rights, etc. Amongst these, right to life
has been emphasised time and again. Various international
declarations/treaties/conventions/protocols have also reiterated it on various occasions.

Such as Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 has stated that:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of
himself and of his family….” Similarly the Preamble to the World Health Organisation's
(WHO) Constitution also declares that it is one of the fundamental rights of every human
being to enjoy “the highest attainable standard of health”. This right also includes the
right to the underlying conditions of health as well as medical care. 11

Article 12(1) of the Protocol on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, States parties
have agreed to “… recognise the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health.” Article 12(2) provides that the steps
to achieve the full realisation of this right shall include those necessary for:

12.(2)(a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality
and for the healthy development of the child;

(d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and
medical attention in the event of sickness.

10
Women's Health And Human Rights: Monitoring the Implementation of Cedaw (WHO publication, 2007) 1.
11
Franklin D. Roosevelt also advocated for a right to medical care in 1944. See, Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The
Economic Bill of Rights” — Excerpt from 11-1-1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union.
This article is reinforced by Article 24(2)(f) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which requires States parties to “develop preventive health care, guidance for parents
and family planning education and services”.

This right to health carries more importance with reference to women keeping in view
their biological structure and child-bearing capacity and necessity. Articles 11, 12 and
14 of the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
197912(Cedaw) have declared in unequivocal terms that States shall take all appropriate
measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the field of health care in order
to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services,
including those related to family planning and to eliminate discrimination against women
in rural areas in order to ensure to such women the right to have access to adequate
health care facilities, including information, counselling and services in family planning.
The duty of State parties to ensure, on a basis of equality between men and women,
access to health care services, information and education implies an obligation to
respect, protect and fulfil women's rights to health care.

Cedaw contains articles that are directly related to WHO's objective of assisting
Governments in protecting and improving women's health. Article 12 specifically directs
the States to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in
the field of health care, while others have a direct or indirect bearing on the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of health. It was provided that the States to ensure,
on a basis of equality of men and women, access to health care services, information
and education. It also implies an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights
related to women's health. The State Governments have the responsibility to ensure
that legislation, executive action and policy comply with these three obligations.

It is also to be noted that once State parties have ratified Cedaw, they are under an
obligation to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the legislative, judicial,
administrative or other measures that they have adopted to implement the Convention.
As a result of which by 2004, 124 countries established legal mechanism to protect
women's right to health.

The International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo) of 1994 and the
platform of action adopted at the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing)
gave impetus to this movement of right to health of women. Cedaw's Committee in 2004
reported that:

12
It is a legally binding document.
 482. The Committee is concerned about the situation of women's health and
particularly their reproductive health.

483. … The Committee recommends that the State party should give priority to
the situation of the adolescent population and also urges it to adopt measures to
strengthen the family planning programme and to guarantee access to sexual and
reproductive health services, attending to the information needs of the population,
particularly adolescents…. It also urges the State party to promote sex education for
the entire population, including adolescents, giving special attention to efforts to
prevent and combat HIV/AIDS and to improve the dissemination of information about
risks and ways of transmission.

WHO is committed to making human rights a central concern and advancing the right to
health and other health-related rights of women and girls around the world. WHO is also
helping to implement the various provisions of Cedaw. The Preamble to the World
Health Organisation's (WHO) Constitution also declares that it is one of the fundamental
rights of every human being to enjoy “the highest attainable standard of health”. This
right also includes the right to the underlying conditions of health as well as medical
care.13

SUPREME COURT’S STAND ON MATERNITY RELIEF

There has been considerable amount of cases wherein the supreme court dealt with the issue of
maternity relief in different aspects. They have been discussed as follows:

1. Air India v Nargesh Meerza, (1981) 4 SCC 335.

Facts: Under the relevant regulation of Air India Corporation (AIC) Act and Indian Airlines
Corporation (IAC) Act, there was a discrimination made between the conditions of retirement
and termination of service pertaining to air hostesses (AH) and those of male pursers (MP)
forming part of the same cabin crew and performing similar duties. These conditions were that
an AH under AIC retired from service:

(1) On attaining the age of 35 years, or

13
Franklin D. Roosevelt also advocated for a right to medical care in 1944. See, Franklin D. Roosevelt, “The
Economic Bill of Rights” — Excerpt from 11-1-1944 message to Congress on the State of the Union.
(2) On marriage, if it took place within four years of service, or

(3) On first pregnancy.

Fact in Issue: Whether this amounts to violation of Article 14 (right to equality) and Article 15
and 16 (no discrimination on basis of gender) of the Constitution?

Held: Stating that it is settled law that article 14 strikes at arbitrariness in state action and that the
principle of reasonableness “pervades Article 14 like a brooding omnipresence”, the court
examined all the three conditions separately.

1. In respect of condition (1) the court held that the age of retirement is to be fixed by the
management after taking into account various factors such as the nature of work,
prevailing conditions, practice prevailing in another establishment, etc. Without deciding
whether 35 years is the correct age for retirement, the court went on to strike at regulation
47. Under this regulation the managing director (MD) had an uncontrolled and unguided
discretionary power to grant yearly extensions to the Air Hostesses till the age of 45. This
unguided discretion vested with the MD could easily result in his treating similarly
placed Air Hostesses differently and was therefore struck down. The result was that
unless the management amended the provision, all Air Hostesses would continue to retire
at 45 years of age and the MD would be bound to grant yearly extension as a matter of
course, if the Air Hostesses was medically fit.

2. So far as condition (2) was concerned, this condition was held to be constitutionally
valid. Having regard to the difficulties faced by both the parties, the court could not find
any constitutional infirmity in the provision requiring the Air Hostesses to serve the
corporation with complete dedication for the first 4 years.

3. So far as condition (3) was concerned the court took strong exception to it and held it to
be “grossly unethical” and as smacking of “deep rooted sense of utter selfishness at the
cost of all human values”. Having taken the Air Hostesses in service and after utilizing
her services for 4 years, to terminate her services if she becomes pregnant would amount
to compelling her not to have any children. The ability / capacity to continue to work
 after having children is an individual matter and whether she would find it difficult to
look after the children or not is her personal matter which affects the Air Hostesses
concerned and not the airline. Pregnancy is not a disability; it is a “natural consequence
of marriage” and any distinction made on the ground of pregnancy is extremely
unreasonable and manifestly arbitrary. This condition was held to be unconstitutional as
violative of article 14 and was struck down.

3. Whether there was violation of article 15 (1) and 16 (2)?

Held: what article 15 (1) and 16 (2) prohibit is that the discrimination should not be made only
and only on the ground of gender.

2. Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers, (2000) SCC 224.

In this case Union of Female Workers who were not on regular rolls, but were treated as
temporary workers and employed on Muster roll, claimed that they should also get maternity
benefit like regular workers. The court held that the provisions of the Act would indicate that
they are wholly in consonance with the Directive Principles of State Policy, as set out in Article
39 and in other Articles, especially Article 42. A woman employee, at the time of advanced
pregnancy cannot be compelled to undertake hard labour as it would be detrimental to her health
and also to the health of the fetus. It is for this reason that it is provided in the Act that she would
be entitled to maternity leave for certain periods prior to and after delivery.

3. Shah v. Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Coimbatore and others, (1977) 4 SCC 384: The
question before the Supreme Court was whether in calculating the maternity benefit for the
period covered by Section 5 Sundays being wage less holiday should be excluded. Issues Raised
before the Courts with Reference to Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.

 The Apex Court in holding that Sundays must also be included, applied the beneficial
rule of construction in favor of the woman worker and observed that the benefit conferred
by the Act read in the light of the Article 42 of the Constitution was intended to enable
the woman worker not only to subsist but also to make up her dissipated energy, nurse
 her child, preserve her efficiency as a worker and maintain the level of her previous
efficiency and output.
 During this period, she not only cannot work for her living but needs extra income for her
medical expenses. In order to enable the woman worker to subsist during this period and
to preserve her health, the law makes a provision for maternity benefit so that the woman
can play her productive and reproductive roles efficiently.
 Performance of the biological role of child bearing necessarily involves withdrawal of a
woman from the workforce for some period.

4. Mrs. Neera Mathur v. Life Insurance Corporation of India, 1992 AIR 392

The petitioner’s employment with the LIC was terminated after she returned from maternity
leave. The reason given was that she had withheld information about her pregnancy in a
questionnaire she had filled out at the time of her appointment. After a perusal of the
questionnaire, the Supreme Court found that it required female candidates to provide information
about the dates of their menstrual cycles and past pregnancies. The Court held that the
questionnaire was an invasion of privacy and directed the LIC to reinstate the petitioner and
delete the offending columns from its future questionnaires.

5. Ram Bahadur Thakur (P) Ltd. v Chief Inspector of Plantations, (1989) IILLJ 20 Ker

A female worker employed at the Pambanar Tea Estate was denied maternity benefits on the
grounds that she had actually worked for 157 days instead of the 160 days required to qualify for
them. The Supreme Court, however, held that for the purposes of computing maternity benefits,
all days including Sundays and unpaid holidays must be taken into consideration.

6. Municipal Corporation of Delhi v. Female Workers’ (Muster Rolls) and Another, Special
Leave Petition (civil) 12797 of 1998

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi stated that it granted maternity leave to its regular female
workers but not to the daily wage ones, that is, the ones on the muster rolls. The respondents
argued that the practice was unfair as there was hardly any difference in the work allotted to
female workers who were regular and those who were on daily wage. Accepting the contention,
the Supreme Court upheld the right of female construction workers to be granted maternity leave
by extending the scope of the Maternity Benefits Act, 1961 to daily wage workers.

MATERNITY BENEFITS AND THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

The rights and privileges for the betterment of women are: right to equality in law [Article 14],
right to social equality [Article 15], right to social equality in employment [Article 16] right to
adequate means of livelihood [Article 39 (a)], right to equal pay for equal work [Article 39 (d)],
right that the health and strength of workers both men and women are not abused [Article 39 (e)],
right to just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief [Article 42], and right to
improvement in employment opportunities and conditions of the working women [Article 46].

Article 15(3) of the Indian Constitution empowers the State to make special provisions for
women. The main object of Article 15 (3) is based on “protective discrimination” keeping in
view the weak physical position of women. The reason is that “women’s  physical structure and
the performance of maternal functions places her at a disadvantaged position in the struggle for
subsistence, and her physical well-being becomes an object of public interest and care in order to
preserve the strength and vigor of the race.” 14 This provision has enabled the State to make
special statutory provisions exclusively for the welfare of women.15

Article 21, Right to Life and Personal Liberty is not merely a right to protect one’s body but the
guarantee under this provision contemplates a larger scope. Right to Life means the right to lead
meaningful, complete and dignified life. It does not have restricted meaning. It is something
more than surviving or animal existence. The meaning of the word life cannot be narrowed down
and it will be available not only to every citizen of the country. Therefore, the State must
guarantee to a pregnant working woman all the facilities and assistance that she requires while
protecting her employment as well as her own and her child’s health.

14
Muller v. Oregon, 52 L.Ed. 551.
15
Alok Chantia, Gender Justice: The Constitutional Perspectives And The Judicial
Approach, https://www.academia.edu/4362417/Gender_Justice_The_Constitutional_Perspectives_And_The_Judicia
l_Approah,  (lasted visited 09/08/2017).
The Directive Principles of State Policy contained in Part IV of the Constitution of India, under
Article 41 requires the State to make effective provision for securing the right to work and to
education and Article 42 requires that the State shall make provision for securing just and
humane conditions of work and for maternity relief. “Since Article 42 specifically speaks of “just
and humane conditions of work” and “maternity relief”, the validity of any service rule and of an
executive or administrative action in denying maternity benefit has to be examined on the anvil
of Article 42 which, though not enforceable at law, is nevertheless available for determining the
legal efficacy of the service rule and of the action complained of.”16

CONCLUSION

The law will also facilitate ‘work from home’ options for nursing mothers once the leave period
ends and has made creche facilities mandatory in establishments with 50 or more employees.
The amendment takes India up to the third position in terms of maternity leave duration after
Norway (44 weeks) and Canada (50).

However, while the law has brought some cheers on grounds that it at least acknowledges that
women are entitled to maternity benefits – crucial in a country notorious for its entrenched
discrimination against women and one that routinely features at the bottom of the gender equity
index – many are dismissing it as a flawed piece of legislation.

The critics point out that the new law will benefit only a minuscule percentage of women
employed in the organised sector while ignoring a large demographic toiling in the country’s
unorganised sector such as contractual workers, farmers, casual workers, self-employed women
and housewives.

Another glaring flaw in the new legislation, say activists, is that it makes no mention of paternity
leave, putting the onus of the newborn’s rearing on the mother. This is a blow to gender equality,
they add. Global studies show lower child mortality and higher gender equality in societies
where both parents are engaged in child rearing. Paternity leave doesn’t just help dads become

16
Judicial View on Shortage of Attendance, http://legalperspectives.blogspot.in/2010/09/judicial-view-on-shortage-
of-attendence.html,  (last visited 09/08/2017).
more sensitive parents, show studies, it extends a helping hand to new moms coming to grips
with their new role as a parent.

According to a World Bank report titled Women, Business and the Law (2016), over 80-odd
countries provide for paternity leave including Iceland, Finland and Sweden. The salary during
this period, in Nordic countries, is typically partly paid and generally funded by the government.
Among India’s neighbours, Afghanistan, China, Hong Kong and Singapore mandate a few days
of paternity leave.