S Nivedha, Sastra Deemed University
ABSTRACT
Every working women in India is subjected to maternity benefits by various laws passed by the government. Maternity benefit is the advantages that is received by women workers during the period of pregnancy and after the child birth and any complications in the process. This is because during the pregnancy as well as after the birth of the new born child , it requires a lot of care for the child. In our country , the participation of women in labour sector is increasing every year but it also becomes the responsibility of the mother to take care of the child. Considering this as an essential matter, The government of India has passed The maternity benefits act 1961 which was recently amended in the year 2017. This legislation was passed with an Aim to give security of job and financial assistance during the period of pregnancy and childbirth. Moreover, female workers can take up to 26 weeks of maternity leave to take care and breastfeed the new born child as per the Maternity Benefits (Amendment) act 20171. And their remuneration is also granted during this period of absence. Section 5 of this act provides for the right of payment of maternity benefits. The employer is also entitled to provide bonus payment to assist the medical fees in pregnancy as per section 8 of this act. This act also deals with women who legally adopt a child, section 5(4) of this act allows an adoptive mother Who adopts a child below three months is entitled to maternity leave from the day of adoption of the child.
Apart from the legal provisions , the government also made several schemes such as Janani Suraksha Yojana 2005, Vande Mataram Scheme , Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana 2017, Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan and many more that provides medical assistance and helps in institutional delivery, to decrease maternal mortality.
