What New Maternity Leave Rule For Govt Employees In Case Of Surrogacy Entails

The Centre amended a maternity rule for government employees on June 24. The news comes under the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on June 18.

180 Day Maternity Leave With 15 Day Paternity Leave

This new amended rule now allows the commissioned mother and the surrogate mother to get a 6 month (180 days) maternity leave along with the commissioned father getting 15 days of paternity leave given that all or either of them are government employees. The terms like "commissioned mother", "surrogate" and "commissioned father" have also been specified and clarified under the legal speech.

The Personnel Ministry said, "the "surrogate mother" shall mean the woman who bears the child on behalf of the commissioning mother and the expression "commissioning father" would mean the intended father of the child born through surrogacy. While the "commissioning mother means the intending mother of the child born through surrogacy. 

The government employees can now take a leave of 180 in case of a child through surrogacy which was earlier not possible. While the Centre had rules in place for usual maternity leave for mothers but not for those with surrogacy.

These existing rules are, "a female government servant and single male government servant" child care leave for a maximum period of 730 days during entire service "for taking care of two eldest surviving children, whether for rearing or for looking after any of their needs, such as education, sickness and the like." 

The amendment was swift and much needed for commissioned mothers as well as surrogate mothers. It highlights a dual role, firstly that how a child may not be born biologically from a mother yet the childcare and raising requires immense effort and mental and physical well-being of a commissioned mother.

Secondly, it highlights the role of surrogate mothers in Indian society and normalising the process of surrogacy by recognising surrogate mothers and their need for rest, mental wellness and postpartum care. This was a much needed change and necessary for all mothers working as government employees.