The Tamil Nadu government has announced that women government employees will now be entitled to 365 days of maternity leave for the birth of a third child, increasing the existing benefit from 12 weeks. The decision was announced by Human Resources Management Minister D Sarathkumar in the state Assembly during the discussion on demands for grants. The revised benefit will bring maternity leave for the third child on par with the one-year leave already available to eligible women government employees for their first two children. 

Under the existing rules, married women government employees with fewer than two surviving children are eligible for 365 days of maternity leave, while women with two or more surviving children were entitled to 12 weeks, or 84 days, of leave with full pay. Sarathkumar said the government had decided to increase the leave available for a third child to 365 days as part of its focus on social welfare and women’s empowerment. A detailed government order is expected to be issued to implement the announcement. 

The decision also comes after a recent legal and policy debate over maternity benefits for women having a third child. Tamil Nadu had amended its rules earlier this year, limiting maternity leave for women government employees with two or more surviving children to 12 weeks. The amended provision followed a Supreme Court-related legal position and was upheld by the Madras High Court in June in a case involving a woman government employee seeking a longer leave period. The latest announcement reverses that position for the third child and restores the 365-day benefit. 

The move comes at a time when Tamil Nadu is also discussing concerns over its changing demographic profile. State Health Minister K G Arunraj recently pointed to the state’s declining fertility rate and ageing population, saying Tamil Nadu’s total fertility rate has fallen below 1.4, compared with the replacement level of 2.1. Nearly 16 per cent of the state’s population is above the age of 60, according to figures cited in recent discussions. The government has separately indicated that it could examine measures aimed at encouraging couples to have more children, although the maternity leave announcement itself has been presented in terms of social welfare and women’s empowerment. 

Tamil Nadu has progressively increased maternity leave for its government employees over the years. The original 90-day provision was raised to six months in 2011, then to nine months in 2016, before being extended to one year, or 365 days, in July 2021. The latest decision changes the position for women employees having a third child, who had previously been covered by the shorter 12-week provision. For eligible government employees, the practical difference is substantial, with the new entitlement adding several months of paid leave compared with the earlier arrangement. 

The detailed rules, including the precise implementation process, will become clearer once the government issues its formal order. For now, the announcement represents a significant change in Tamil Nadu’s maternity leave policy for women government employees and removes the previous distinction in leave duration for the third child.