Tamil Nadu will extend maternity leave for its women government employees to 365 days for the birth of a third child, up from the existing 12 weeks, Human Resources Management Minister D. Sarathkumar announced in the state Assembly on Tuesday, 18 August.
The change brings the third-child benefit in line with the one-year leave already available for the first two children. Until now, regular women government employees with fewer than two surviving children were entitled to 365 days of maternity leave, while those with two or more surviving children received up to 12 weeks, or 84 days. The revision closes that gap for the third childbirth. A detailed government order is expected to follow.
The minister made the announcement while replying to the demand for grants for his department. He linked the decision to the state’s welfare priorities and to court observations on maternity benefits.
“Under these circumstances, as the Tamil Nadu government is a welfare-oriented administration prioritising social welfare and women’s empowerment, the maternity leave currently provided for the third child of female government employees will be enhanced from 12 weeks to 365 days,” Sarathkumar told the Assembly.
Tamil Nadu’s maternity leave provisions for government staff have expanded steadily over the years. The original 90 days was raised to six months in 2011 and to nine months in 2016, before the state moved eligible women employees to 365 days in July 2021. The latest measure removes the distinction that had kept third-child leave capped at 12 weeks.
The move is expected to benefit women employees across departments of the Tamil Nadu government. It also arrives alongside a broader set of departmental measures announced the same day, and follows a wider shift in family-planning messaging in the state from population control toward family well-being.
