India Maternity Leave 2026: The 26-Week Rule, Eligibility & the 3rd-Child Reduction
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India's Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, substantially strengthened by the 2017 Amendment, gives working women one of the longer statutory maternity-leave entitlements in Asia.
The headline rule: 26 weeks
Under Section 5, you get 26 weeks (about 182 days) of fully paid maternity leave for your first or second child. Up to 8 weeks of that may be taken before your expected delivery date, with the rest taken afterward.
It reduces for a 3rd child
From your third child onward, the entitlement drops to 12 weeks (84 days) — still fully paid, just shorter. This distinction was a deliberate policy choice in the 2017 Amendment.
Who is eligible?
You must have actually worked at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately before your expected delivery date (Section 5(2)). The Act applies to establishments with 10 or more employees — factories, mines, plantations, shops and other establishments below that threshold aren't covered by this specific law.
Who pays?
Your employer pays your maternity benefit directly, at your average daily wage. If you're separately covered under India's ESI (Employees' State Insurance) scheme, your cash benefit instead comes through ESI rather than directly from your employer.
Worked example
Monthly salary (basic + DA) ₹40,000, first child, daily wage ≈ ₹1,333: over 182 days ≈ ₹2,42,667 total paid leave. For a third child at 84 days: ≈ ₹1,12,000.
A note on probation in India
Unlike maternity leave, India has no single national law setting a uniform probation-period notice requirement for private-sector employees generally — it's governed by individual employment contracts and, where applicable, state-level Shops & Establishments Acts, which vary. Because of that, we haven't built a probation calculator for India — there's no single verifiable national figure to calculate from.
Frequently asked questions
How many weeks of maternity leave do I get in India?
26 weeks (about 182 days) of fully paid leave for your first or second child, reducing to 12 weeks (84 days) from the third child onward — under Section 5 of the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, as amended in 2017.
What is the eligibility requirement for maternity leave in India?
You must have actually worked at least 80 days in the 12 months immediately before your expected delivery date (Section 5(2)).
Does India's maternity leave law apply to every employer?
It applies to factories, mines, plantations, shops and establishments with 10 or more employees. Smaller establishments fall outside the Act's coverage.
Is Indian maternity leave paid by the employer or the government?
By the employer directly, under the Maternity Benefit Act. If you're covered under India's separate ESI (Employees' State Insurance) scheme, your cash maternity benefit is instead paid through ESI.
Why does maternity leave reduce for a 3rd child in India?
The 2017 Amendment to the Act deliberately set a lower 12-week entitlement from the third child onward, while keeping the fuller 26 weeks for the first two.