India will more than double maternity leave, allow work from home and require employers to have crèches to improve maternal and child health and boost a declining female workforce. "The maternity bill is a historic step as it puts us in the top countries in the world that care for new mothers," Maneka Gandhi, minister for women and children, said on Friday. "With 26 weeks to care for their newborns, both mother and child will be healthier," she said in a video on the ministry's Facebook page. Extending maternity leave will encourage more women to return to work and help close the gender gap in the labour market, gender experts say, as many women reluctantly drop out of work because they need more time for their newborns. The move puts India among the most generous countries globally in terms of the amount of maternity leave afforded to women.

Source: The Star March 10, 2017 17:26 UTC