Stories
Fathers to get 365 days childcare leave; Women's Commission sends 37 recommendations to govt.
- •The National Commission for Women (NCW) has recommended extending Child Care Leave (CCL) to the private sector and making paid paternity leave mandatory across all sectors.
- •NCW proposes making the existing CCL system gender-neutral, dividing the 730 days of leave into 365 days each for both working parents.
- •The commission suggests implementing CCL in private companies, mandatory paternity leave, and developing 5 lakh crèche seats nationwide by 2030.
- •NCW recommends creating a 'Maternity and Child Care Fund' for women in gig and unorganized sectors and universalizing the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
- •Recommendations include increasing maternity leave for adoptive mothers to 26 weeks and reconsidering CCL for a third child.
Key Questions Answered
The National Commission for Women recommended making Child Care Leave gender-neutral by dividing the existing 730 days into 365 days each for working mothers and fathers. Additionally, the commission proposed extending CCL to the private sector and making paid paternity leave mandatory across all sectors to ensure raising a child is not solely the mother's responsibility.
Under a proposed 'National Child Care Infrastructure Mission', the target is to develop 5 lakh crèche seats across the country by 2030 to address childcare challenges faced by working women. Suggested models include office crèches, shared crèches for multiple institutions, and state-level childcare funds.
The commission has suggested increasing the existing 12 weeks of maternity leave to 26 weeks for adoptive and commissioning mothers, providing them with benefits similar to biological mothers.
