Centre allows 6 months maternity leave for surrogacy, amends rules for govt employees

The Central Government has amended the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, to grant 180 days of maternity leave to women government employees opting for surrogacy. Additionally, "commissioning fathers" are entitled to 15 days of paternity leave.  

The Centre recently announced changes to a 50-year-old regulation that would allow female government employees to take 180 days of maternity leave in the event that they became surrogate parents. It has also allowed the “commissioning mother” (the intending mother of the child born through surrogacy) with child care leave besides paternity leave of 15 days to the “commissioning father”, according to the changes made in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.

According to the revised guidelines released by the Personnel Ministry, "in case of surrogacy, the surrogate, as well as the commissioning mother with less than two surviving children, may be granted maternity leave of 180 days, in case either or both of them are government servants."

Up until today, there had been no laws requiring government employees who are women to take maternity leave in the event that a child is delivered via surrogacy.

The revised regulations stated that "the commissioning father, a male government employee, who has less than two surviving children and has a child born through surrogacy, may be granted paternity leave of 15 days within 6 months from the date of delivery of the child."

In the case of surrogacy, the commissioning mother with less than two surviving children, may be granted child care leave, reads the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2024, notified on June 18.

Current regulations permit up to 730 days of paid leave for "a female government servant and a single male government servant" to be used "for taking care of two eldest surviving children, whether for rearing or for looking after any of their needs, such as education, sickness and the like" during the course of their employment.

The Personnel Ministry said in the revised regulations that the term "surrogate mother" refers to the woman who bears the child on behalf of the commissioning mother and  the expression “commissioning father” would mean the intending father of the child born through surrogacy, the Personnel Ministry clarified in the amended rules.