Corporate Child Care

Companies extend maternity benefits, make it easy for young mothers - The Economic Times: "MUMBAI: India’s 1961 Maternity Benefits Act says that any woman employee in a company is entitled to 12 weeks of fully paid leave. But as HR head of the law firm Economic Laws Practice Priya Sawant points out, “On the 85th day, we can’t expect the kid to suddenly realise that now his mother’s gone!”

Many Indian companies are starting to increase the maternity benefits extended to their employees, whether in the form of more their maternity leave or other benefits like flexi-hours or day-care centres.

In April 2009, Standard Chartered offered its women employees a total of six months’ fully-paid maternity leave. At least 135 women have taken leave since then. Over a year-and-a-half ago, Deutsche Bank increased its maternity leave from three to four months. Godrej made the shift two years ago."