Raghav Chadha Pushes For Paternity Leave Law In India: What Are The Rules at Present?

New Delhi: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, who has lately emerged to be a poster-boy for a large section of the liberal wokes in the country, has once again come into the limelight during the Parliament session for calling for a paternity leave law in India. 

"When a child is born, both parents are congratulated, but the responsibility of caregiving falls disproportionately on the mother," Chadha said, calling for the need for a more egalitarian approach to parenting.

"A father should not have to choose between caring for his newborn and keeping his job. Similarly, a mother should not have to go through childbirth and recovery without her partner's support," he argued.

As India tries to reason out whether such a law can be actually feasible in a country where a large section of the society is employed in the unorganised section, let us take a look at how far we have come as far as this equal-parenting concept is concerned.

Here's What The Supreme Court Said

Just recently, a Supreme Court bench observed that though a mother's role in a crucial factor in raising a child, one cannot completely rule out the onus of parenting from the father's shoulder. The court said that parenting should be a shared responsibility and fathers should also get adequate opportunity to participate in the process.

Where Do India's Laws Stand?

As far as the private sector goes, maternity leave is usually granted under the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and paternity leave is still a foreign concept, and has no mention of it under the labour laws.

Government employees, on the other hand, get paternity leave under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, and are entitled to 15 days of fully paid leave. However, that should be taken within six months of the child's birth. It is also confined to only two children.

Has This Issue Been Raised In Parliament Before?

Chadha is not the first MP to raise this issue in the Parliament. Earlier in 2017, late Congress MP Rajeev Satav had introduced a Paternity Benefit Bill, intending to create a uniform framework for paternity leave across sectors. This proposed 15 days leave, that can be extended by up to three months. It also included a provision for pre-birth leave. However, it never became an Act.

Are Paternity Leaves Granted?

In the absence of an uniform law, paternity leave is based on individual company policies, and it is usually not a right. but left up to the discretion of the bosses.

What Is The Global Scenario?

Several European coutries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, and Portugal have policies pertaining to parental leave. Sweden had introduced paid parental leave since 1974. Here, parents get 480 days of shared leave with quotas for each. Finland grants 164 days of leave for each parent parent; in Norway fathers have dedicated weeks exclusively for fathers.

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