 bill no 176 of 2014 the maternity benefit (amendment) bill, 2014 byshri p karunakaran, mpa billfurther to amend the maternity benefit act, 1961be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-fifth  year of the republic of  india  as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the maternity benefit (amendment) act, 2014short title and commencement(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint statement of objects and reasonsprovision of proper care to the mother and infant is fundamental to the growth and well being of the society an infant requires as much attention and care of the mother as may be possible the maternity leave of twelve weeks currently available to working women needs to be extended to twenty four weeks in order to provide an infant wholesome care and proper nourishment for his overall growth the sixth pay commission had recommended for extension of maternity leave for central government women employees upto six months and the same has been implemented by the central government further, the world health organisation as well as union ministry of health and family welfare have issued guidelines stating inter alia that a baby needs to be nursed by the mother for a minimum period of six monthsthe bill, therefore, seeks to amend the maternity benefit act, 1961 with a view to enhance maternity leave for women employees from twelve weeks to twenty four weeksnew delhi;p karunakarannovember 7, 2014 financial memorandumclause 2 of the bill provides for enhancement of maternity leave for women employees from twelve weeks to twenty four weeks the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that an annual recurring expenditure of about rupees five hundred crore will be involvedno non-recurring expenditure is likely to be involved annexure extract from the maternity benefit act, 1961 (53 of 1961)    5 (1)     (2)    right to payment of maternity benefits(3) the maximum period for which any woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit shall be twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks shall precede the date of the expected delivery:provided that where a woman dies during this period, the maternity benefit shall be payable only for the days up to and including the day of her death:         lok  sabha——————abillfurther to amend the maternity benefit act, 1961————(shri p karunakaran, mp)gmgipmrnd—2939ls(s-3)—04-12-2014