Tamil Nadu extends maternity leave to 365 days for third child

The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, has announced that female state government employees will now receive 365 days of paid maternity leave for their third child. This policy reverses a previous restriction that capped leave for a third child at 12 weeks, bringing the benefit in line with the entitlement for the first two children. Human Resources Management Minister D. Sarathkumar made the announcement in the State Assembly.

The decision comes amid demographic discussions regarding the state’s declining fertility rate, which has fallen below 1.4. While the government frames the move as a welfare and women's empowerment initiative, political opponents, including leaders from the DMK and Congress, have raised concerns. Critics argue the policy may undermine long-standing family planning successes and question the economic implications of encouraging larger families.

In addition to the maternity leave extension, the government announced several other welfare measures under Rule 110. These include increasing the monthly vehicle allowance for MLAs to ₹75,000, raising their health insurance coverage from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh, and increasing milk procurement prices from ₹38 to ₹41 per litre. The state also allocated ₹351 crore to expand medical education capacity, including thousands of new seats in nursing and paramedical courses.