Odisha’s new BJP government has toed the Centre's line by extending maternity leave and paternity leave benefits to state government employees attaining parenthood by surrogacy.
An official memorandum by the state Finance department says: "A maternity leave of 180 days to female government employees and paternity leave of 15 days to male government employees have been extended by the state government. The proposal for grant of maternity and paternity leave to state government employees in case of attainment of parenthood by surrogacy has been under active consideration of state government for some time past. The Government of India has extended maternity leave and paternity leave benefits to central government employees attaining surrogacy. In view of this, the state government extended maternity leave benefits to state government employees attaining parenthood by surrogacy."
It added that the key conditions are a state government female employee, having less than two surviving children who becomes 'surrogate mother' shall be eligible for maternity leave of 180 days.
A surrogate mother is a woman who agrees to bear a child and who is genetically related to the intending couple or intending woman through surrogacy from the implantation of the embryo in her womb and fulfils the conditions as provided in the law in the 2021 Surrogacy Act.
A state government female employee, having less than two surviving children who becomes a ‘commissioning mother’ shall be eligible for maternity leave of 180 days. A commissioning mother is a biological mother who uses her egg to create an embryo implanted in any other woman. A state government male employee having less than two surviving children, who becomes a ‘commissioning father’ shall be eligible for paternity leave of 15 days within the period of six months from the date of delivery of the child. A commissioning father is the biological father of the child born through surrogacy.
If both the surrogate mother and commissioning mother are state government employees both will be eligible for 180 days of maternity leave each. The surrogacy agreement made between the mother and commissioning parents along with supporting documents from registered doctors or hospitals shall be produced for claiming maternity/paternity leave.