Bhubaneswar: In a progressive move, the Odisha government has announced the extension of maternity and paternity leave benefits to state employees who attain parenthood through surrogacy. The decision was formalized in an office memorandum issued by the Finance Department on Thursday, marking a significant step in inclusive employee welfare policies.
Under the new guidelines, a female state government employee with fewer than two surviving children who becomes a surrogate mother is now entitled to 180 days of maternity leave. As per the Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021, a surrogate mother is defined as a woman who agrees to bear a child genetically related to the intending couple or intending woman, following the implantation of an embryo in her womb.
Similarly, female state employees who become commissioning mothers — defined as biological mothers who use their eggs to create an embryo implanted in another woman — are also eligible for 180 days of maternity leave.
Male employees who become commissioning fathers, or biological fathers of children born through surrogacy, are now eligible for 15 days of paternity leave, to be availed within six months of the child’s birth. This benefit is extended to male employees with fewer than two surviving children.
The memorandum also clarifies that if both the surrogate mother and the commissioning mother are state employees, they will each be entitled to the full 180 days of maternity leave.
To claim maternity or paternity leave under this provision, employees must submit a surrogacy agreement between the surrogate mother and the commissioning parents, along with supporting medical documentation from registered doctors or hospitals.