By way of a notification dated March 31, 2017 and a corrigendum dated April 3, 2017 issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment (‘Ministry’), the provisions of the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 (‘Maternity Amendment Act’), except Section 4(1) relating to provision of crèche facilities, were brought into force on April 1, 2017. The Maternity Amendment Act increases paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provided that women having two or more surviving children will be entitled to 12 weeks’ maternity leave. The Maternity Amendment Act also provides for paid leave of 12 weeks for commissioning mothers (in case of surrogacy) and adopting mothers who legally adopt a child below the age of three months. The Maternity Amendment Act also envisages a ‘work from home’ option for women after the period of maternity leave depending on the nature of work and on certain mutually agreed terms and conditions between the employer and the woman.The provisions pertaining to crèche facilities under Section 4(1) will be brought into force on July 1, 2017. The Maternity Amendment Act mandates employers employing 50 or more employees in an establishment to provide crèche facilities where women are allowed to visit four times in a day.