The Ministry of Labour and Employment vide its Notification dated 20 January, 2017 being G.S.R. 62(E) notified further amendment to the Employees' State Insurance (Central) Rules, 1950 in exercise of the powers conferred by section 95 of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, and made the following rules further to amend the Employees' State Insurance (Central) Rules, 1950, namely the Employees' State Insurance (Central) Amendment Rules, 2017.
Under these Rules, new provision being section 6A has been inserted to include definition of the term "insured woman". The term means a woman who is or was an employee in respect of whom contribution is or were payable under the Act and who is, by reason thereof, entitled to any of the benefits provided under the Act and shall include—
Further in existing rule 56, in sub-rule (2), for the words "twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks", the words "twenty-six weeks of which not more than eight weeks" have been substituted; and that after the first proviso, the following provisos are inserted, namely:--
"Provided further that the insured woman shall be entitled to twelve weeks of maternity benefit from the date the child is handed over to the commissioning mother after birth or adopting mother, as the case may be:
Provided also that the insured woman having two or more than two surviving children shall be entitled to receive maternity benefits during a period of twelve weeks of which not more than six weeks shall precede the expected date of confinement."
Notably these Rules were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-II, Section 3, Sub-section (i) vide number G.S.R. 958(E), dated the 6th October, 2016, as required under sub-section (1) of section 95 of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948(34 of 1948), inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date on which the copies of the Gazette containing the said notification was published were made available to the public. Copies of the said Gazette were made available to the public on the 6th October, 2016. However, no objections and suggestions were received from persons in respect of the said rules (as reported).
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