Impact of Missing Crèche Support in Maternity Benefit Policies in India: An Appraisal

This study explores the substantial shortcomings in India’s maternity benefits system, particularly the poor implementation and limited availability of crèche (childcare) services and their wider consequences for employed mothers. Although the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 requires organizations with 50 or more workers to provide creche facilities, enforcement remains inconsistent and largely ineffective, especially in the informal sector, which employs more than 90% of working women. Consequently, the lack of affordable and dependable childcare options significantly reduces the practical value of maternity benefits, forcing many women to leave the workforce or scale back their professional aspirations. Through policy review, field-based evidence and interviews with key stakeholders, this paper evaluates the socio-economic repercussions of this policy gap. It argues that without integrating strong, accessible and inclusive childcare provisions into maternity benefit policies, India’s progress toward workplace gender equality and improved child well-being will remain limited. The study ends with recommendations aimed at enhancing institutional accountability, encouraging employer compliance and expanding publicly supported childcare infrastructure.