Paternity Leave in India: Rules, Eligibility, Salary & How Many Days Fathers Can Take

Your wife is due next month. You want to be there, not just on the delivery day, but for the sleepless nights that follow, the hospital visits, the first feeds. So you walk up to HR and ask about paternity leave. And the answer, depending on where you work, could range from "15 days, fully paid" to a blank stare.

That divide is the reality of paternity leave in India today. Government employees have a clearly defined, legally protected entitlement. Private sector employees are almost entirely at their employer's discretion. No central law mandates paternity leave for private companies and only about 14% of Indian firms have a formal policy in place.

This article breaks down exactly who qualifies for paternity leave in India, how many days you get, what happens to your salary and what your options are if your employer simply doesn't have a policy.
 

What Is Paternity Leave in India and Who Does the Law Cover?

Paternity leave is a period of paid time off granted to a father following the birth or adoption of a child. In India, the legal entitlement exists only for central government employees, defined under Rule 43-A and Rule 43-AA of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, administered by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

There is no central statute that requires private sector employers to offer paternity leave. The Ministry of Labour and Employment confirmed this directly in response to a Rajya Sabha question: no legal provision mandates paternity leave for private sector employees. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (which gives mothers up to 26 weeks of paid leave) applies exclusively to women and has no corresponding entitlement for fathers.

The four Labour Codes passed in 2019–2020, including the Code on Social Security 2020 (which came into force on 21 November 2025), introduce gender-neutral "parental leave" language. But full implementation requires state-level rules to be notified, a process that is still incomplete across most Indian states as of mid-2026. Until states complete that process, private sector paternity leave remains discretionary.
 

How Many Days of Paternity Leave Do Government Employees Get?

Central government employees are entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave. This is the flat statutory entitlement, no partial entitlement based on years of service, grade, or cadre. The 15 days can be taken in one of two windows:

• Up to 15 days before the expected delivery date
• At any point within 6 months after the date of birth

If you do not use the leave within that six-month window, it lapses permanently. There is no option to carry it forward, convert it to cash, or transfer it to a later date.

One provision that many employees overlook: paternity leave can be combined with other leave types. If 15 days is not enough, you can club it with earned leave, half-pay leave, or even leave without pay (subject to departmental approval). This can effectively extend your time off well beyond 15 days, depending on your leave balance.
 

Eligibility Criteria for Paternity Leave: Central Government Rules

Not every central government employee automatically qualifies. The CCS Leave Rules set specific conditions.

Note: The two-surviving-children cap is strictly enforced. If you already have two living children, you are ineligible regardless of your seniority or service record.
 

Paternity Leave Salary: What Do You Actually Get Paid?

For central government employees, paternity leave is fully paid. You receive your salary at the rate drawn immediately before the leave begins, with no deductions. The leave is not charged to your regular leave account, so it does not reduce your earned leave or half-pay leave balance.

For private sector employees, pay treatment depends entirely on company policy. Most tech and organised-sector companies that do offer paternity leave provide it on full pay. If your employer has no policy, any time off is usually deducted from your privilege leave or casual leave balance, effectively making it an unpaid absence if those balances are exhausted.

There is no government-administered paternity benefit fund for private sector employees, unlike ESIC maternity benefits for women. Fathers in the private sector have no fallback outside their employer's documented policy.
 

Adoptive and Surrogate Fathers: Are They Covered?

Yes, both categories are covered under the CCS Rules for central government employees. Adoptive fathers qualify under Rule 43-AA. Conditions:

• The child must be younger than one year at the time of valid legal adoption
• The father must have fewer than two surviving children
• The six-month leave window starts from the date of adoption
• The definition of "child" includes wards under the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, provided the child lives with the employee and has been accorded the legal status of a natural-born child

Commissioning fathers in surrogacy are covered under Rule 43-A(6), added via a 2024 amendment. Before this change, commissioning fathers had no explicit provision and had to rely on earned leave or discretionary approvals. The amendment grants them the same 15-day entitlement, subject to the two-child limit. Private sector fathers in surrogacy arrangements still depend entirely on their employer's internal policies.
 

State Government Paternity Leave: Rules Vary by State

State government employees are covered by their respective state service rules, not the central CCS framework. The entitlement differs meaningfully from state to state.

 

Paternity Leave in the Private Sector

This is where most Indian fathers hit a wall. No central law requires private employers to give any paternity leave at all. What you receive depends on your employment contract, your company's HR policy and your employer's willingness to offer it voluntarily.

Only around 14% of Indian private companies have a formal paternity leave policy. The gap is stark compared to the 26 weeks of statutory maternity leave that companies must give working mothers. Among the companies that do offer paternity leave:

• Traditional large corporates: Typically 5–15 days of paid leave
• Top-tier startups and MNC subsidiaries: Increasingly extending to 4–12 weeks, benchmarking against global standards
• Most SMEs and unorganised sector employers: No policy at all

If your company has no paternity leave policy and you take time off, you will typically need to use earned leave or casual leave. If those are exhausted, it may be treated as leave without pay.

The important thing: check your offer letter, employment contract and HR portal before assuming you are covered. Do not rely on informal assurances. If your company's written policy promises paternity leave and then denies it, your remedy lies in your employment contract.
 

What the Future Looks Like: The Paternity and Parental Benefits Bill, 2025

There have been two notable attempts to create a national paternity leave law covering all Indian workers. The Paternity Benefit Bill, 2017 (introduced by MP Rajeev Satav) was never taken up for discussion and lapsed. The more substantial proposal is the Paternity and Parental Benefits Bill, 2025, introduced in the Lok Sabha by MP Supriya Sule in January 2025. Its key proposals:

• 8 weeks of paid paternity leave for fathers with fewer than two children
• 5 weeks for fathers with two or more surviving children
• 8 weeks of shared parental leave that married couples can divide, taken in one block or two installments of at least one week each
• 5 days of leave following a miscarriage or medical termination of the spouse's pregnancy
• Equal entitlement for adoptive and commissioning fathers

As of mid-2026, the bill remains a private member's bill and has not been scheduled for discussion. Private members' bills in India rarely become law without government support. The Code on Social Security 2020 also introduces parental leave language, but state-level rule notifications (the trigger for private sector obligations) are still pending across most states.

Fathers in the private sector should not plan around pending legislation. The current reality is discretionary policy and that is unlikely to change uniformly before 2027 at the earliest.
 

How to Apply for Paternity Leave (Central Government Employees)

The process is straightforward, but timing matters. Missing the six-month window means losing the benefit entirely.

Step 1: Determine your timing
Confirm your eligibility. Ensure you have fewer than two surviving children and the expected or actual date of birth falls within the valid leave window.

Step 2: Gather documents

• If applying before birth: a certificate from a registered medical practitioner confirming the expected delivery date
• If applying after birth: a birth certificate from the municipal authority
• For adoption: a valid adoption deed or court order stating the date of adoption and the child's age
• For surrogacy: documentation establishing the commissioning arrangement and the child's delivery date

Step 3: Submit your application
Most central government offices now process leave through digital HR portals or Leave Management Systems. Smaller offices may still use physical applications submitted to the department head or administrative officer. Confirm which process your office follows.

Step 4: Confirm approval
Your supervisor or administrative officer verifies dates, eligibility and documentation before granting formal approval. Give your office at least two to three weeks' notice wherever possible as an advance notice makes the approval workflow smoother.
Official reference: Department of Personnel and Training — CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 Grievance portal (if leave is denied): SAMADHAN Portal, Ministry of Labour and Employment — free via the portal or UMANG app; Rs. 30 via a Common Service Centre.

Official reference: Department of Personnel and Training — CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972
Grievance portal (if leave is denied):SAMADHAN Portal, Ministry of Labour and Employment — free via the portal or UMANG app; Rs. 30 via a Common Service Centre.

What to Do If Your Paternity Leave Is Denied

• For Central Government Employees
  The CCS Leave Rules explicitly state that paternity leave shall not normally be refused under any circumstances. The word "normally" leaves a very narrow theoretical exception, but a properly documented request gives your department almost no ground to deny.
  In 2023, the Madras High Court reinforced this in B. Saravanan v. Deputy Inspector General of Police, holding that denying paternity leave violated the child's fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court framed paternal leave as a constitutional right, not merely an administrative benefit. If your leave is wrongfully denied, you can raise a grievance through the SAMADHAN portal. If conciliation fails, the dispute can be referred to the Central Government Industrial Tribunal for adjudication.

• For Private Sector Employees
  Since no statute grants them paternity leave, there is no statutory right to enforce if your company simply has no policy. If your company's own written policy promises paternity leave and then withholds it, you have a contractual claim, consult an employment lawyer about your options under your employment agreement.
  

Planning for the Costs Beyond Leave: Why Maternity Health Insurance Matters

Paternity leave gives you time. But the bigger financial weight of a new baby is the medical cost of hospital deliveries, prenatal check-ups, neonatal care and complications that no one anticipates.

A maternity health insurance plan bridges that gap. If your family is planning a pregnancy, a policy with a maternity benefit rider can cover delivery expenses, pre- and post-natal costs and even newborn care from day one. The key is to buy it early — most maternity plans carry a waiting period of 2 to 4 years before the benefit kicks in.

Explore maternity cover health insurance options and compare plans suited to your needs at SMC Insurance.

Wrapping Up

Paternity leave in India is a tale of two realities. Central government employees have a clearly defined, legally protected 15-day entitlement under the CCS Leave Rules, with full salary, no impact on other leave balances and explicit protection against denial. Adoptive fathers and, since 2024, commissioning fathers in surrogacy arrangements are covered under the same framework.

Private sector employees have no statutory right. The Labour Codes and the Paternity and Parental Benefits Bill, 2025 signal change, but actual implementation is still years away for most workers. If you are a government employee, know your exact entitlement, file early and do not let the six-month window slip. If you are in the private sector, check your employment contract now and not the day your child is born. And regardless of your employer, ensure your family has the right health insurance before the pregnancy, because the medical bills do not wait for any policy to pass.

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