INTRODUCTION ON Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 :

Article 39(e) &(f) of the Constitution of India provides that the State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength; and that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Maternity Benefits are aimed to protect the dignity of motherhood by providing for the full and healthy maintenance of women and her child when she is not working. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 is applicable to mines, factories, circus industry, plantations, shops and establishments employing ten or more persons. It can be extended to other establishments by the State Governments.