For pre-adoption foster care, govt tweaks leave rules

NEW DELHI: The Centre has amended the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules to allow female and male government servants to avail of child adoption leave and paternity leave respectively, for pre-adoption foster care of a child aged below one year. In either case, the government employee should have less than two surviving children.

Before the latest amendment, Rule 43AA of CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, entitled male government servants to a 15-day paternity leave within a period of six months from the date of valid adoption. Similarly, Rule 43B provided for a 180-days child adoption leave for female government employees immediately from the date of adoption.

To factor in the need for such leave during pre-adoption foster care as well, the department of personnel and training on May 15 notified the Central Civil Services (Leave) (Amendment) Rules, 2023, wherein the amended Rule 43AA states that paternity leave may be granted not only from the date of actual adoption but for pre-adoption foster care as well. In case the child is not taken as a ward by the government employee, such leave already availed shall be debited from any other kind of leave available to his credit.

Similarly, the amended Rule 43B allows female central government employees with less than two surviving children, to be granted child adoption leave for up to 180 days on accepting the child in pre-adoption foster care or on valid adoption, as the case may be. Such leave will be debited from any other category of leave available to the credit of the woman government employee, if the foster care is not followed by adoption of the child.

Salary equal to the pay drawn prior to proceeding on leave, shall be payable during the 15-day paternity leave in case of male employees and during the 180-day child adoption leave in case of female employees.

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