BENCHMARKING

OF
ADOPTION LEAVE
POLICY
(TATA TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED)

INTRODUCTION

Adoption plays a very important function in the Indian society. In the olden days, it was
restricted within the family and was covered by social and religious practices as under the
Hindu Adoptions and Maintainence Act. But with the changing times, adoption has been
legalized by the Government Of India with the help of several NGOs and Government
recognized Adoption Centres in order to prevent Child Exploitation and Child trafficking . There
have been certain provisions for the inter country adoption process as well Hague Convention
Process being one of them which makes provision for inter-country adoption process

HINDU ADOPTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ACT

(1956)
The Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act was enacted in India in 1956 as part
of the Hindu Code Bills. The other legislations enacted during this time include the
Hindu Marriage Act (1955), the Hindu Succession Act (1956), and the Hindu
Minority and Guardianship Act (1956). All of these acts were put forth under the
leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, and were meant to codify and standardise the
current Hindu legal tradition. The Adoptions and Maintenance Act of 1956 dealt
specifically with the legal process of adopting children by a Hindu adult, and with
the legal obligations of a Hindu to provide "maintenance" to various family
members including their wife or wives, parents, and in-laws.
WHO CAN ADOPT?
Under this act only Hindus may adopt subject to their fulfilment of certain criteria.
The first of these asserts that the adopter has the legal right to (under this Act that
would mean they are a Hindu). Next, they have to have the capacity to be able to
provide for the adopted child. Thirdly the child must be capable of being adopted.
Lastly, compliance with all other specifications (as outlined below) must be met to
make the adoption valid
Men can adopt if they have the consent of their wife or of all of their wives. The
only way of getting around obtaining the permission of the wife or of the wives is

if she or if they are unsound, if they have died, if they have completely and finally
renounced the world, and if they have ceased to be a Hindu. Men who are
unmarried can adopt as well as long as they are not a minor. However, if a man
were to adopt a daughter, the man must be twenty one years of age or older
Only unmarried Hindu women can legally adopt a child. A married woman can
only give her consent to adoption by her husband. A married woman whose
husband adopts a child is to be considered the mother. [4] If the child is adopted and
there are more than one wife living in the household, then the senior wife is
classified as the legal mother of the adopted child.
WHO CAN BE ADOPTED?
The adopted child can be either male or female. The adopted child must fall under
the Hindu category. The adoptee also needs to be unmarried; however, if the
particular custom or usage is applicable to the involved parties then the adoptee
can be married. The child cannot be the age of sixteen or older, unless again it is
custom or the usage is applicable to the involved parties. An adoption can only
occur if there is not a child of the same sex of the adopted child still residing in the
home. In particular, if a son were to be adopted then the adoptive father or mother
must not have a legitimate or adopted son still living in the house.

LEGAL IMPLICATIONS FOR AN ADOPTED CHILD

From the date of the adoption, the child is under the legal guardianship of the new
adopted parent(s) and thus should enjoy all the benefits from those family ties. This
also means that this child, therefore, is cut off from all legal benefits
(property, inheritance, etc.) from the family who had given him or her up for
adoption.
MAINTENANCE OF A CHILD OR OF AGED PARENTS
Under this act, a child is guaranteed maintenance from his or her parents until the
child ceases to be a minor. This is in effect for both legitimate and illegitimate

children who are claimed by the parent or parents. Parents or infirmed daughters,
on the other hand, must be maintained so long as they are unable to maintain for
themselves.

The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890

According to The Guardians and Wards Act, 1890; a minor/child is any person
who has not completed 18 years of age. "Guardian" means a person having the care
of the person of a minor or of his property or of both his person and property;
"ward" means a minor for whose person or property or both there is a guardian.
The court or appointed authority has the ability to decide the guardian of a child by
appointing one a guardian or removing another as a guardian. Applications for
guardianship should contain all possible information about the child and guardian
and reasons. Once the court admits the application into court, then the court will
set a date for the hearing. The court will hear evidence before making a decision.
The court must work in the interest of the minor, taking into consideration the age,
sex, religion, character of the guardian, the death of the parent(s), relation of the
child to the guardian, etc. The minor's preference may be taken into consideration.
This Act therefore provides that a child being taken care of by a guardian or ward
must thus be protected by them and no form of discrimination would be permitted
on the same. The Act lays down rules and regulations keeping in mind the best

interest of the child at all times. This leads to healthy growth and development of
the child and creation of an atmosphere where in the child can realize his optimum
potential.
JUVENILE JUSTICE ACT,2000
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to juveniles in conflict with law
and children in need of care and protection, by providing for proper care,
protection and treatment by catering to their development needs, and by adopting a
child-friendly approach in the adjudication and disposition of matters in the best
interest of children and for their ultimate rehabilitation through various institutions
established under this enactment.

To strengthen adoption rules and to ease the adoption method, Government of

India under advice of Supreme Court constituted a Central Agency- Central
Adoption Resource Agency [CARA] with New Delhi as base to set up guidelines
for adoption time to time safeguarding welfare and rights of children while
granting adoption or guardianship under Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act
1956, Guardians and Wards Act 1890 or Juvenile Justice Act of 2000.
CARA Central Adoption Resource Authority
Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women &
Child Development, Government of India. It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian
children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions. CARA
is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the
provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of
Indiain2003.
CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its
associated /recognised adoption agencies.

Eligibility Criteria
Who can Adopt
(a) The prospective adoptive parents should be physically, mentally and emotionally stable;
financially capable; motivated to adopt a child; and should not have any life threatening medical
condition;
(b) Any prospective adoptive parent, irrespective of his marital status and whether or not he has
his own biological son or daughter, can adopt a child;
(c) Single female is eligible to adopt a child of any gender:
(d) Single male person shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child;

(e) In case of a couple, the consent of both spouses shall be required;

(f) No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable
marital relationship;
(g) The age of prospective adoptive parents as on the date of registration shall be counted for
deciding the eligibility and the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents to apply for children of
different age groups shall be as under (h)
The minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive
parents should not be less than twenty five years;
(i)
The age for eligibility will be as on the date of registration of the prospective adoptive
parents;
(j)
Couples with more than four children shall not be considered for adoption;

Age of the child

Maximum
composite
prospective parents

Upto 4 years
90 years
Above 4 upto 8 years 100 years
Above 8 upto 18 years 110 years

age

of Maximum age of
single
prospective
adoptive parent
45 years
50 years
55 years

Criteria for eligible Children

A child may as far as possible be placed in adoption when he/she is infant and
young and has not reached the age of 6. In exceptional cases, an older child above
6 years of age can be considered for adoption and in such case his/her consent shall
be obtained. The best interest of the child will decide any placement decision.
Eligibility to adopt in India
Prospective adoptive parents should be physically, mentally and emotionally
stable, financially capable, motivated to adopt a child, and should not have any life
threatening medical condition. Marital status or a biological child is not a bar,
though a single male cannot adopt a girl child. A married couple has to have been
in a stable marital relationship for at least two years. The maximum age of the
couple or single parent will depend on the age of the child, but no couple whose
cumulative age is more than 110 years can adopt, nor can a single parent aged 55
years or more. The minimum age difference between the child and either of the
adoptive parents should not be less than 25 years.

Do's

Don'ts

Only adopt from Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) recognised

by State Governments.

Do not approach any nursing home, hospital,

maternity home, unauthorised institution or
individual for adoption.

Read the Guidelines carefully on the website and follow the due
procedure.

Do not upload any incorrect document, else your

registration will be cancelled.

Follow the steps for completing your registration.

Do not pay any additional adoption charges other

than what is prescribed in CARA Guidelines.

Please upload documents as per instructions.

Keep away from touts/middlemen. There is no role

of touts/middlemen in adoption. They will mislead
you to adopt a child illegally.

For adoption related charges, please refer Schedule-13 of the

Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children (2015). Always make
payment by cheque or draft and collect your receipt.

Through illegal adoption, you may unintentionally

become part of child trafficking network. Save
yourself from legal ramifications.

SPECIALISED
AGENCIES IN INDIA

ADOPTION

ALL INDIA SERVICES MATERNITY LEAVE RULES :

Maternity leave 2718(1) Maternity leave may be granted to a woman member of

the Service with less than two surviving children on full pay up to a period of 180*
days from the date of its commencement. During such period, she shall be paid
leave salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave. 18 (2)
Such leave shall not be debited to the leave account . 18 (3) Maternity leave may
be combined with leave of any other kind. Notwithstanding the requirement of
production of medical certificate contained in rule 13 and rule 14, leave of the kind
due and admissible (including commuted leave for a period not exceeding 60 days
and leave not due) up to a maximum of two year*, may, if applied for, be granted
in continuation of maternity leave granted under sub-rule (1).
NOTE: Maternity leave may be granted in cases of miscarriage including abortion
subject to the condition that the leave applied for does not exceed six weeks and
the application for leave is supported by a medical certificate. 2818(A) Leave to a
female member of Service on adoption of child
(1) A female member of the Service with less than two surviving children, on valid
adoption of a child below the age of one year, may be granted child adoption leave
for a period of 180 days immediately after the date of such adoption:
Provided that child adoption leave shall not be admissible where such member is
already having two or more surviving children at the time of such adoption.
(2) During the period of child adoption leave, such member shall be paid leave
salary equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
(3) Child adoption leave can be combined with leave of any other kind.
(4) In continuation of child adoption leave granted under sub-rule(1), a female
member of the Service on valid adoption of a child, if so applies, may also be
granted leave of the kind due and admissible (including commuted leave without
production of medical certificate for a period not exceeding 60 days and leave not
due), for such period and in such manner as may be specified hereunder, namely:a) if the age of the adopted child is less than one month on the date of adoption,
leave up to one year may be allowed; b) if the age of the child is six months and
above but less than seven months, leave up to six months may be allowed; c) if the

age of the child is nine months and above but less than ten months, leave up to
three months may be allowed:
(5) Child adoption leave shall not be debited against the leave account. 293018(B)
Paternity leave
(1) A male member of the Service (including a probationer) with less than two
surviving children, may be granted paternity leave by an authority competent to
grant leave for a period of 15 days, during the confinement of his wife for
childbirth, i.e. up to 15 days before, or up to six months from the date of delivery
of the child.
(2) During such period of 15 days, he shall be paid leave salary equal to the pay
drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
(3) The paternity leave may be combined with leave of any other kind.
(4) The paternity leave shall not be debited against the leave account.
(5) If paternity leave is not availed of within the period specified in subrule (1),
such leave shall be treated as lapsed.
Note:- The paternity leave shall not normally be refused under any circumstances.
18 (C)* Paternity leave for child adoption
(1) A male member of the Service (including a probationer) with less than two
surviving children, on valid adoption of a child below the age of one year, may be
granted Paternity Leave by the competent authority for a period of 15 days, within
a period of six months from the date of such adoption: Provided that such leave
shall not be refused under any circumstances.
During the period of Paternity Leave, such member shall be paid leave salary equal
to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
(3) The Paternity Leave may be combined with leave of any other kind.
(4) The Paternity Leave shall not be debited against the leave account.

(5) If Paternity Leave is not availed within the period specified in sub-rule (1),
such leave shall be treated as having lapsed. 18 (D)* Child Care Leave to a female
member of the Service
(1) A female member of the Service having minor children below the age of
eighteen years may be granted child care leave by the competent authority for a
maximum of 730 days during her entire service for taking care of up to two
children.
(2) During the period of child care leave, such member shall be paid leave salary
equal to the pay drawn immediately before proceeding on leave.
(3) Child care leave may be combined with leave of the kind due and admissible.
(4) Notwithstanding the requirement of production of medical certificates
contained in sub-rule (1) of rule 13 or rule 14, leave of the kind due and admissible
(including commuted leave not exceeding 60 days and leave not due) up to a
maximum of one year, if applied for, be granted in continuation of child care leave
granted under sub-rule(1).
(5) Child care leave may be availed in more than one spell.
(6) Child care leave shall not be debited against the leave account of the member of
the Service.
In India, while it is mandated by the Government to give 3 months of paid
maternity leaves to women employees of private companies under the Maternity
Benefits Act 1961, no such Act exist to allow private employees to take leave if
they adopt a child. In 2009, the Government of India agreed to extend the leaves of
women government employees in case of adopting a child less than one year
from 135 days to 180 days at par with Maternity breaks.

INFOSYS
Adoption leave
Employees should have been on the rolls of the Company for at
least 80 working days.
The Policy is applicable only for employees for whom a child is
matched and placed for adoption within India.
Male employees would be eligible for maximum of 5 working
days (continuous) of paid leave in line with paternity leave.
Female employees would be eligible for maximum one calendar
month (continuous) of paid leave.
Such leave must start within 30 calendar days of the date of
placement or the date of adoption.

ATOS
Child Adoption Leave
Adoptive mothers with fewer than 2 (two) surviving
children will be eligible for child adoption leave on
adoption of a child upto one year of age effective 1st Nov
2013.
This leave is admissible for a total period of 8 (eight)
weeks (56 calendar days).
This leave shall not be admissible to an adoptive mother
already having 2 (two) surviving children at the time of
adoption.
The benefit of this leave would be granted on submission of
all necessary legal adoption documents/
certificates.Originals of these documents has to be verified
by the respective HR BP and a copy of these documents has
to be kept in the personnel file of the employee.

FLIPKART:
Flipkarts Adoption Assistance Program provides Rs 50,000 allowance to cover
legal, agency and regulatory costs. It will give adoptive mothers the exact
same maternity leave benefits as biological mothers (six months paid leave and
four months of flexible hours at work) if the adopted child is under a year old.
Six weeks of paid leave for adoptive fathers. The company will pay 50 per cent
of the day care fee for adopted children up to six years of age and provide
parenting, childcare and family health counselling facilities.
FLIPKART ADOPTION LEAVE POLICY:
6 months of paid maternity leave; along with 4 months of flexible working hours with
full pay, and a year long career break without pay.
Flipkarts new Maternity Benefits Program enables new mothers multiple
benefits which includes
Time benefits

All new mother get six months paid leave (can start three months before
expected date of delivery).

Post return to work, women employees can avail four months of flexible
working hours with full pay along with continuity on the same job.

Avail an extended leave up to 12 months (career break without pay) and return
to available jobs at that point.
Travel benefits

Up to Rs 600 per day transport reimbursement for two months before going on
maternity break.

Dedicated parking spot for two months before and after delivery.

Medical benefits

Maternity claim of Rs 65,000 for normal delivery and Rs 80,000 for C-Section.

Maternity packages from hospital tie-ups.

Work benefits

Creche support through tie-ups with day-care centers - on a co-share basis (5050).

Maternity care program - advice from wellness coach on parenting, work-life

balance, family health, etc.
Mother's Room for personal care.

Other benefits

Baby shower.

Gift Basket loaded with goodies.

TCS : Adoption Leave

Applicability
This policy is applicable to All Full time Employees of TCS India who have
completed at least one year of continuous service in TCS.
Provisions
1. Entitlement
a. An employee is entitled to 12 calendar weeks of adoption leave .
b. Adoption leave may be availed only after the actual adoption i.e. when the
child/children legally reside with the adopted parents.
Note : The intention to adopt will not be considered a valid reason for adoption
leave.
c. Adoption leave must be availed within 1 year of the child residing with the
parents.
d. Adoption Leave is event based and cannot be accumulated or encashed .
e. If the employee applies for Adoption Leave , but does not avail of the same due
to any reason, he/she may choose to cancel the same.
2. Availing the benefit
a. Eligible employees may apply for leave any number of times during their
tenure in TCS .
b. The leave may be prefixed and/or suffixed with other leave types/week
ends/statutory holidays.The other leave types/weekends/statutory holidays are
considered as adoption leave days.
c. The leave days in a request may span across financial years.
d. All the leave days in a request should be availed continuously without any break.
For example : in case an employee proceeds on leave on 15th March 08, and
resumes work after 8 weeks of leave i.e. 15th May 08. In this scenario the
remaining 4 weeks of adoption leave will be cancelled and cannot be applied again
at a later date.

e. Adoption Leave should be planned well in advance i.e. at least 4 weeks before
availing the same.
f. An employee who avails adoption leave should submit supporting documents
to the Location HR Head .
- In case of Adoption:
A legal adoption certificate - In case of
having a baby through a surrogate mother :
a copy of the surrogacy agreement and a
medical report of the first trimester scan .
Terms and Conditions
1. The child/children must be legally adopted or born through a surrogate i.e. in
compliance with the adoption or surrogacy laws of the country.
2. In an event that any terms and condition of this policy conflict with any laws
applicable with respect to the applicant, for any reason whatsoever, such law will
supersede and replace this policy to that extent.
3. During the leave period, the employee cannot take up any part time or full time
employment for remuneration or otherwise, for any reason whatsoever .
4. In case the employee does not report back to his/her supervisor on the leave end
date, the excess leave will be treated as an unauthorised leave and will be
deducted from his/her Earned Vacation balance to the extent possible. Any surplus
which cannot be deducted from the Earned Vacation balance will be treated as loss
of pay.
5. TCS reserves the right to initiate exit procedures in case of the following:
a. The employee does not report back by the approved leave end date, and does not
intimate the supervisor.
b. The employee does not have an approved LERF record within 15 calendar days
of leave end date
POINTS-

ATOS

INFOSYS

FLIPKART

TCS

Applicability

Days of Leave

Adoptive mothers with

fewer than 2 (two)
surviving children will be
eligible for child adoption
leave on adoption of a
child upto one year of
age.

8 (eight) weeks
calendar days)

Employees should
have been on the
rolls
of
the
Company for at least
80 working days.
The
Policy
is
applicable only for
employees
for
whom a child is
matched and placed
for adoption within
India.

(56 Male employees maximum of 5

working days of
paid leave.
Female- maximum
one calendar month
(continuous) of paid
leave.

It will give adoptive

mothers the exact
same
maternity
leave benefits as
biological mothers
(six months paid
leave
and
four
months of flexible
hours at work) if the
adopted child is
under a year old.

Six weeks of paid 12 calendar week

leave for adoptive
fathers.
Adoptive mothers exact
same
maternity
leave
benefits
as
biological mothers
(six months paid
leave
and
four
months of flexible
hours at work) if the
adopted child is
under a year old,

and a year long

career
break
without pay
Benefits

This
policy
applicable to A
Full time Employe
of TCS India w
have completed
least one year
continuous servi
in TCS.

Rs 50,000 allowance
to
cover
legal,
agency
and
regulatory costs
- Time
- Travel
- Work
- Medical