T he Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, has announced a big change in its maternity leave policy for women government employees. Under the new decision, women working in the state government will be eligible for 365 days of maternity leave for their third child, bringing the benefit in line with the leave currently available for the first two children. Third Child Maternity Leave Increased From 12 Weeks To 365 Days Currently, female government workers having less than two children alive are entitled to 365 days as maternity leave. Nevertheless, those females who have two or more children alive currently qualify for 12 weeks, which are 84 days, of paid maternity leave. This decision will raise the number of days of leave from 12 weeks to one whole year for the third child. The announcement of the decision was made in the assembly by Minister D Sarathkumar that was part of the government's focus on social welfare and women's empowerment. What Is The Existing Maternity Leave Rule? Maternity leave for female government employees in Tamil Nadu has been slowly increasing over the years. Originally, there were 90 days of maternity leave provided for. In 2011, this was raised to six months and later on was again increased to nine months in 2016. As of July 2021, the state of Tamil Nadu has increased maternity leave to 365 days for eligible women government employees. In the current scenario, women government employees having less than two living children are eligible for one-year maternity leave. Women having more than two living children, on the other hand, have been allowed 12 weeks of maternity leave. New Rule Extends One-Year Benefit To Third Child The latest announcement changes this distinction. Once implemented, women government employees will be able to avail themselves of 365 days of maternity leave for their third child, instead of the existing 12-week limit. The move is expected to bring the maternity leave benefit for the third child in line with the one-year provision already available for the first two children. Government Order To Be Issued A senior government official said a detailed government order will be issued soon to formally implement the announcement made in the Assembly. The government has described the decision as part of its broader approach towards social welfare and women's empowerment. Swastika Sruti Oneindia

N ew Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): The process of providing pensions to eligible women under the Delhi government's ambitious Delhi Lakshmi Yojana is now set to begin. A grand event will be organised at Talkatora Stadium on August 27 in connection with the scheme, according to the Chief Minister's Office. According to the CMO, initially, eligible women will be handed official pension letters at the event, while the pension amount will start being credited directly to their bank accounts from September 1. The process will continue, and eligible women will keep receiving the benefits of the scheme regularly. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday reviewed the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana at a meeting at the Delhi Secretariat. Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, along with the chairpersons and officials of the District-Level Approval, Monitoring and Grievance Redressal Committees (DLAMGRCs) constituted for the scheme, attended the meeting. The progress of the scheme was reviewed, and the work carried out in such a short period was appreciated. At the meeting, committee officials told the Chief Minister that women were showing considerable enthusiasm and interest in the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana. The present government is working seriously towards women's empowerment and their economic empowerment, and the benefits of the scheme are now set to reach eligible women directly, as per the CMO. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the role of the district-level committees is extremely important for the success of the scheme. She asked committee officials to thoroughly scrutinise and monitor every application so that eligible women can receive the benefits of the scheme without any unnecessary delay. "The faster the verification process is completed, the sooner the cases will be disposed of, and the process of disbursing pensions to eligible women will also be expedited," she said. The Chief Minister said that local public representatives are also part of the district-level committees. Therefore, if any fact in an application appears doubtful, it should be thoroughly examined so that no problem arises in the future. She said the government would soon introduce a facility on the official Delhi Lakshmi Yojana portal under which eligible women who have entered incorrect or incomplete information in their applications will be given another opportunity to make corrections. "So far, no problem has been reported in the implementation of the scheme, the main reason being the serious work being carried out by the district-level committees," she added. The Chief Minister urged committee officials to continue making efforts for the successful implementation of the scheme and maintain regular coordination with officials of the concerned departments. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said at the meeting that around eight lakh women had registered on the portal in just 18 days since the launch of the scheme, while more than five lakh applications had been finally submitted. "The unprecedented support received from women in Delhi in such a short period is historic. No government scheme had earlier received such a level of public response in such a short time. This is a record in itself, and these figures reflect the growing trust of women in Delhi in the scheme for women's empowerment," as per the CMO. (ANI)

I n its first such warning in months, the UAE has warned of 'potential missile threats' and asked people to remain in a safe place. The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) of the country said in a statement on X that their air defence systems have detected a missile threat targeting the country. "UAE air defence systems detected a missile threat targeting the county. Please remain in a safe location and follow warnings and updates issued through official channels," the statement read. The alert comes a day after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Iran and the United States, aimed at ending the fighting in the Middle East, expired on Monday. UAE air defence systems detected a missile threat targeting the county. Please remain in a safe location and follow warnings and updates issued through official channels. pic.twitter.com/aobFA9WRdw — NCEMA UAE (@NCEMAUAE) August 18, 2026 Meanwhile, the interior ministry also issued an alert stating that because of the "current situation" and "potential missile threats", one should seek a safe place in the "closest secure building". The last missile warning in the country came in May; after that, there was a false alarm in June when a technical malfunction in the national early warning system mistakenly sent phone alerts to residents notifying them of a potential missile threat.