UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC allows 12 weeks’ paid leave to all new adoptive mothers

Q1. Which one of the following ministries is the nodal ministry for the administration of the Code on Social Security, 2020, under which the maternity benefit provisions challenged before the Supreme Court in 2026 are located?

  • A. Ministry of Women and Child Development
  • B. Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • C. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • D. Ministry of Law and Justice

Q2. In its March 2026 judgment entitling all adoptive mothers to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave irrespective of the adopted child's age, the Supreme Court read down a provision contained in which one of the following statutes?

  • A. Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
  • B. Code on Social Security, 2020
  • C. Industrial Relations Code, 2020
  • D. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020

Q3. Under the maternity benefit framework codified in the Code on Social Security, 2020, the expression 'commissioning mother' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A biological mother who uses her own egg to create an embryo that is implanted in another woman
  • B. A woman who legally adopts a child below three months of age through CARA-approved procedures
  • C. Any woman who becomes a mother through assisted reproductive technology
  • D. A surrogate mother who carries the embryo to delivery on behalf of another woman