Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017? I. Pregnant women are entitled for three months pre-delivery and three months post-delivery paid leave. II. Enterprises with crèches must allow the mother minimum six crèche visits daily. III. Women with two children get reduced entitlements. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

The correct answer is C, only statement III is correct.

Statement I is wrong. The 2017 amendment raised paid maternity leave to 26 weeks for the first two children, but not more than 8 weeks of it can fall before the expected delivery date. The idea of three months before and three months after does not match the law.

Statement II is wrong. For establishments with 50 or more employees, the Act requires a crèche within a prescribed distance, and the mother is allowed four visits a day to the crèche, including the rest intervals. The number is four, not six.

Statement III is correct. A woman with two or more surviving children gets 12 weeks of maternity benefit, with not more than 6 weeks before delivery. That is a reduced entitlement compared with the 26 weeks for the first two children.

Core concept: the graded entitlement under the Act and the employer's obligations on crèche, work from home option and informing employees. This falls under welfare laws for women and labour in GS-II, and links to Mains questions on women's workforce participation and the cost burden on employers.

Trap: candidates remember the 26-week figure and assume it applies to every woman, or mix up the pre-delivery and post-delivery split.