NEW DELHI: Female and single male government employees are eligible for 730 days of child-care leave, Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday.

“Female government servant and single male govt servants appointed to the civil services and posts in connection with affairs of the Union, are eligible for child care leave (CCL) under Rule 43-C of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 for a maximum period of seven hundred and thirty days during the entire service for taking care of two eldest surviving children up to the age of 18 years and no age limit in case of a differently-abled child,” he said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The move indicates a shift from the traditional perspective of women being primarily responsible for child care, now allowing an unmarried, widower or divorcee male government employee to be solely responsible for the child too.