CHENNAI: To reduce parental stress, particularly for working mothers, and foster greater participation of women in the workforce, the State Industries

Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) on Thursday announced that it will establish creche facilities at 17 of its Industrial Parks and signed a MoU in this regard with FLO.

SIPCOT has partnered with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) Ladies Organisation (FLO) Chennai represented by its Chairperson Dr. CA. Divya Abhishek, to implement the project wherein the infrastructure will be developed by SIPCOT, while operations and maintenance will be managed by FICCI FLO Chennai.

The MoU formalizing this partnership was signed today between the Managing Director, SIPCOT, Dr.K.Senthil Raj, and Dr Divya Abhushek in the presence of Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries Dr.T R B Rajaa.

According to an official release, this initiative is in addition to the already existing 63 creches located across 13 SIPCOT industrial parks, which have been established by industries and currently benefit approximately 1.5 lakh employees.

As outlined n the 2024-25 Budget, the creches will provide safe and accessible childcare, enabling parents, particularly women, to productively engage in the workforce.

Once implemented, the creches in these 17 industrial parks are expected to benefit nearly 3.23 lakh employees.

The creches will adhere to national guidelines under the Maternity Benefit Act of 2017 to promote early learning and development.