Is Maternity Leave Really Limited to ESIC-Covered Employees? Seeking Clarity

I work in a Pvt. firm named Ansr in Bangalore. I have completed 11 months in the company. We received an email from HR stating the following about maternity leave benefits: The latest laws, which have changed the maternity leave period to 26 weeks, apply only to team members covered under ESIC. The eligibility criteria for ESIC coverage are based on gross salary. Any team member with a gross monthly salary of 21,000 or below will be eligible under the ESIC scheme.

Can somebody confirm if there is such a clause in the bill? I am 3 months pregnant and need to know this before discussing maternity leave with HR.

Clarification on Maternity Benefit Act

Do you have a notification from HR that is incorrect?

The revised Maternity Benefit Act applies to all people who are not covered by ESIC. The company is liable to pay full maternity benefit at the gross pay level for a period of 26 weeks, with not more than one month before delivery. This means that, post-delivery, at least five months of paid leave will be applicable to you.

Incidentally, ESIC has made similar provisions for those covered under it.

There is a clarification on this matter posted on the website of the central government, which you can find on Google. Take that with you when you speak to HRD.