She will be entitled to maternity benefits. She must send a communication to the concerned officer, her reporting officer, or HR, informing them that she is pregnant and will require leave from the specified date. The leave is for 26 weeks, 8 of which shall precede the date of childbirth. Therefore, the expected date of delivery must also be mentioned so that the management can estimate when the leave will commence. While there are prescribed forms for mines, circus, etc., what is needed is a notice, and even failure to provide notice shall not disentitle a woman to maternity benefits. Therefore, an email communication would be sufficient.