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The Karnataka Cabinet, on Thursday, October 9, approved the Menstrual Leave Policy, 2025, which will allow women employees across government and private sectors to avail one day of paid leave each month during their menstrual cycle.
Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil said that the policy would apply to women working in state government offices, garment factories, multinational companies (MNCs), IT firms, and private industries.
“The Cabinet has approved the proposal submitted by the Labour Department to provide one day of paid leave every month for women. This will amount to 12 days of paid leave per year, and women employees can choose the days they wish to avail the leave,” Patil said at Vidhana Soudha.
The decision marks Karnataka as one of the few Indian states to introduce a comprehensive menstrual leave policy covering both public and private sector employees. Currently, states like Bihar and Odisha offer 12 days of annual menstrual leave, but only for government employees, while Kerala provides two days of menstrual leave for female trainees at Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs).
TNM reported in December 2024 that the Karnataka State IT/ITeS Employees Union (KITU) had submitted a memorandum to the state Labour Commissioner urging the government to introduce a 12-day annual menstrual leave policy for all women employees. The demand came after the Karnataka government proposed to introduce six days of menstrual leave annually which the union said was insufficient.