New maternity law may cost 1.8 million Indian women their jobs: Report

McKinsey estimates more than $700 billion could be added to the country's gross domestic product by 2025 if more women were in jobs

 A new law to improve maternity benefits for women in India’s workforce and encourage them to further their careers is likely to have the opposite effect, a survey showed.

The law, which makes India the most progressive country after Canada and Norway in enabling women to stay on in the workforce, will probably lead to job losses and discourage smaller businesses and start-ups from hiring women, the survey by TeamLease Services Ltd. said on Tuesday. An estimated 1.1 million to 1.8 million women will lose their jobs across 10 sectors in the financial year to March 2019 because of the law,