18th AUGUST 2026 ENGLISH TNPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS PDF TNPSC SHOUTERS
Maternity Benefit Increased for All Female Government Employees in Tamil Nadu
- Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly today, Human Resources Development Minister Sarathkumar announced that 365 days of maternity leave would be granted to all female government employees for their third child as well.
- Previously, government employees were granted 365 days of maternity leave for only the first two children; under this new benefit, the leave entitlement has been extended to cover the third child.
- The country's unemployment rate fell to 5.1% last July. While the rate stood at 5.5% in June, it declined slightly this month due to an increase in labor force participation. According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office:
- The overall labor force participation rate decreased from 55.4% to 54.4%. Data indicates that rural areas were the primary drivers of the decline in unemployment. However, the urban unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%.
- On a year-on-year basis, the overall and rural unemployment rates have remained relatively stable. Meanwhile, the report notes that the urban unemployment rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points from 7.2% in July 2025 to 6.7% in July 2026.
