As one of India’s most respected and globally recognized two- and three-wheeler manufacturers, TVS Motor is more than just a market leader; it is a mobility pioneer with a presence in over 80 countries and has a workforce of over 15,000 employees globally. Ranked among the top automotive brands in customer satisfaction and sustainability, TVSM combines engineering excellence with a strong sense of corporate responsibility.
This culture of excellence extends far beyond the factory floor. At TVSM, employee well-being is not just an initiative for improved human resource engagement, but is in fact deeply embedded in the company’s ethos. With a workforce that includes over 15% of women across various roles and cadres, the company has developed comprehensive policies and facilities to ensure young working mothers receive the support they need during one of the most critical phases of life: nurturing a newborn.
Dr. Subhasree Ray, Section Head of Wellness at TVSM, leads the organization’s wellness vision. Having joined the company earlier this year, she works closely with T. Mahesha, a senior member of the Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) team at TVSM, to help integrate women’s health, workplace wellness, and breastfeeding support into the company’s broader employee engagement and inclusion agenda.
“Our role is to make sure employee wellness isn’t just about reactive health care, it’s proactive, preventive, and inclusive” says Dr. Ray. “Women employees, who make up roughly 15% of our workforce, are a key focus. Breastfeeding support is a natural and essential part of that.”
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week calls attention to the critical need for equitable breastfeeding support across all settings. Breastfeeding is not only vital for a child’s nutrition, immunity, and cognitive development, but also for a mother’s health and emotional well-being. The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, followed by continued breastfeeding alongside complementary foods for up to two years or beyond, yet returning to work remains one of the most common reasons mothers stop earlier than planned.
Progressive Policies for Working Parents
TVSM has crafted focused policies that go beyond statutory requirements to provide an enabling environment for new parents, this includes for instance;
- Extended Maternity Leave: 30 weeks of paid maternity leave, exceeding India’s legal mandate of 26 weeks (Refer TVS Motor Maternity & Benefits Policy)
- Onsite Crèche Facilities: Available in all TVSM manufacturing plants, for children aged six months to twelve years, accessible to both their male and female employees.
- Dedicated Breastfeeding Rooms: Private spaces in the office complex, including in Occupational Health Centres, for mothers to breastfeed and express milk comfortably.
- Flexible Work Arrangements: Flexi-hours and half-day leave provisions for mothers returning to routine work schedules, all measures that are designed to support women workers with a smoother transition back to work.
Women Resource Group: Building Community & Mentorship
A distinctive feature of TVSM’s approach is its Women Resource Group (WRG), which operates on five pillars:
- Mentoring for Women – Pairing new mothers with experienced colleagues at work for guidance during maternity leave and rejoining.
- Physical & Mental Well-being – Offering targeted wellness programs for women’s health.
- Leadership Development – Supporting career growth for women employees at TVSM.
- Policy Enablement – Reviewing and refining policies to better support women’s needs.
- Buddy System – Assigning a peer mentor to support during maternity and the transition back to work at TVSM.
Within the WRG, sub-groups such as the Women Reach Out Group focus on specialised areas, from leadership pipelines to re-onboarding support.
Creating Awareness and Driving Uptake
Policies are only effective if employees know about them and feel comfortable using them. TVSM Motor employs multiple strategies to ensure high awareness and uptake of its policy provisions:
- Structured Onboarding Sessions – All new hires participate in a three-day induction, which includes detailed orientation on parental and breastfeeding support policies.
- “Know Your Policies” Campaigns – Regular awareness drives highlighting available benefits, including crèche locations and breastfeeding room access across TVSM plants and offices.
- Targeted Communications – Carefully timed, relevant policy updates disseminated via email and internal communication platforms at TVSM aimed at reaching the workforce.
- Focus Group Discussions – Gathering feedback from women employees to refine policies and improve implementation.
Recognition for Inclusive Excellence
These efforts have not gone unnoticed either. TVSM has consistently been ranked among the Top 100 Best Companies for Women in India by Avtar & Seramount for the last many years since 2020, and in recent years has been recognised as the Number 1 company in Health & Well-being in the same list. The company has also won accolades such as the Helen Keller Award for best policies for persons with disabilities and diversity awards from SHRM and CII.
Why It Matters: Linking Well-being to Breastfeeding Success
For Dr. Ray, supporting breastfeeding is not simply a compliance measure, it’s about creating the right conditions for working mothers to thrive, emotionally and physically. “A mother’s mental health directly impacts her breastfeeding experience,” she explains. “By providing flexibility, mental health support, and a respectful workplace, we not only enable breastfeeding but also contribute to better maternal well-being and stronger family bonds.”
Looking Ahead
While TVSM’s existing support framework is robust, Dr. Ray and the TVSM India team envision expanding facilities for working and breastfeeding mothers even further, such as establishing breastfeeding rooms in every office building to reduce commuting time for mothers within large campuses. They are also exploring more personalised and hands-on interventions to complement the infrastructure already in place.
Among the upcoming measures:
- On-site breastfeeding counselling sessions conducted by certified lactation consultants, helping new mothers manage feeding schedules, troubleshoot lactation challenges, and build confidence in their breastfeeding journey.
- Scheduled pumping breaks, allowing nursing employees to block time on their calendars, similar to a medical appointment, to express milk without interruptions. This is paired with manager awareness training to discourage scheduling meetings during these breaks, normalising breastfeeding support as a routine workplace practice and fostering a more empathetic organisational culture.
For now, the company continues to champion a simple but powerful principle: when employers prioritise the well-being of their employees, particularly mothers, they invest in healthier families, stronger communities, and a more resilient workforce.
Editor’s Note: This article is part of Nutrition Connect’s World Breastfeeding Week 2025 series, exploring how sustainable systems across workplaces, communities, and policy frameworks, can protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
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