48.11 lakh women enrolled under PMMVY

•  Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) recently marked the anniversary of the launch of scheme as Matru Vandana Saptah.
• During this week, the States/UTs focused on IEC activities, pendencies under various parameters and escalating daily entry rate of applications. The success of the week was concluded in Dehradun at National Level.
• National level achievement of the scheme post an year’s implementation on grounds is 48.11 Lakhs of women enrollment under the scheme till September 13, 2018, out of which 37.30 Lakhs have been paid the maternity benefit which accounts to a total fund disbursement of Rs1168.63 Crores.

About PMMVY:

• The scheme is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for first two live births.
• It provides partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices.
• In 2013, the scheme IGMSY was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit of ?6,000 stated in the Act.
• The scheme is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under which cost sharing ratio between the Centre and the States & UTs with Legislature is 60:40 while for North-Eastern States & three Himalayan States; it is 90:10. It is 100% Central assistance for Union Territories without Legislature.
• The conditional cash transfer needs Aadhaar linkage. It envisages Direct Benefit Transfer of Rs. 5000 in beneficiary’s bank/post office account in three installments as follows: a) At the stage of early registration of pregnancy; b) After six months of pregnancy on at least one antenatal checkup and registration of child birth; c) First cycle of immunization of the child.

Analysis:

• Under-nutrition continues to adversely affect majority of women in India. In India, every third woman is undernourished and every second woman is anaemic. An undernourished mother almost inevitably gives birth to a low birth weight baby. When poor nutrition starts in-utero, it extends throughout the life cycle since the changes are largely irreversible.
• Owing to economic and social distress many women continue to work to earn a living for their family right up to the last days of their pregnancy. Furthermore, they resume working soon after childbirth, even though their bodies might not permit it, thus preventing their bodies from fully recovering on one hand, and also impeding their ability to exclusively breastfeed their young infant in the first six months.

By: Vishal