Dibrugarh selected for award

• Dibrugarh district has been selected for the regional district award by the ministry of women and child development for its commendable performance in implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
• The Yojana is a maternity benefit programme, which was introduced in 2010 and is implemented by the ministry of women and child development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years or above for the first live birth. It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wageloss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery, good nutrition and feeding practices.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• Objectives of the programme include providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child. The cash incentive provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM).
• Target beneficiaries of the programme include all Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers, excluding PW&LM who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or PSUs or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force.
• A beneficiary is eligible to receive benefits under the scheme only once. In case of miscarriage/still birth, the beneficiary would be eligible to claim the remaining instalment(s) in event of any future pregnancy. A beneficiary is eligible to receive benefits under the scheme only once. That is, in case of infant mortality, she will not be eligible for claiming benefits under the scheme, if she has already received all the instalments of the maternity benefit under PMMVY earlier.
• Benefits under PMMVY include cash incentive of Rs 5000 in three instalments. The eligible beneficiaries would receive the incentive given under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) for Institutional delivery and the incentive received under JSY would be accounted towards maternity benefits so that on an average a woman gets Rs 6000.

By: Ziyaur Rahman