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Review of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) after five years of its inception.

About Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):

• It was rolled out on January 1, 2017, where a ‘cash incentive of ₹5,000 is provided directly to the bank/post office account of pregnant women and lactating mothers for the first living child of the family (subject to fulfilling specific conditions relating to maternal and child health)’.
• Those under Regular employment - Women with paid leave/maternity benefits from their employers in the government(state/centre/PSUs) sector or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law are not eligible.
• Objective: Cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst PW&LM.
• Providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before & after delivery of the first living child
• It is implemented collaboration with the state governments: 60:40.
• The scheme has retained the condition that the woman must not have more than 2 living children. Several civil society organisations have asked for such conditions to be removed so that the scheme could be truly effective.

Challenges faced by the scheme

• The annual estimate of the targeted beneficiaries by the Government of India has remained the same over the years. While the estimated eligible population of pregnant and lactating mothers in India was 128.7 lakh for 2017-18 (as in a report by the Centre for Policy Research 2019-20), the target set by the Government was 51.70 lakh beneficiaries, which is only 40% of the eligible population.Exclusion error of at least 60% since 2017, as the target has remained unchanged over the years.
• The enrolment and disbursements under the scheme have witnessed a downward fall in the last two years, as in the data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in response to my parliamentary questions
• The overall budget for women and child development was reduced by 20% for 2021-22. Additionally, Budget allocation for the PMMVY has also been slashed as it has been clubbed under SAMARTHYA along with multiple other schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Mahila Shakti Kendra and Gender Budgeting/Research/Training.

Way Forward

• Extend the maternity benefit under the PMMVY to the second live birth.
• Since the primary objective of the PMMVY is to provide partial wage compensation, we need to revisit the maternity benefit amount offered under the scheme.
• In line with the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 which mandates 12 weeks of maternity leave for women with two or more children, pregnant and lactating mothers should receive 12 weeks of wage compensation amounting to ₹15,000.
• A simplification of the process can result in increased registration of beneficiaries.
• To fulfill India’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goalof improving maternal health, an ambitious Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyan and a national maternity benefit scheme are promising initiatives by the Centre.