Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana : Empowering Maternal Health through Financial Support

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana : Empowering Maternal Health through Financial Support

The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a significant initiative by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, launched on January 1, 2017. This Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefit Scheme aims to provide financial support to pregnant and lactating women for their first two children, promoting maternal and child health.

Under PMMVY, eligible beneficiaries receive a cash incentive of ₹5,000 directly transferred to their bank or post office accounts in a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for the first child. After institutional delivery, additional benefits are provided under the Janani Suraksha Yojana, bringing the total average benefit to ₹6,000. For the second child, a cash incentive of ₹6,000 is available, conditional on the child being a girl.

The scheme has evolved with the introduction of the Mission Shakti umbrella scheme from April 1, 2022, which reduced the number of installments from three to two. A new portal, PMMVY Soft, was launched in March 2023, enhancing the process through digital Aadhaar authentication and NPCI verification for efficient fund transfers.

Implementation is managed by state and union territory officials, who utilize this software to ensure timely release and utilization of funds from the Central Government. Beneficiaries can track their applications and payments via a ‘Track and Search’ feature on the PMMVY portal, which also includes a grievance redressal module.

To increase awareness and registration among eligible beneficiaries, the Ministry conducts various outreach programs under the SANKALP-Hub for Empowerment of Women, employing diverse communication strategies such as community programs, advertisements, and campaigns.

Recent statistics indicate a positive trend in maternal health, with India achieving a Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of 97 per lakh live births, reflecting a notable decline from 130 in 2014-16. This improvement underscores the importance of schemes like PMMVY in enhancing maternal health outcomes across the country.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WOMEN & CHILD DEVELOPMENT

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3544
TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.03.2025

PRADHAN MANTRI MATRU VANDANA YOJANA (PMMVY)

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state:

(a) the number of eligible beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) particularly from economically weaker sections along with the percentage of eligible women who successfully availed its benefits indicating the funds disbursed, State-wise including Chhattisgarh and district-wise in Uttar Pradesh during the last three years;

(b) the details of the major administrative logistical challenges in implementing PMMVY, especially in rural and remote areas along with the remedial steps taken in this regard;

(c) whether the Government is considering to extend its benefits to subsequent births to ensure better maternal and child health outcomes and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether PMMVY has contributed to reducing maternal mortality and improving maternal nutrition and if so, the details thereof and the extent to which it compares with other International maternal and welfare programmes;

(e) whether there are any reported inefficiencies, delays, or corruption issues in the fund disbursement process under PMMVY, if so, the details thereof along with the measures been taken to enhance transparency and accountability; and

(f) whether Government has conducted any study with regards to success and impact of the said scheme and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER

(a) to (f) The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) across the country w.e.f. 01.01.2017. The PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefit Scheme under which cash incentives of ₹5,000/- is provided directly to the Bank/Post Office account of the beneficiary in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. The eligible beneficiaries receive the remaining cash incentive, as per approved norms towards maternity benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana after institutional delivery, so that on an average a woman gets ₹6,000/-. Cash incentive of ₹6,000/- is also provided under PMMVY to eligible beneficiaries for second child subject to the second child being a girl.

The State/ UT-wise number of beneficiaries enrolled (including beneficiaries from economically weaker sections), beneficiaries paid and amount disbursed under PMMVY is placed at Annexure-I.

The district-wise data for beneficiaries enrolled (including beneficiaries from economically weaker sections), beneficiaries paid and amount disbursed for the State of Uttar Pradesh under PMMVY is placed at Annexure-II.

With the introduction of umbrella Mission Shakti scheme from 1st April, 2022, the number of instalments under PMMVY have been reduced from three (3) to two (2). Further, maternity benefit under PMMVY is also extended for the second child subject to second child being a girl. As a result of revision of scheme, a new portal, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana Software (PMMVY Soft) was developed and launched in March, 2023. Under PMMVY Soft, Aadhaar authentication through UIDAI is done digitally and National Payment Corporations of India (NPCI) verification is ensured so that funds are directly transferred to their DBT-enabled Aadhaar-seeded bank or post office accounts.

The implementation of the Scheme is done by officials of States and UTs using the new Software mentioned above through their field functionaries. The release of Central funds to States and UTs is done in a timely manner provided they utilise the funds available in the State Nodal Agency (SNA) Account on time. States/UTs are regularly requested to clear the payments of beneficiaries under PMMVY Scheme.

Further, to facilitate the beneficiaries for tracking the status of their applications and payments, a ‘Track and Search’ feature is available on the PMMVY portal to show real time location and status of Application. Also, a Grievance redressal module has been implemented to lodge and track any PMMVY related grievances by any beneficiary.

The Ministry conducts various awareness programs including those on Maternity Benefits through SANKALP-Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) scheme for all States/UTs. It includes various Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and Behavior Change Communication (BCC) activities such as Prabhat Pheri, Nukkad Natak, Newspaper Advertisements, Airing Radio Jingles, Selfie Campaign, Door to Door Campaign, Community Programmes which are conducted at field functionary levels. Further, the Ministry is also running special campaign for registration of eligible beneficiaries in all the States and UTs under PMMVY on a periodic basis.

As per the Special Bulletin on Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), the current MMR of the country is 97 per lakh live births. India has seen a significant decline of 33 points in MMR from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 in 2018-20. The trend of Maternal Mortality Ratio in India, as per the Sample Registration System (SRS) given in the table below:

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