Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

The Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) was launched in 2017 as a flagship maternity benefits programme of the Government of India. Earlier it was known as the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana and is run under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The UPSC Syllabus covers this scheme under welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and the States in General Studies Paper-II.

Latest Context on Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana –

The government’s maternity benefit scheme, or Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), has crossed 1.75 crore, eligible women, till the financial year 2020. A total sum of Rs. 5,931.95 crore was paid to 1.75 crore eligible beneficiaries between the financial year 2018 and 2020.

• Cash benefits are provided to pregnant women in their bank account directly to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for wage loss.

This article will provide you with relevant facts on PMMVY, objectives of the scheme, who are the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana etc.

PMMVY – Indian Polity Notes:- Download PDF Here

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

The scheme is aimed at pregnant or lactating women aged 19 years or above for the first live birth. The programme provides partial compensation for wage loss during childbirth and afterwards during childcare. It also aims to provide information on good feeding and nutrition for mother and child pursuant to the National Food Security Act, 2013.

PMMVY is implemented through a centrally deployed Web Based MIS Software application and the main point of implementation would be the Anganwadi Centre (AWC) and ASHA/ ANM workers.

This is an important area of focus as questions about the implementation of this scheme can also appear in Prelims as well in the ethics paper. IAS aspirants should be able to examine the PMMVY scheme’s goals and link them with Sustainable Development Goals as well as with Health, Education, Human Resources, etc.

PMMVY Objectives

The PMMVY scheme has the following objectives:

• Providing cash compensation against wage loss so that the mother can take adequate rest before and after the birth of the first living child.
• Promoting good nutrition and feeding practices to reduce infant mortality and malnutrition. It would also promote healthier behaviour among pregnant/lactating mothers.
• Promoting the use of health services and institutional care to reduce the risk of disease.

PMMVY Beneficiary List

UPSC in IAS prelims exam does target the beneficiary list of the national schemes. So to know the beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana is a wise decision.

The PMMVY is targeted at the following beneficiaries:

• Pregnant/Lactating Mothers except those who are employed with the Central Government, Public Sector Units or State Governments or those who receive similar benefits from similar laws for the time being.
• Women whose pregnancies commenced after 01.01.2017 and this would be the first child in the family.

PMMVY Provisions

The PMMVY allows women who undergo miscarriages or stillbirths to collect the remaining benefits whenever they have their next pregnancy.

The PMMVY provides the following benefits:

• Rs 5000 in three instalments on fulfilling the respective conditionality, viz. early registration of pregnancy, ante-natal check-up and registration of the birth of the child and completion of the first cycle of vaccination for the first living child of the family.
• The PM Matritva Vandana scheme also asks mothers to:
  • Breastfeed for the first six months and give the child complementary food after that
  • Vaccinate the child with DPT and Polio vaccine
  • Attend two counselling sessions when the child is between 3-6 months old.

The mechanism through which the Government of India finances this scheme is as grant in aid funding to state governments, which in turn handle the actual implementation of the scheme. The PMMVY is a continuation of the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) launched in 2010. It was relaunched in 2014 as Matritva Sahyog Yojana in 2014 and took its present form in late 2016.

Aspirants can check out the following relevant links to prepare comprehensively for the upcoming Civil Services Exam-

Other Schemes Focussing on Nutritional and Health Aspects of Women:

• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme:
  • The scheme provides specific interventions targeted towards the vulnerable groups including children below 6 years and women.
  • It is being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. Read in detail about Integrated Child Development Scheme-ICDS on the linked page.
• Poshan Abhiyaan:
  • Launched in March 2018, the goal of Poshan Abhiyaan is to achieve improvement in the nutritional status of Children (0-6 years) and Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in a time-bound manner. Further information on Poshan Abhiyan – National Nutrition Mission is available on the given link.
• Kudumbashree in Kerala:
  • It was launched in Kerala in 1998 to wipeout absolute poverty through community action. It is the largest women empowering project in the country. It has three components i.e., microcredit, entrepreneurship and empowerment.
• Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojna (IGMSY):
  • The scheme aims to contribute to a better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers.
  • It is being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

Multiple Choice Question

1. The Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) was launched in 2017 as a flagship maternity benefits programme of the Government of India. Earlier it was known as the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana and is run under the aegis of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
2. Vatsalya Maatri Amrit Kosh was launched as a national human milk bank and lactation counselling centre at Lady Hardinge Medical College. It was launched under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Norwegian government, Oslo University and Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI).
3. The Accredited Social Health Activists aka ASHAs are the volunteers that engage in this mission that will establish a link between the health system and the targeted community. 
4. In order to promote universal healthcare, the government started the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) initiative which provides free to & fro transport, free drugs, free diagnostics, free blood, free diet to pregnant women who come for delivery in public health institutions and sick new-borns.

Choose the correct answer from the below-given options

A) None of the above-given statements are false

B) Only Statements 1, 2 and 3 are true

C) Only statements 2, 3 and 4 are true

D) Only statements 1, 3 and 4 are true

Answer: A

PMMVY – Indian Polity Notes:- Download PDF Here

Related Links