The
Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given
ex-post facto approval to Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program
which now has been extended to all districts of the country w.e.f. 01.01.2017.
The Prime
Minister in his address to the nation on 31.12.2016 had announced Pan-India
implementation of Maternity Benefit Program.
The Maternity Benefit
Program will provide compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives
so that the women can take adequate rest before and after delivery and not be
deprived of proper nutrition.
The total cost of the
proposal for the period from 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 including Central and
State Government share isRs.12,661crore. Government of India’s share during the
period 01.01.2017 to 31.03.2020 comes to around Rs. 7932 crore.
Objective of the Scheme
i)
To provide 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.
ii) The cash incentives provided would lead to improved health seeking
behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mother (PW&LM) to reduce
the effects of under-nutrition namely stunting, wasting and other related
problems.
Target Group
All eligible Pregnant
Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding the Pregnant Women and
Lactating Mothers who are in regular employment with the Central Government or
State Government or Public Sector Undertakings or those who are in receipt of
similar benefits under any law for the time being. It has been decided to give
the benefit of Rs.5000/- to PW&LM in three installment for the birth of the
first live child by MWCD and the
remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under
existing programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman
will get ₹ 6000/-.
Conditions and installments
Pregnant Women and
Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in
three installment at the following stages as specified in the table given
below:
|
Cash Transfer
|
Conditions
|
Amount
(in ₹)
|
|
First
installment
|
· Early
Registration of Pregnancy.
|
1,000/-
|
|
Second
installment
|
· Received
at least one antenatal Check-up (after 6 months of pregnancy)
|
2,000/-
|
|
Third
installment
|
· Child
birth is registered.
· Child
has received first cycle of BCG, OPV, DPT and Hepatitis-B or its
equivalent/substitute.
|
2,000/-
|
The eligible beneficiaries would continue to receive the remaining
cash incentive as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under existing
programmes after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman will get
₹ 6000/-.
Mode of cash transfer to the
Beneficiaries
The conditional cash transfer scheme would be in DBT
mode.
Background:
The Government
of India is committed to ensure that every woman gets adequate support and
health care during pregnancy and at the time of delivery and every newborn is
immunized on time which is the foundation for better health of the mother and
the newborn. Normally, the first pregnancy of a woman exposes her to new kinds
of challenges and stress factors. Hence, the scheme intends to provide support
to the mother for safe delivery and immunization of her first living child. The
improved health care seeking behaviour of the PW&LM would lead to better
health status for the mother and the child.
***
AKT/VBA/SH