Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a maternity benefit program run by the government of India. It was introduced in 2017 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 of age or above for the first live birth.[1] It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices. In 2013, the scheme was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit of ₹6,000 (US$84) stated in the Act.[2] Presently, the scheme is implemented on a pilot basis in 53 selected districts and proposals are under consideration to scale it up to 200 additional 'high burden districts' in 2015–16.[3] 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 ₹6,000 (US$84)[4]
The scheme, rechristened Maternity benefits programme is set to cover the entire nation.[5] Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 2017 New Year's Eve speech, announced that the scheme will be scaled up to cover 650 districts of the country.[6] The announcement assumes significance as India accounts for 17% of all maternal deaths in the world. The country's maternal mortality ratio is pegged at 113 per 100,000 live births, whereas infant mortality is estimated at 32 per 1,000 live births. Among the primary causes of high maternal and infant mortality are poor nutrition and inadequate medical care during pregnancy and childbirth
