Instructions were sent on May 31 to all states asking that block and district level officials who administer the schemes in the states get these videos shot and send within two days to the ministry. Business Standard reviewed the ministry’s orders.

A fixed format for scripting the videos was also dictated for everyone to follow.

According to this format, the beneficiaries will first mention their name and location. Then narrate how the government’s scheme has benefited them. At the end, they will thank the government for the benefits.

The Women and Child Development ministry’s missive says, “It is requested to kindly send the videos highlighting the significant achievements of this ministry made in the last four years adhering to the following format.”

It goes on to say, “Conclude by thanking the government e.g., Main Modi Sarkar ka abhaar vyakt karna chahti/chahta hoon (I want to express my gratitude to Modi Sarkar).”

A similar set of instructions from the Union government were also sent on a Whatsapp group that the ministry runs with all state officials as members of the group. Business Standard reviewed these instructions. The instructions read, “Office of the Honourable Minister is seeking videos of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (Prime Minister’s Maternity Benefits Scheme) to be posted on social media accounts of the ministry to highlight the significant achievements of the government made in the last four years.”

It further reads, “Beneficiaries/block level officials can record the videos on mobile phones.” The state officials were ordered to treat these instructions as “most urgent”.

The instructions to make videos on the ministry’s maternity benefit scheme were sent along with sample videos for everyone to use as a template. One of the videos shows a young woman who claims to be from Gurgaon, Haryana. She is recorded saying that she is getting benefits from the maternity benefit scheme. Following the format dictated from the ministry, she then goes on to conclude, “I want to thank Modi Sarkar for starting the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme. Thank you so much.”

Another video shows a woman in a veiled face from Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh made to stand with others, reading out from an off-camera script at times, also thanking the government for maternity benefits scheme. सुजाता (नाम परिवर्तित) मोदी सरकार का धन्यवाद करते हुए बताती है कि #OneStopCentre द्वारा उनके ससुराल वालों की काउंसलिंग होने के बाद अब उन्हें कोई परेशानी नहीं है।#SaafNiyatSahiVikas#48MonthsofTransformingIndiahttps://t.co/NSm0f0x89Dhttps://t.co/1PjrNO9waP pic.twitter.com/qVssExa2yO — Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) June 13, 2018

Ironically, records show the government has been sluggish in ensuring the benefits of the maternity benefit scheme reach the mandated beneficiaries under the food security law. Under the National Food Security law, the scheme should have begun in 2014. But only after the Supreme Court had at least twice questioned the government for delays over it did the NDA government rename and expand an existing scheme of the UPA era, the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, only to launch it in May 2017. The law required expecting mothers to be given Rs 6,000 as cash support. The government put conditions in the scheme that reduced the number of beneficiaries. It also clubbed funds from another existing scheme to show that beneficiaries would get Rs 6,000 per institutional delivery. Even out of this curtailed list of potential 5.16 million beneficiaries, the government has been able to provide benefits to only half so far.

The ministry’s twitter handle has already started tweeting out these videos that it ordered from across the country. राखी(नाम परिवर्तित) ने बताया कि #OneStopCentre ने रहने के लिए जगह दिलाने में उनकी मदद की। इस स्कीम से महिलाओं की बहुत मदद हो रही है। उन्होंने प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेंद्र मोदी जी का आभार प्रकट किया। #SaafNiyatSahiVikas#48MonthsofTransformingIndiahttps://t.co/NSm0f0x89D pic.twitter.com/XsGoACqdDt — Ministry of WCD (@MinistryWCD) June 14, 2018 In this https://twitter.com/MinistryWCD/status/1007169129974034433 video a lady stands with her hands folded and tells the benefit she has got from the one stop centre, Sakhi, funded by the ministry. She then goes on to say, “Main humare pyaare Pradhan mantra modi ji ko dhanywad bolna chahti hoon (I want to thank our loving Prime Minsiter Modi ji).” In this https://twitter.com/MinistryWCD/status/1007169129974034433 video a lady stands with her hands folded and tells the benefit she has got from the one stop centre, Sakhi, funded by the ministry. She then goes on to say, “Main humare pyaare Pradhan mantra modi ji ko dhanywad bolna chahti hoon (I want to thank our loving Prime Minsiter Modi ji).”

Several other such videos have begun to pepper the ministry’s social media handles