Centre says ₹1,168.63 crore disbursed to States under the scheme

Nearly 37 lakh women have received cash incentives under the Centre’s maternity benefit programme since the implementation of the scheme last year.

The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) offers pregnant women and lactating mothers a cash incentive of ₹ 5,000 for the birth of their first-born as partial compensation for wage loss with the aim to reduce maternal and child mortality as well as malnutrition. A sum of ₹ 1,000 is also given to women after institutional delivery under the Janani Suraksha Yojana.

The scheme came into effect from January 1, 2017, and has an estimated 51.6 lakh beneficiaries a year.

As many as 48.11 lakh women have been enrolled, while 37.30 lakh have received cash incentives since the scheme was implemented in September last year. The Centre has disbursed an amount of ₹ 1,168.63 crores to various States, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a statement.

An amount of ₹ 2,594 crore was set aside for PMMVY in last year’s budget and another ₹ 2,400 crore was allocated for the current fiscal. The scheme is being implemented on a 60:40 cost-sharing basis with the State governments.