Modi's Assistance For Pregnant Women More Modest Than Many Existing Schemes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement of a Rs 6,000 cash benefit to pregnant women sounds promising, but might actually be a more modest effort than existing government schemes.

India's first nation-wide scheme to provide cash assistance to pregnant women was the National Maternity Benefits Scheme (1995) which paid Rs 500 to poor women (with Below Poverty Line cards) before their deliveries, to meet the cost of the delivery.

Since 2005, the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) pays Rs 1400 to poor women who deliver in a hospital, for the first two deliveries. National schemes for handloom weavers and handicraft artisans provide maternity benefits of Rs 2,500 for the first two deliveries. The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana has since 2005 covered hospitalisation up to Rs 30,000 for BPL households More recently, the National Food Security Act (2013) mandated the payment of no less than Rs 6,000 to all pregnant women, irrespective of their income status, but has not yet been operationalised.

The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana being run on a pilot basis since 2010 in 53 districts provides Rs 4,000 to pregnant women conditional on them meeting some requirements including vaccinations and counselling, and is also income-neutral. The JSY payment for a safe delivery is in addition to these two proposed schemes