Relevance: GS-2: Issues relating to the development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Key phrases: PMMVY, Maternity benefit, Min. of W&CD, child birth, wage loss

Why in News?

• Five years since its introduction, there is vast scope for improvement in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.

What is Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana?

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a Maternity Benefit Programme that is implemented in all the districts of the country with effect from 1st January, 2017 in accordance with the provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• It is a centrally sponsored scheme being executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
• Cash benefits are provided to pregnant women in their bank account directly to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for wage loss.

Objectives:

• Providing 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.
• The cash incentive provided would lead to improved health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW& LM).
• Fulfilment of Directive Principles: Art 41 and Art 42 in particular

Issues with the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:

• It is aimed at improving health-seeking behaviour and to compensate for wage loss for pregnant women, particularly in the unorganised sectors. However, the performance of the scheme has been deficient because of various issues:
  • Exclusion Error: While the estimated eligible population of pregnant and lactating mothers in India was 128.7 lakh for 2017-18 (as in a report by the Centre for Policy Research 2019-20), the target set by the Government was 51.70 lakh beneficiaries, which is only 40% of the eligible population. This means that we have an exclusion error of at least 60% since 2017, as the target has remained unchanged over the years.
  • Fall in disbursal: Further, the enrolment and disbursements under the scheme have witnessed a downward fall in the last two years, as in the data provided by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) in response to my parliamentary questions. In 2020-21, more than 50% of registered beneficiaries did not receive all three instalments and there was a 9% drop in enrolment under the scheme.
  • Inadequate awareness: The study found that only 50% of pregnant women and 57% of nursing women surveyed were eligible for the scheme. It also throws light on the need for higher awareness among the pool of beneficiaries — only 66% of pregnant women and 69% of nursing women knew about the scheme. Only 8% of pregnant women and 23% of nursing mothers received some benefits.
  • Complicated Document Compliance: Several factors impeded proper implementation of the programme that aims to fight malnutrition among children. These include an application form of about 23 pages, a slew of documents such as mother-child protection card, Aadhaar card, husband’s Aadhaar card and bank passbook aside from linking their bank accounts with Aadhaar.
  • Ignorance of social reality related to women: The requirement to produce the husband’s Aadhaar card results in excluding women who may be living with men they are not married to, single mothers and those who may be staying at their natal home. Women must also have the address of their marital home on their Aadhaar card, which often results in newly-weds being either left out or forced to go from door-to-door when pregnant and needing rest and care.
  • Budgetary constraints : Despite the Government’s continued emphasis on maternal and child health, the overall budget for women and child development was reduced by 20% for 2021-22. Additionally, Budget allocation for the PMMVY has also been slashed as it has been clubbed under SAMARTHYA along with multiple other schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Mahila Shakti Kendra and Gender Budgeting/Research/Training. The overall budget of SAMARTHYA is ₹2,522 crore, which is nearly equivalent to the budget of PMMVY alone in the previous financial years.

Steps to be taken forward for the effective implementation of PMMVY:

• Extend the maternity benefit under the PMMVY to the second live birth. The predecessor scheme, the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana was applicable for two live births. Of the total live births in India, 49.5% comprises first-order births and 29.9% are second-order births, as per Sample Registration Survey 2018. It is imperative to include second live birth under the maternity benefit cover particularly for women in the unorganised sector who are more vulnerable to economic shocks and nutrition loss for all child births.
• There must be an increase in the maternity benefit amount. Since the primary objective of the PMMVY is to provide partial wage compensation, we need to revisit the maternity benefit amount offered under the scheme. Most women continue to work during and post-pregnancy since they cannot afford to lose wages; additionally, they also spend on out-of-pocket expenses during pregnancy.
• Simplify the process: Eliminate correction queues. A simplification of the process can result in increased registration of beneficiaries.
• Lesson from the state: In a comparative analysis between the PMMVY and MAMATA for 2020-21, the PMMVY shows poor performance with a 52% drop in the number of beneficiaries covered while MAMATA showcased a 57% increase in women who received all the instalments. The scheme stands as a testament to an inclusive and efficient implementation of the maternity benefit programme, thereby serving as promising evidence for the Centre to improve the PMMVY in line with the Odisha Government Scheme.

Way Forward:

• To fulfil India’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal of improving maternal health, an ambitious Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Abhiyan and a national maternity benefit scheme are promising initiatives by the Centre. However, targets can be achieved only if we revisit the design and implementation of this scheme, drawing lessons from States such as Odisha which are successfully prioritising maternal health and nutrition in a pragmatic manner.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. To fulfil India’s commitment towards the Sustainable Development Goal of improving maternal health, discuss what is Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana? What are the issues in this scheme and enumerate steps to be taken for the effective implementation? Illustrate.