Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani told the Lok Sabha that the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) which provides Rs 5,000 for first child will be extended to cover the second child only if it is a girl.
- The Centre’s decision has met with sharp criticism from activists who have demanded that it be universalised.
About Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)
- The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), launched in 2017, provides Rs 5,000 for the birth of the first child to partially compensate a woman for loss of wages.
- It also aims to improve the nutritional well-being of the mother and the child.
- The amount is given in three instalments upon meeting certain conditions.
- It is combined with another scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana, under which nearly Rs 1,000 is given for an institutional birth, so that a woman gets a total of Rs 6,000.
- Under the revamped PMMVY under Mission Shakti, the maternity benefit amounting to Rs 6000 is also to be provided for the second child, but only if the second is a girl child, to discourage pre-birth sex selection and promote the girl child.
- The scheme is clubbed with several other programmes under the Samarthya sub-scheme of Mission Shakti.
- Cabinet had recently approved 3 important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya.
- Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’.
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