Policy Update
Meyhar Kaur Walia
Background
In India, under-nutrition continues to be an adverse condition, with over half of all women, and two-thirds of children under the age of five are anaemic. Poor nutrition, starting in the utero, extends throughout the life cycle. Due to the socio-economic distress of their families, many women continue to work instead of taking care of themselves during pregnancy and even after childbirth. Schemes aimed at maternal health and childcare are not only just another segment of welfare-they are a lifeline.
The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), previously called the Conditional Maternity Benefit (CMB)- the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, was implemented by the Government of India on 1st January 2017. It was first launched in 2010 and renamed in 2017. It is a centrally sponsored scheme executed by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, outlined to provide maternity benefits to support pregnant women and lactating mothers. It is implemented in all districts of the country in accordance with the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
The PMMVY is a component under the sub-theme ‘Samarthya’ of ‘Mission Shakti’, launched on 1st April 2022, which is an umbrella scheme aimed at strengthening interventions for women’s safety, security, and empowerment.
Objectives
- To provide partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives, enabling women to take sufficient care before and after the birth of her first child.
- To promote health-seeking behavior among pregnant women and lactating mothers (PW&LM).
- To promote a positive behavioral change towards a girl child by providing an additional cash incentive for the second child, if that is a girl child.
Functioning
The scheme aims to cover women belonging to socially, economically disadvantaged, and marginalized sections of society. Any of the following criteria for the same is required:
- Women belonging to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs);
- Women who are partially or fully disabled;
- Women holder of BPL ration card;
- Women beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PMJAY) as part of Ayushman Bharat;
- Women registered with an E-Shram card;
- Women farmers who are beneficiaries under Kisan Samman Nidhi;
- Women holding a MGNREGA job card;
- Women whose net family income does not exceed Rs 8 lakh per annum;
- Pregnant and lactating women working as Anganwadi Workers (AWWs), Anganwadi Helpers (AWHs), and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs);
- Women holding Ration Cards under NFSA Act 2013.
- Any other category as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
All Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers (PW&LM) who are in regular employment with the central or the state governments, Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or those in receipt of similar benefits under any prevailing law shall not be entitled to avail benefits under the PMMVY.
For registration under the scheme, the beneficiary can directly fill the form using the online PMMVY portal and will be required to submit a copy of the Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP), Proof of Identity (Aadhaar Card or any alternative mentioned), mobile number and bank/post office account details.
Following are the features of the scheme w.e.f 1st April 2022 with the launch of new Mission Shakti (PMMVY 2.0):
- The maternity benefit is to be provided to a woman for the first two children, given that the second child is a girl.
- The age of the beneficiary to avail the benefits of PMMVY must be 18 years and 7 months to 55 years at the time of childbirth. A beneficiary is also eligible to register till 270 days (9 months) from childbirth.
- The maternity benefit of Rs 5000 is provided for the first child in two installments under PMMVY and is also entitled to receive additional money as per the approved norms under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery. The first installment of Rs 3000 is made on registration of pregnancy and at least one Ante-natal check-up. The second installment of Rs 2000 is made after childbirth and 14 weeks of universal immunization.
- For the second child, the benefit of Rs 6000 is to be provided in one installment after birth, given that the second child is a girl.
- The date and stage of pregnancy of a woman would be calculated with respect to her Last Menstrual Period (LMP) date as mentioned in the Mother and Child Protection Card (MCP).
- In cases of miscarriage/stillbirths, the beneficiary is to be treated as a fresh case in the event of any future pregnancy.
Achievements
The guidelines for the scheme implementation provide for the setting up of the Steering and Monitoring Committees at the national, state, and district levels, who review the progress of the scheme. The Ministry of Women and Child Development also conducts awareness programmes like those on maternity benefits through the SANKALP-Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) scheme. It encompasses various Information, Education and Communication (IEC) and Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) programmes- such as Nukkad Nataks, Prabhat Pheris, airing radio jingles, door-to-door campaigns, etc.
- In line with the vision to promote ‘Digital India’, ‘Make in India’, and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’, a new PMMVY portal (PMMVYsoftMIS) has been developed, which includes new features such as UIDAI enabled online and facial authentication, along with NPCI verification of beneficiary bank accounts for smooth fund transfers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
- During the financial year 2023-24, the number of beneficiaries covered under the PMMVY scheme was over 53.76 lakh.
- Financial Support: A total of Rs 17,984 crore has been disbursed and 3.90 crore beneficiaries have been paid as of March 2025.
- A total of 4.37 crore beneficiaries are enrolled as of March 2025.
Challenges
Women in rural households often lack agency, and access to sufficient healthcare due to the cultural barriers and the stigma around revealing pregnancy in the first trimester. Around 1.3 million maternal deaths occurred between 1997 and 2020. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, only 54% of pregnant women had around four antenatal visits and 67% had an antenatal checkup in the first trimester.
The analysis from the Accountability Initiative estimated that there were around 19.8 million pregnant and lactating women in 2022 i.e. almost 16 million more than those enrolled in the PMMVY scheme. Consequently, the estimated cost for the first live birth was three times higher than allocations for 2022-23. The estimated cost of the second live birth results in an additional of Rs 2.05 crore. This suggests that the budget allocations weren’t enough to even cover for the first live birth in 2021-22. The centre allocated Rs 2048 crore in 2022-23, which is about 5% less than the allocation of Rs 2150 crore in the previous financial year.
Despite significant objectives of the scheme, it faces several challenges concerning the state of maternity benefits in India:
- Before PMMVY 2.0, when the cash transfers were made in 3 installments, during 2021-22, the number of pregnant women who received the third installment was just 35 lakh i.e around 13% of the annual number of births.
- The progress that was made under the PMMVY scheme remained largely undone by the end of 2019 during the Covid-19. The number of women who received benefits decreased from 96 lakh in 2019-20 to 75 lakh in 2020-21 and to 61 lakh in 2021-22.
- The cash benefit under the scheme of Rs 5000 is not sufficient to meet the actual costs incurred in healthcare during pregnancy. The scheme only provides benefits for the first two children and only if the second child is a girl, in violation of the National Food Security Act, 2013, that promotes universal maternity benefits.
- Bureaucratic hurdles and rigid eligibility criteria, such as the need for biometric identification, prevents over half of the eligible women from availing the benefits.
- Lack of network facilities is a significant barrier as only 46% of rural women have a mobile phone for themselves, according to the NFHS-5.
Way Forward
The PMMVY saw some significant developments, under Mission Shakti, the “Samarthya” vertical, which includes the PMMVY scheme has been allocated at a budget estimate of Rs 2521 crore for the FY 2025-26.
Some states have implemented enhancements to the scheme. For instance, in Rajasthan, the government increased the amount from Rs 6500 to Rs 10,000 for the first-born child. Odisha, in February 2025, merged its Mamata scheme with PMMVY; under which women with a newborn son will receive Rs 10,000, while those with a newborn daughter will receive Rs 12,000. Tamil Nadu also made headlines in December 2024 by announcing the long-awaited disbursement of Rs 18,000 in maternity incentives under both the Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
For the improvement in maternal and child health and nutritional outcomes under PMMVY, addressing of contextual factors influencing maternal health and childcare is crucial. There is a need to focus on an approach that could integrate dietary diversity, improve maternal education and introduce supplementary nutrition programmes.
The challenges of the PMMVY also needs to be addressed ensuring timely credit disbursement to ease the registration process and make it approachable. Maternal health and childcare initiatives must be treated as a priority, ensuring that every woman has access to respectful and quality care during pregnancy and the postpartum period- this is a fundamental right under the broader interpretation of the ‘Right to Life’, and not an area where compromises can be made.
References
- Enrolments under PMMVY. (n.d.). https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1846142®=3&lang=1
- Over 53.76 lakh beneficiaries covered under PMMVY scheme in FY 2023-24. (n.d.). https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=2112761®=3&lang=1
- Spend, H. P. I. (2024, March 7). Slash in budget for PM’s Matru Vandana Yojana, lack of health infrastructure worry pregnant women – the wire. The Wire. https://thewire.in/rights/slash-in-budget-for-pms-matru-vandana-yojana-lack-of-health-infrastructure-worry-pregnant-women
- Ministry is implementing the Umbrella Mission named as ‘Mission Shakti’ from 01.04.2024 aiming at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment. (n.d.). https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2082324#:~:text=2022.,women%20safety%2C%20security%20and%20empowerment.
- Jagannath, R., & Chakravarthy, V. (2025). The impact of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojna scheme on access to services among mothers and children and their improved health and nutritional outcomes. Frontiers in Nutrition, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1513815
- Department of Women and Child Development. (2024, February 20). Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana. Government of Delhi. https://wcd.delhi.gov.in/wcd/pradhan-mantri-matru-vandana-yojana-pmmvy
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandhana Yojna | Women and Child Development Department, Haryana | India. (n.d.). https://wcdhry.gov.in/schemes-for-women/pradhan-mantri-matru-vandhana-yojna/
- Drèze, J., & Khera, R. (2023, October 12). Maternity benefits in India: PMMVY’s unfulfilled promise | IDR. India Development Review. https://idronline.org/article/health/maternity-benefits-in-india-pmmvys-unfulfilled-promise/
About the Author: Meyhar Kaur Walia is a Research Intern at IMPRI and is pursuing her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Delhi University.
Acknowledgement: The author expresses sincere gratitude to all those who provided guidance, with special thanks to Dr Arjun Kumar and Ma’am Aasthaba Jadeja.
Disclaimer: All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
Read more at IMPRI:
India’s Deep Tech Fund of Funds (2025): Catalyzing Innovation in Emerging Technologies
