Over 4 Crore Women Receive Maternity Benefits Under PM Scheme, Minister Tells Lok Sabha

Over four crore beneficiaries have received maternity benefits under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), while more than 72 lakh pregnant women have registered themselves as beneficiaries under Mission Poshan 2.0.

Sharing this information in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question today, the Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said that under National Health Mission (NHM), Government of India has undertaken the number of steps to provide maternal health services including the reduction of prevalence of anaemia and low birth weight babies among the mothers, including tribal mothers, for all States/UTs across the country.

The minister further elaborated the schemes which include Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK), Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), and Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB).

Under the 15th Finance Commission, various components like Anganwadi services, Poshan Abhiyaan and Scheme for Adolescent girls (14-18 years in Aspirational Districts and North-Eastern region) have been subsumed under the umbrella Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) to address the challenge of malnutrition, she stated in the assembly.

Stating that in order to beat the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition by adopting a life cycle approach, the Minister said that under Mission Poshan 2.0, Supplementary Nutrition is one of the six services provided through the platform of Anganwadi Centres and is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls (14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts of States and North Eastern Region) for 300 days in a year.

“Supplementary nutrition containing 600 calories, 18-20 gms. of protein and micronutrients is provided in the form of Take-Home Ration (THR) for a maximum of 300 days in a year to pregnant women and Adolescent girls,” she added.

It was also revealed that the WCD Ministry is also conducting capacity building under Poshan Bhi Padhai Bhi initiative, involving a cascading model of training, wherein Master Trainers (namely, District Officers, Block Coordinators and Supervisors) are trained through Savitribai Phule National Institute of Women and Child Development (SPNIWCD), and the master trainers would directly train all Anganwadi Workers in the field.