The Ministry of Women and Child Development is reportedly all set to limit the maternity benefits scheme to the birth of the first child, due to inadequate provisions for the same in the Budget.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on New Year's Eve that all pregnant and lactating women above 19 years of age would be provided with Rs 6,000 under the maternity benefit scheme, known as the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahayog Yojana. The current provisions grant financial help to women for two live births. The scheme, which was started by the UPA government in October 2010, was being run on a pilot basis in 53 districts of the country.
The central government will provide only 50 percent of the funds, against its earlier decision of providing 60 percent, leaving the remaining amount to be provided by the respective state governments. The ministry is in the process of preparing a Cabinet note for the scheme.
"Following discussions with the PMO, we are in the process of preparing the Cabinet note for the implementation of the scheme. Considering the amount allotted for the scheme in the Budget, we have been told that the money should be provided to the mother only in case of the first child," a senior ministry official confirmed the news to the Indian Express.
The provisions in the Budget are not enough to meet the required funds to implement the scheme in 2017-18. The Budget has allocated only Rs 2,700 crore for the maternity benefit scheme. If one takes into consideration the Centre's decision to provide 50 percent of the funds, then at Rs 3,000 per beneficiary, the scheme would cover only 90 lakh of the over 2.6 crore live births annually.
According to a report by the Standing Committee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution (2012-13), the annual requirement for the implementation of the scheme is Rs 14,512 crore. The maternity benefit scheme provides money in three instalments only if the mother goes in for institutional delivery and vaccinates the child.
"At the rate of Rs 1,000 per month for six months, the scheme expenditure towards maternity benefits to 2.25 crore pregnant and lactating women works out to Rs 14,512 crore per annum," the Standing Committee report stated. However, several estimates show that the requirement could be around Rs 16,000 crore since the number of live births has increased since the 2013 estimate of 2.6 crore.
According to the UN Millennium Development Goals Report 2014, India has the highest number of maternal deaths. The Sample Registration System 2011-13 states that the Infant Mortality Rate in the country is 40 per 1,000 live births, while the Maternal Mortality Ratio is 167 per 100,000 live births.
A study by the National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights revealed that the 50 percent funds provided to women above 19 years of age for two live births excludes over half the women, mostly Dalits and tribals.
