- The government's maternity benefit scheme covers only about 20 percent of births per year
- The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, provides Rs 6,000 as a legal right to every pregnant woman
Right to Food activists have sounded alarm over the weak implementation of India's maternity benefit scheme, mandated by law under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. Despite the law ensuring every pregnant woman a maternity benefit of ₹6,000, recent figures indicate just 20 percent of yearly births are being covered by the government scheme.
Statistics shown in the Rajya Sabha in March showed that in 2024–25, just 54 lakh women were given the benefit — down from 73 lakh in 2022–23, but up from just 22.5 lakh in 2023–24. With about 270 lakh births happening in India annually, the present coverage is still alarmingly low.
Activists estimate that paying ₹6,000 to 90 percent of all births would cost more than ₹14,500 crore a year. But the scheme — the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) — has been given less than ₹2,000 crore for several years. Additionally, the ₹6,000 benefit level established in 2013 has not been increased for inflation. Activists say that even a small revision would bring the benefit up to at least ₹12,000.
In 2017, the Ministry of Women and Child Development promised the Supreme Court that every pregnant woman would be paid ₹6,000 under Section 4 of the NFSA. Instead, the PMMVY was started, capping the benefit to ₹5,000, applying it only to a woman's first child (or second, if it is a girl) and imposing various conditions.
To receive ₹3,000 (the initial instalment), a woman will need to register pregnancy and undergo at least one antenatal examination at an accredited health facility within six months. For the second ₹2,000 instalment, childbirth should be registered, and the infant should have completed the first dose of immunisation. It is open only to poor women, and they are required to produce many documents — a ration or BPL card, Aadhaar, bank account linked to Aadhaar, mobile number, and complete maternal and child health data.
These restrictive criteria have excluded a vast majority of women. In 2023–24, only 2.7 lakh women — just about 1 percent of total births — received the second instalment. In contrast, Tamil Nadu and Odisha have implemented more generous maternity schemes, offering ₹18,000 and ₹10,000 respectively per pregnancy, and achieving 84 percent and 64 percent coverage.
