Anganwadi Services: Under Anganwadi Services, apackage of six services is provided to Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers and to Children under the age of 6 years i.e. (i) Supplementary Nutrition (SNP); (ii) Pre-school Non-formal Education; (iii) Nutrition & Health Education; (iv) Immunization; (v) Health Check-up, and (vi) Referral Services. Three of the six services, viz., Immunization, Health check-up and Referral Services are related to health and are provided through NRHM & Public Health Infrastructure.
Supplementary Nutrition (SNP) is provided as per the norms for 300 days in a year to pregnant women and lactating mothers in the form of Take Home Ration to include 600 kcal and 18-20 gm of protein.
Maternity benefit under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is available to all Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers (PWLM)as compensation for partial wage loss and for promoting institutional deliveries. The scheme excludes PW&LM who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force, for first living child of family. Under the scheme Rs.5,000/- are provided to the eligible beneficiary in three installments during pregnancy and lactation. The eligible beneficiary also receives the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards maternity benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman gets Rs.6,000/-.
Schemes pertaining to health and welfare of pregnant women and the foetus are Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK).
Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission (NRHM). Launched with the objective of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) promotes institutional delivery among pregnant women especially with weak socio-economic status i.e. women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BPL households. The scheme, launched on 12 April 2005, is under implementation in all states and Union Territories (UTs), with a special focus on Low Performing States (LPS).
Ayushman Bharat, a flagship scheme of Government aims to undertake path breaking interventions to holistically address the healthcare system (covering prevention, promotion and ambulatory care) at the primary, secondary and tertiary level. Ayushman Bharat adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components, namely Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).
GoI launched Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) in June 2011 to eliminate out-of-pocket expenses for pregnant women delivering in public health institutions and sick infants accessing public health institutions for treatment.
The entitlements include:
- Free and Zero Expense delivery including C-section, free care in case of ante-natal & post-natal complications
- Free drugs, diagnostics, blood and consumables
- Free diet during stay in facilities
- Free transport home to health institution, between health institutions in case of referral and drop back home
- Exemption from all kinds of user charges
- Similar entitlements for sick Infants (upto 1 year of age)
- Extended to all antenatal & post-natal complications of pregnancy
The number of beneficiaries of Supplementary Nutrition (Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers) under Anganwadi Services during the last three years and the current year are tabulated below
| Data as on | Number of beneficiaries of SNP under Anganwadi Services (Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers) |
| 31.03.2018 | 1,73,35,216 |
| 31.03.2019 | 1,71,86,549 |
| 31.03.2020 | 1,68,74,975 |
| 31.03.2021 | 1,56,73,127 |
| 30.06.2021 | 1,69,25,928 |
The number of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is tabulated below:
| Year | Parameter | Total |
| 2017-18 | No. of Beneficiaries enrolled | 2,570,009 |
| No. of Beneficiaries Paid | 1,108,929 | |
| 2018-19 | No. of Beneficiaries enrolled | 6,060,011 |
| No. of Beneficiaries Paid | 6,729,575 | |
| 2019-20 | No. of Beneficiaries enrolled | 7,073,619 |
| No. of Beneficiaries Paid | 9,633,566 | |
| 2020-21 | No. of Beneficiaries enrolled | 6,435,280 |
| No. of Beneficiaries Paid | 7,531,575 | |
| 2021-22 (as on 22.11.2021) | No. of Beneficiaries enrolled | 3,037,107 |
| No. of Beneficiaries Paid | 3,530,255 |
As per the information received from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of such women who benefitted under JSSK scheme in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 is given below:
| Year | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Free Medicines under JSSK | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Free Diet under JSSK | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Free Diagnostics under JSSK | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Free Home to facility transport under JSSK | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Interfacility transfers when needed under JSSK | Number of Pregnant Women provided – Free Drop Back home under JSSK |
| 2018-19 | 10211852 | 6878833 | 11290658 | 3896711 | 878827 | 4190983 |
| 2019-20 | 12721893 | 7980758 | 13115920 | 4926653 | 943400 | 4949666 |
| 2020-21 | 15016945 | 8559415 | 14497305 | 5439611 | 1177112 | 5343727 |
The number of such women who benefited under JSY scheme in 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21 is given below:
| Year | No. of beneficiaries (In Lakh) |
| 2018-19 | 100.41 |
| 2019-20 | 107.35 |
| 2020-21 | 99.92 |
The number of Still Births reported during the last three years is tabulated below:
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | |
| No. of Still Birth Reported | 2,72,693 | 2,63,342 | 2,54,462 |
| Source: Health Management Information System (HMIS) – 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 |
All maternal health interventions during antepartum and intrapartum period namely – ANC Check-ups, IFA supplementation and nutrition, High risk pregnancy identification and management, skilled attendance at birth contribute towards prevention of still birth.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
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