Lok Sabha Question No. 1123 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-08
Subject: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Margani Bharat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1123

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.12.2023

## PRADHAN MANTRI MATRU VANDANA YOJANA

1123.    SHRI MARGANI BHARAT:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken/proposes  to  take  steps  to  address  the concerns raised about the tedious application process for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY);
- (b) if so, the details of the plans to simplify and streamline the process for pregnant women seeking assistance;
- (c) the  measures  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the  discrepancies  and ensure that issues related to Aadhaar cards do not lead to rejected payments for beneficiaries under PMMVY;
- (d) the  manner  in  which  the  Government  plans  to  address  the  limitation  of PMMVY's coverage, which currently excludes women in the informal sector; and
- (e) the  strategies  formulated  to  extend  the  scheme's  benefits  to  economically vulnerable women in these sectors, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

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(a) & (b) Under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), more than 3.59 crores beneficiaries have been enrolled since inception of the Scheme in 2017-18, till 02.12.2023.  Further, maternity benefits of more than ₹14,428.35 crores (includes both Central and State share) have been disbursed to more than 3.21 crores beneficiaries during the aforesaid period.

The Government has completely digitized the application process for Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) with the introduction of a mobile app and a dedicated portal (PMMVYSoft MIS) making the process of application paperless. The URL of PMMVYSoft MIS is https://pmmvy.wcd.gov.in. The online application form is simple and easy to understand, ensuring a consistent and straightforward process. The Anganwadi Worker (AWW)/Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) fills the forms of beneficiaries online on the mobile app or on PMMVYSoft MIS. Further, provision of selfregistration of beneficiary has been made on PMMVYSoft MIS so that a beneficiary or an individual on behalf of the beneficiary can register on PMMVYSoft MIS.

(c)        Under PMMVY, the Aadhaar authentication of beneficiaries are carried out at the time of registration, by a digital process in back-end, linked to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), with no effort required on part of beneficiary, to ensure that payments always go to intended beneficiary. Adhaar related rejections occur, only when there is a mismatch between details furnished by applicant and the UIDAI database. The mandatory condition of providing husband's Aadhaar has also been removed.

(d) & (e) The benefits under PMMVY are available to pregnant women and lactating mothers between the age group of 18 years 7 months, and 55 years at the time of childbirth belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged section of the society including women from the informal sector.

Under PMMVY, the maternity benefit amounting to ₹6,000/- is also provided for the second child, subject to the second child being a girl, to discourage pre-birth sex selection and promote the girl child.

The  Ministry  also  celebrates  'Matru  Vandana  Saptah'  every  year  to  intensify implementation of the scheme and create a healthy competition amongst States/UTs. States/UTs  undertake  various  IEC  and  Behavior  Change  Communication  (BCC) activities  such  as  Prabhat  Pheri,  Nukkad  Natak,  Newspaper  Advertisements,  Airing Radio Jingles, Selfie Campaign, Door to Door Campaign, Community Programmes at field  functionary  level  etc.  Further,  the  Ministry  is  also  running  special  campaign  for registration of eligible beneficiaries in all States and UTs under PMMVY on a periodic basis. Ministry also uses social media portals for outreach to eligible beneficiaries. An incentive is being paid to Anganwadi Worker/Accredited Social Health Activist(ASHA) for enrollment of beneficiaries, who are ensuring that the benefits of the scheme reach all eligible beneficiaries.

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