National Event on Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana to be held today

The National Event on Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) will be held at Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra today (27^th October 2023 ). The event is divided in two sessions, starting with the Workshop Session  followed by the Inaugural Session under the Chairpersonship of Chief Minister, Government of Maharashtra, Shri Eknath Sambhaji Shinde and Union Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in the presence of  Union Minister of State, Ministry of Women and Child Development and AYUSH, Dr. Munjapara Mahendrabhai, Minister for Public Health Department, Government of Maharashtra, Shri Tanaji Sawant, Minister for Women and Child Development, Government of Maharashtra, Ms. Aditi Sunil Tatkare and  Member of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Shri Ashish Shelar. Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India and other Senior Officers from Government of India and various State Governments and UT Administrations will participate in the event. The event will also be attended by frontline functionaries including Lady Supervisors, Anganwadi Workers and ASHA workers.

The event will highlight the significant aspects and achievements of PMMVY, its journey, and the features of the PMMVY Portal and Mobile App. In line with the Prime Minister’s vision to promote ‘Digital India,’ ‘Make in India,’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat,’ a new PMMVY Portal (PMMVYsoft MIS) has been developed. This portal includes new features such as ‘online and face authentication technology’ by UIDAI for proper verification of eligible beneficiaries. Additionally, it incorporates NPCI Verification of beneficiary bank accounts to ensure smooth fund transfers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Furthermore, it introduces a paperless online registration system for beneficiaries and Anganwadi/ASHA workers to register directly through the portal.

The event will also include the release of a comprehensive User Manual for various stakeholders including Citizens, Field Functionaries, Supervisors, Sanctioning Officers, District Nodal Officers and State Nodal Officers for the New PMMVY Portal (PMMVYsoft MIS).

The primary objective of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) launched on 1^st January 2017 and revised and incorporated as a component of Mission Shakti from 1^st April 2022, as PMMVY 2.0 is to provide cash incentive for partial compensation of the wage loss during pregnancy so that women can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the child; and to improve health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers (PW&LM).

Women and Children collectively constitute over 70% population of our country. Ensuring their empowerment, protection, and holistic development is essential for fostering sustainable and equitable national progress. Over the past nine years, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has been dedicated to realizing its mission objectives:

(i) Advancing the social and economic empowerment of women through comprehensive policies and programs, with a focus on mainstreaming gender, creating awareness, and facilitating institutional and legislative support to enable women to exercise their human rights and reach their full potential

(ii) Ensuring the development, care, and protection of children through integrated policies and programs that promote awareness and facilitate access to education, nutrition, and institutional and legislative support, fostering their growth and full potential.

One noteworthy aspect of PMMVY 2.0 is its commitment to promote a more positive societal attitude towards the girl child by offering incentives for the birth of girl child. For women coming from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the PMMVY provides a maternity benefit of Rs. 5,000/- distributed in two instalments. The scheme’s benefits have now been extended to include support for a second child, provided that the second child is a girl. In this revised framework, mothers are eligible to receive an incentive amount of ₹6,000 in a single instalment following the birth of the second girl child. This will also contribute towards the improvement of the Sex Ratio at Birth by discouraging female foeticide and increasing labour force participation. Additionally, the scheme promotes timely immunisation, childbirth registrations and registrations for institutional births.

Since inception, more than ₹ 3.11 Crores beneficiaries have been given the financial support with a total disbursement of more than ₹ 14,103 Crores. The PMMVY Portal and Mobile App is committed to delivering technical excellence, prioritizing a citizen-friendly experience ensuring smooth fund transfers through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).