Beneficiaries under PMMVY
During the calendar year 2020, more than 68.33 lakh beneficiaries were provided maternity benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). The State/UT-wise details are annexed.
The Government implements PMMVY with the objectives of (i) providing partial compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentive so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first child; and (ii) providing cash incentive to improve health seeking behaviour amongst the Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers.
Further, the Government has carried out amendment in the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 in 2017. The key amendments are as under:
- Increased paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks;
- Extension of 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to ‘commissioning/adopting mothers’;
- Mandatory provision for crèche in respect of establishments having 50 or more employees, including four (4) visits a day to the crèche by the woman;
- Depending upon the nature of work assigned to a woman, provision for work from home after availing of the maternity benefit for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree;
- Mandatory intimation, in writing & electronic form, to every woman at the time of her initial appointment conveying benefits under the Act.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
