The Union cabinet has given approval for the retrospective pan India implementation of the maternity benefit programme from April 1, 2017. The programme provides compensation for wage loss due to motherhood.
The programme targets all pregnant and lactating women who are not in regular employment with Central or state governments or public sector undertakings. These women will receive Rs 5,000 in three installments after the birth of the first child and remaining cash incentive as per approved norms of maternity benefit under existing programmes, making the total amount Rs 6,000.
The total cost of the programme from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020 is estimated at Rs 12,661 crore. According to the ministry of women and child development, the installments are linked in such a way that the mother's access to good health care and safe delivery is ensured. The first installments will be given at the time of registering the pregnancy, the second after at least one ante natal check up and the third after the birth is registered and the child receives the first cycle of immunisation.
The scheme is only for the first child, says the ministry, since it is at the first pregnancy that the woman is exposed to an entirely new set of challenges and needs support. The scheme, while open for all women, is aimed at the economically backward strata.
