Country India Launched 2010 | Prime Minister(s) Narendra Modi | |
Ministry Ministry of Women and Child Development Status Merged into National Food Security Act, 2013 | ||
The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) is a maternity benefit program run by the government of India. It was introduced in 2010 and is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for first two live births. It provides a partial wage compensation to women for wage-loss during childbirth and childcare and to provide conditions for safe delivery and good nutrition and feeding practices. In 2013, the scheme was brought under the National Food Security Act, 2013 to implement the provision of cash maternity benefit of ₹6,000 (US$89) stated in the Act. Presently, the scheme is implemented on a pilot basis in 53 selected districts and proposals are under consideration to scale it up to 200 additional 'high burden districts' in 2015-16.
Contents
About the Program
Objectives:
IGMSY provides financial assistance as grant-in-aid to state governments.
A Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme for pregnant and lactating women was introduced in October, 2010 to contribute to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers. i) The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to Pregnant & Lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child. ii) The beneficiaries are paid Rs. 6,000/- in 3 instalments per pregnant & lactating woman between the 2nd trimester and till the child attains the age of 6 months on fulfilling specific conditions related to maternal and child health. Being implemented on pilot basis in 53 selected districts using the platform of integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), 12.5 lakh pregnant & lactating women are expected to be covered every year under IGMSY. iii) Pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for first 2 live births are eligible under the scheme. iv) All organized sector employees are excluded from the Scheme as they are entitled for paid Maternity Leave. Under IGMSY scheme, transfer of amount to the beneficiary is done through bank/post office only. v) The modalities of cash transfer are decided by the State Governments/Union Territories. www.iasscore.in Notes 44 India Year Book vi) The modes of cash transfer include - nationalized bank, post office, cooperative bank, business correspondent model of bank, etc. IGMSY is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme under which amount is given as grant-inaid to state governments/union territories. vii) The scheme is now covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme
Eligibility Conditions and Conditionalities
Originally, all pregnant women of 19 years of age and above were eligible for conditional cash transfer benefits of ₹4,000 (US$59) to paid in three installments, except those who receive paid maternity leave. After the implementation of National Food Security Act the amount has been revised to ₹6,000 (US$89) to be paid in two instalments of ₹3,000 (US$45) each. The cash transfers under the Scheme are subject to the following conditions:
However, studies suggest that these eligibility conditions and other conditionalities exclude a large number of women from receiving their entitlements.