New Delhi, Aug 4 (UNI) The Ministry of Women and Child Development today announced the extension of the special registration drive for the central flagship Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) till August 15, 2025.
An official statement said here that this ongoing door-to-door awareness and enrolment campaign, led by Anganwadi and ASHA workers, seeks to reach all eligible pregnant and lactating women to ensure their timely registration under the scheme.
PMMVY, a flagship welfare initiative, offers financial assistance to encourage nutritious diets and improve health-seeking behaviour among pregnant women and lactating mothers (PW&LM), while also fostering positive attitudes towards the girl child, said the statement.
Under this scheme, cash incentives are provided as partial compensation for wage loss to enable mothers to rest adequately before and after childbirth, specifically for the first child. Since the scheme’s launch, over 4.05 crore beneficiaries have received maternity benefits (at least one instalment), amounting to Rs 19,028 crore, disbursed directly into beneficiaries’ bank or post office accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
The PMMVY is implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme under the sub-scheme ‘Samarthya’ of Mission Shakti. At least Rs 5,000 in two instalments will be given for the first child, and Rs 6,000 in one instalment post-birth for the second girl child, in accordance with the Mission Shakti guidelines. The scheme aims at improving maternal and child health outcomes across the country, said the statement.
Implementation is carried out by State and UT officials through their field staff, utilizing the PMMVYSoft application launched in March 2023. The software facilitates Aadhaar-based digital authentication in collaboration with UIDAI and verification through the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), ensuring direct transfer of funds to Aadhaar-seeded bank or post office accounts.
To enhance service delivery and widen the scheme’s reach, several reforms have been introduced on the PMMVY portal, including the Integrated Grievance Module, a multi-lingual and toll-free helpline (14408), Aadhaar-based biometric authentication via Facial Recognition System (FRS), and a due-list of potential beneficiaries, added the statement.
