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The Indian Government offers various maternity Benefits through schemes such as PMMVY, SUMAN, and others. The Maternity Benefits Act, 1961, mandates paid maternity leave, job protection, and work-from-home benefits. While the central government provides cash incentives and maternity care through PMMVY, state governments also offer various advantages.
List of Government Schemes for Pregnant Women
PMMVY (Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana)Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana is a nationwide programme that provides financial support to pregnant and lactating women to compensate for income loss. All pregnant and lactating women accessing government health facilities are eligible. PMMVY also specially focuses on women belonging to the scheduled caste, scheduled tribes, who are partially or fully disabled, have a net income of under 8 lakh per annum, holders of BPL ration card and E-shram card.
The main aim of PMMVY is to provide pregnant and lactating women with financial support so that they can get adequate rest, nutrition, and healthcare.
The scheme provides 5000 INR in two settlements for the first pregnancy: 3000 rupees after pregnancy registration and one antenatal checkup, and 2000 rupees after the birth. For the second pregnancy, if the child is a girl, the scheme offers a benefit of 6000 rupees.
SUMAN (Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan)
Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan was launched by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in October 2019. SUMAN offers free, high-quality maternal and newborn healthcare services to all pregnant women, regardless of their financial status.
The goal is to achieve zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths in public health centres. SUMAN offers free services including antenatal checkup, iron-folic acid supplements, tetanus and Diphtheria injections, six newborn care home visits, free transport from home to hospital, diagnostics, medicines, food, blood transfusion, c-sections, and maternal and neonatal care up to 6 months.
JSY (Janani Suraksha Yojana)
Janani Suraksha Yojana provides cash benefits and health care for pregnant women from poor socio-economic backgrounds. The goal was to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by encouraging institutional deliveries. Launched in April 2005, JSY offers benefits to all states and UTs but especially focuses on Low Performing States (LPS), including Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir.
Pregnant women from LPS’s rural area received 2000, and urban area received 1400. Pregnant women in High-Performing States (HPS) receive 1300 in rural areas and 1000 in urban areas.
JSSK (Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram)
Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram offers zero-cost pregnancy health care services to pregnant women and sick newborns who get treatments from public health facilities. JSSK covers drugs, cesarean, diagnostics, food, transport, and blood transfusion. The scheme aims to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and avoid out-of-pocket expenses for pregnant women and newborns delivering in public hospitals.
JSSK offers free pregnancy care and childbirth to all pregnant women who are accessing government health centres.
PMSMA (Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan)
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan offers free quality antenatal care to all pregnant women on the 9th of each month. It's a fixed-day care which provides antenatal care including lab tests, ultrasounds, counselling, diagnosis, and medicines. PMSMA offers early detection and care for anaemia, hypertension, and gestational diabetes, and provides appropriate advice on malnutrition. Every pregnant woman accessing public healthcare facilities is eligible.
PMSMA ensures that every pregnant woman, especially in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters, receives antenatal care at least once.
MAMATA- Odisha
MAMATA is a state-level cash transfer maternity benefit scheme implemented by Odisha in 2011. It supports pregnant and lactating women with cash benefits to promote rest and nutrition. The main goal of MAMATA is to provide partial wage loss compensation, reduce maternal and newborn mortality and malnutrition.In 2024, the state doubled the amount from 5,000 INR to 10,000 INR, paid in two instalments- 6,000 during pregnancy and 4,000 after the child reaches 10 months.
To be eligible for MAMATA, the pregnant woman must be a resident of Odisha and above 19 years of age for up to two live births. In April 2025, MAMATA merged with PMMVY and increased the cash benefit for girl children to 12,000 INR and 10,000 INR for boys.
KCR Kit Scheme- Telangana
KCR Kit is a flagship welfare scheme for pregnant women and newborns launched by Telangana in June 2017. It gives MCH kits and cash benefits paid to women delivering in public hospitals. The scheme offers 12,000 INR cash for male children and 13,000 INR for female children.The KCR Kit programme was implemented to increase institutional delivery, reduce maternal and infant mortality, provide essential newborn items, and partially compensate for wage loss. The scheme also offers free transport and nutritional support during pregnancy.
The MCH kit includes items to meet newborns' and mothers' basic needs for the first 3 months. It includes soap for mother and baby, baby oil, powder, diapers, shampoo, mosquito net, a small baby mattress, a dress, a towel, a napkin, sarees, a handbag, small tips, and a few toiletries.
MRMBS- Tamil Nadu
Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme was initially launched in 1987 to provide financial assistance and health care support to pregnant and lactating women. The scheme offers 14,000 INR to pregnant women, disbursed in 3 instalments- 6,000 INR in the 4th month of pregnancy, 6000 after four months of delivery and 2,000 after nine months of delivery.Additionally, it provides nutritional kits during the 3rd and 6th months. The nutritional kit contains health mix, dates, towels, deworming tablets, ghee, and iron syrup to support nutrition and health.
Pregnancy is a beautiful journey. But for people from economically backward societies, pregnancy can feel like a burden, another responsibility. Some pregnant women are forced to work even in full term, and some women don't get enough nutrition to support their pregnancy. Pregnancy benefits from PMMVY, JSY, JSSK, and SUMAN, which offer financial aid, emergency care, antenatal care, and safe childbirth services to ensure mothers receive at least half of their wages and receive proper health care and nutrition during and after pregnancy.
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FAQS on Indian Government Pregnancy Benefits: PMMVY, SUMAN& Others Explained
- What if I'm pregnant and have no money?
If you are a pregnant woman facing financial struggles, you can apply for pregnancy benefits schemes in your local Anganwadi centre or government institution. They will guide you about the list of schemes, the proofs needed and the benefits you can receive from each scheme. - What is a pregnancy kit given by the government?
The Indian government provides direct cash benefits through the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana. The Tamil Nadu government offers maternity kits with dates, iron tonic, tablets, and ghee for nutritional support. The Telangana government also provides a KCR kit with essential items needed for the baby and mother for the first 3 months.