-PTI Pregnant women and lactating mothers are eligible to receive a cash benefit of Rs. 5,000 in three instalments. New Delhi:  The Modi government on Wednesday virtually halved the number of beneficiaries under its Maternity Benefit Programme (MBP) by restricting the scheme to firstborns instead of 'first two live births' as applicable earlier. PTI had earlier reported that reduced allocation of funds of Rs. 2700 crore for the scheme in the Union...

-The Hindu In the last three years, important entitlements for children have been undermined by the Centre The recent notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, making Aadhaar compulsory for midday meals in government schools, has attracted the criticism it deserves. This notification serves no clear purpose other than to force children to get enrolled under Aadhaar. The government, unfortunately, managed to create the impression that the notification had been retracted,...

-NDTV According to the World Health Statistics (2016), nearly 5 women die every hour in India due to pregnancy and delivery related complications. 17 per cent of maternal deaths in the world occur in India. Based on the data from the Rapid Survey on Children (2013), only 65 per cent of children are exclusively breastfed up to six months of age. Infant and child mortality rates are high as well. Child...

-TheWire.in The Rs 6,000 announced by the prime minister as universal maternity entitlements is already mandated under the National Food Security Act 2013, although the government has chosen not to implement it yet. New Delhi: In his New Year’s Eve address to nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made some bizarre claims about the nature of the economy and the use of black money. But a large chunk of his speech was focused...

-The Hindu Maternity entitlements are an important policy tool for encouraging better maternal health. This is why we need to do away with conditionality in cash transfer schemes Since the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed in 2013, policy circles have been buzzing with talk of reforms in the public distribution system (PDS). Less well appreciated is the NFSA’s potential to call attention to, and help address, poor maternal nutrition — an aspect...