-TheWire.in The proposed Social Security Code, which brings together fifteen labour laws, is an opportunity to think afresh about the challenge of supporting new mothers – even in the informal economy. Maternity entitlements in the form of wage compensation during pregnancy and after delivery is an internationally accepted right for all women workers. It is also recognised as a supportive mechanism for exclusive breastfeeding, critical for child nutrition and well-being. The legislative...

-VillageSquare.in Women trained as poshan sakhis, or nutrition friends, advice and help rural women, particularly expectant and Lactating Mothers, to eat nutritious food and overcome anemia and underweight deliveries Koraput (Odisha): Swapnarani (21), an expectant mother, finishes her household work fast to attend the monthly maitri baithak at her village Bhutanagar in Badakeranga panchayat of Odisha’s Koraput district. Maitri baithak, or friendship meeting, provides space for women to discuss issues that concern...

-MoneyControl.com No government money has been spent on pregnant and lactating women enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) till August 2018 in Uttar Pradesh (UP), an RTI query filed by news agency IANS has revealed. PMMVY is a maternity benefit scheme launched by Narendra Modi government, which promises pregnant women and Lactating Mothers Rs 6,000 for the birth of the first living child. The central government had approved a total...

-DNA Union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi has again raised objections against the provision of implementing cash transfers in lieu of dietary supplements, known officially as Take Home Ration (THR), marking perhaps the third time the ministry has officially spoken against it. A decision to implement the provision in ten vulnerable districts was passed at the National Nutrition Council's inaugural meeting on April 18, chaired by NITI Aayog...

-Economic and Political Weekly A diverse diet based on local foods is the best alternative to feed millions of malnourished children. What young children in anganwadi centres should be fed as supplementary nutrition is once again under the scanner arising from a difference of opinion between the Niti Aayog and the Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi. There were news reports last week indicating that the minister has been pushing...