Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY)

 Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers. It is being implemented initially on pilot basis in 53 selected districts using the platform of ICDS.

The Scheme envisages providing cash directly to pregnant and lactating women during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling specific conditions. It would address short term income support objectives with long term objective of behavioural and attitudinal change. The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to Pregnant & lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child.

Pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for first two live births are entitled for benefits under the scheme. All Government/PSUs (Central & State) employees are excluded from the scheme as they are entitled for paid maternity leave. The beneficiaries are paid Rs.6000/- in two equal installments per pregnant and lactating women on fulfilling specific conditions related to maternal and child health to partly compensation for wage loss to mothers/women during pregnancy and period of lactation. The cash incentives through provision of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) would, not only, contribute to better enabling environment but also encourage and promote health and nutrition seeking behaviour. The scheme is now covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme and under which 16 districts have been included under Phase-I and Phase-II of the implementation.

Program

It envisions the achievement of its objectives by:

• Promoting appropriate practice, care and institutional service utilization during pregnancy, delivery and lactation
• Encouraging the women to follow (optimal) nutrition and feeding practices, including early and exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months; and
• Providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and lactating mothers.

IGMSY provides financial assistance as grant-in-aid to state governments.

Benefits and Eligibility

All pregnant women of 19 years of age and above are eligible for the benefits, except those who receive paid maternity leave. The cash transfers under the Scheme are subject to the following conditions:

• The first transfer (at the end of second birth / pregnancy trimester) of Rs.1,500 requires the mother to:
  • Register pregnancy at the Anganwadi centre (AWC) within four months of conception
  • Attend at least one prenatal care session and taking IFA tablets and TT (tetanus injection), and
  • Attend at least one 3. counselling session at the AWC or healthcare centre.
• The second transfer (three months after delivery) of Rs.1,500 requires the mother to:
  • Register the birth
  • Immunize the child for OPV and BCG at birth, at six weeks and at 10 weeks
  • Attend at least two growth monitoring sessions within three months of delivery
• The third transfer (six months after delivery) of Rs. 1,000 requires the mother to:
• Exclusively breastfeed for six months and introduce complementary feeding as certified by the mother,
• Immunize the child for OPV and DPT
• Attend at least two counselling sessions on growth monitoring and infant and child nutrition and feeding between the third and sixth months after delivery.

For more info please visit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Indira_Gandhi_Matritva_Sahyog_Yojana_(IGMSY)