New Delhi: Children born to beneficiary mothers of the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana were modestly taller and weighed slightly more than those who were not, states a recent study. Mothers receiving benefits were 17 per cent more likely to take important iron-folic acid supplements, and their children were 15 per cent more likely to receive vaccinations, it added.
The study, India’s national maternity benefit cash transfer program and child anthropometry, was conducted by a team from the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington DC. It was published in Nature Scientific Reports on 18 April.
The study states that at least 14 per cent of children were more likely to consume dairy regularly, an important source of protein.
The study used data from India’s National Family Health Survey, a periodic survey run by the Health Ministry that visits a representative sample of Indian households. The researchers analysed data between 2015 and 2020 through what is known as a ‘difference-in-differences’ approach, estimating the scheme’s effects by comparing how outcomes changed for beneficiaries compared to non-beneficiaries after 2017.
Yet the results, while promising, fell short of the transformative impact the scheme was intended to have. The study ascribes this to large coverage gaps in the programme. On average, the scheme covered just over half of the eligible infants in India.
“Women from higher socio-economic strata have entered the CCT beneficiary pool since 2018, suggesting a need for more equitable program targeting,” states the study, adding that the average beneficiary after 2017 was wealthier and more educated than the average beneficiary pre-2017.
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Drawbacks of the scheme
That shift is, in part, likely down to difficulties accessing the benefits of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).
“Women must fill out lengthy documents… these hurdles make the procedure cumbersome,” states the study, adding that mothers must have an Aadhaar card, a bank account correctly linked with that card, a Mother-Child Protection (MCP) card, their husband’s Aadhaar card, a bank passbook, and proof of eligibility for the program. Filling up the online application generally requires the aid of Anganwadi workers or child development project officers.
These documentation requirements are often a major roadblock. The 2019 Jaccha-Baccha survey of 700 pregnant women in six states revealed that one in five encountered problems validating their Aadhaar Cards with their bank accounts. The study states that women with more education and from more advantaged backgrounds are better able to navigate the system, which would account for the demographic shift in its beneficiaries.
A Belgian-born Indian economist, Jean Drèze, who coordinated the Jaccha-Baccha survey, said in 2021 that the women who need the benefits the most are “paying the price” for technical problems in the registration process.
Despite the progress of recent decades, maternity and post-natal health remain challenges for the country; according to the national survey’s 2020 data, one-third of children under the age of five are underweight. While PMMVY is a significant step in the right direction, the study suggests that the scheme can improve maternal and child outcomes, but only if the women it was designed for can actually access it.
PMMVY marked its ninth anniversary this year. The scheme provides Rs 5,000 to expectant mothers from poorer backgrounds for their first child in instalments, and Rs 6,000 for a second child.
Sahaj Sankaran is an alumnus of The Print School of Journalism and an intern at ThePrint.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)