Stuffed with baby care products, KCR Kits are among the schemes the TRS is hoping will win it a second straight term in Telangana.
Vikharabad district (Telangana): Manorama, a Telangana resident whose youngest daughter-in-law just delivered a baby boy, can’t stop gushing about the ‘KCR Kit’.
Stuffed with baby essentials from US major Johnson & Johnson, along with a few for new mothers, the KCR Kit is handed out for free at district hospitals and is turning out to be a popular sop for caretaker chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao as he seeks a second term in the coming election.
ThePrint caught up with Manorama at the Kodangal district hospital, where her daughter-in-law is now recovering after a difficult delivery.
Waiting for the doctor, she spoke about how the KCR Kit had helped the family at a time when their financial situation was fragile.
“We were short of money, as my daughter’s pregnancy was complicated and we had to treat her in a private hospital first,” she said, “We [then] brought her to the government hospital where she delivered a baby boy… The doctor [there] gave us the KCR Kit, which helped us take good care of the baby in the initial days.”
The sentiment of gratitude seems to resonate across district hospitals in Telangana.
Dr Saraswathi, who has been posted at the community health and nutrition office, which also doubles as the local government hospital, for the last six months, told ThePrint that she distributed close to 50 kits a month.
“It is very economical and beneficial,” she said. “If a family tried to purchase the contents of the kit from the market, it would cost them close to Rs 3,000.
“We want to ensure that the newborn is safe…” she added, saying the number of patients had gone up of late.
The KCR Kit is inspired by the success of the Amma Baby Care Kit Scheme introduced by late Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa in 2015.
Several of the contents are similar: While the Amma Baby Care Kit includes a towel, bed, dress, mosquito net, napkin, a 100 ml bottle of baby oil, 60 ml baby shampoo, a soap with a box, a nail-clipper, a doll for the child, and a hand sanitiser, the one handed out in Telangana consists of 16 care items such as baby soap, oil, powder, a change of clothes for the mother and child, a blanket to wrap the infant, a rattle, and a bedding set for the child.
The scheme is aimed at curbing infant mortality, which, according to Niti Aayog data, stood at 31 per 1,000 live births in Telangana in 2016, almost four times that of top performer Goa (eight).
Another aim is to encourage institutionalised deliveries, which is why only mothers admitted in government hospitals are eligible for the scheme, for two children each.
There’s also an additional cash incentive handed out as part of KCR’s scheme: The parents of each boy born receive Rs 12,000 while those of girls get Rs 13,000, in multiple instalments till the child reaches the age of three-and-a-half months.
Explaining the extra Rs 1,000 granted for girls, a local nurse, Shantha, said it was meant to inspire pride in the birth of girls.
“When boys are born, people are very happy,” she added. “When girls are born, we want the parents to feel equally proud and the additional money is an incentive.”
Also read: For KCR, Telangana agitation is still on, and Chandrababu Naidu is arch enemy
‘Why expect votes in return?’
As it faces what is only the second election for Telangana, formed after Andhra Pradesh’s bifurcation in 2014, KCR and his Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) are reportedly counting on his slew of welfare schemes to beat anti-incumbency.
But the question remains, do welfare schemes translate to votes?
“Why not?” said Shankar, a brick kiln worker in the Tandur panchayat of Mahbubnagar who recently had a son. “We will vote for KCR. He has helped us when in need and we should show our gratitude to him.”
This district is said to be one of the toughest segments for KCR, who has been trying to wrest it from the Congress.
However, Jayaprakash Reddy, a farmer from the neighbouring village of Chintalapally, said
it was the duty of the government to work for the welfare of the people. “Why should they
expect votes in return?”
Polticial analyst K. Nageshwar Rao said KCR Kits were definitely among the most popular schemes of the state government, right alongside Rythu Bandhu (an agriculture support scheme), Asara pension (an old-age support scheme), and Shaadi Mubarak (which provides financial assistance for weddings to the underprivileged).
“Previous governments [of united Andhra Pradesh] did not have such schemes,” he said, “In fact, the deliveries in government hospitals have increased because of this.”
Although each of the kits is embossed with KCR’s photograph, it remains to be seen if it will keep him in voters’ minds when the state votes Friday.
Also read: KCR’s performance in Telangana elections can offer lessons for Modi in 2019
I have some finical problem to given amount in hospital minimum 30000 rupees in private hospital my 9th month is running plz any help to do kcr sir