Context: 

The Prime Minister has lauded the new initiative of celebrating ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’ as ‘God Bharai’ ceremony in Dausa, Rajasthan.

About Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana:

• PMMVY is a maternity benefit programme offered by the government of India under which a cash incentive of Rs. 5,000 is provided to pregnant women and lactating mothers. 
• The incentive is provided for the first living child of the family for fulfilling the specific maternal and child health conditions.

(It is a partial compensation which is a part of a plan to provide a total sum of Rs. 6,000 on an average to the woman. The remaining cash incentive of Rs. 1,000 is provided under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery.)

Objectives:

• To provide compensation for the wage loss in terms of cash incentives so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after delivery of the first living child. 
• To improve health seeking behaviour amongst pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Targeted Beneficiaries of PMMVY:

• All pregnant women and lactating mothers excluding the ones who are in regular employment with the Central/State Government or Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law.
• All eligible pregnant women and lactating mothers who have their pregnancy on or after January 01, 2017 for the first child in the family.

News Source: PIB