Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the government in the Rajya Sabha, accusing it of “severely underfunding” the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), which provides maternity benefits to pregnant women. She said this neglect has led to a drastic fall in entitlements and questioned why the government allowed such a situation to arise.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Gandhi reminded the House that under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) passed in 2013 during the UPA regime, pregnant women were entitled to Rs 6,000 per child. The PMMVY, launched in 2017 to fulfill this entitlement, only provides Rs 5,000 for the first child and extends benefits for a second child only if it is a girl.
Citing analysis from 2022-23, Gandhi highlighted that while 68% of pregnant women received at least one PMMVY instalment for their first child, the figure dropped alarmingly to just 12% the following year. She questioned the government’s silence on this sharp decline and demanded answers.
Gandhi also raised concerns over the lack of clarity in Union Budget documents. She pointed out that while a scheme named ‘Samarthya’ under the Ministry of Women and Child Development has five components, including PMMVY, the budget allocation of only Rs 2,521 crore for 2025-26 is far from the Rs 12,000 crore required for full implementation.
Calling this severe underfunding a violation of key provisions of a law passed by Parliament, Gandhi said it undermines the government’s responsibility to protect maternal welfare. This was the second time during the Budget session that Gandhi raised sharp concerns, having earlier questioned the dilution of employment guarantees under MGNREGA.
