Caring for women who are birthing a child is of utmost importance. However, with a negligent healthcare structure in India which highly favours those willing to shell out higher sums of money, those from Below the Poverty line often find themselves to be in a fix.

In order to bring better maternity healthcare to women, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan introduced a new scheme for pregnant women of Rajasthan – the Indira Gandhi Maternity Nutrition scheme 2020.

Malnutrition is one of the major issues faced by women in these rural parts of the nation. And in the absence of healthy nutrition, the health of the pregnant woman and the child is also jeopardised.

Objective of the Indira Gandhi Maternity Nutrition scheme 2020

The main objective of the scheme is to offer empowerment to pregnant women who can now, under the benefits of the scheme, can avail themselves a budget to look after their own nutrition.

This, in turn, leads to a positive loop where the child born turns out to be a healthy one, without any birth defects, and also ensures better postpartum health of the woman.

Benefits of the scheme

The scheme comes with its share of benefits, but here are some of the noteworthy ones.

  1. On the birth of the second child, the beneficiary woman will be offered ₹6,000 directly in her bank account in five installments.
  2. The State scheme will complement the Central Government’s pre-existing scheme in the same direction – Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, which offers ₹5,000 for the birth of the first child.
  3. The first installment of ₹1,000 will be given after the pregnancy test and registration for the scheme. The second installment will be again of ₹1,000 and would be offered after the completion of a minimum of two ante-natal check-ups; the third installment of ₹1,000 on the institutional delivery. The fourth installment of ₹2,000 after getting all the regular vaccines which are prescribed for the child and need to be administered to the newborn within 105 days of birth. The fifth and the last installment would be offered after the couple adopts a means of family planning within three months after birth. This is to encourage families to invest and look into family planning.

How to apply for the Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana?

  1. Visit the official website of the Rajasthan Indira Gandhi Matritva Poshan Yojana.
  2. On the homepage, click on the option “Apply Online” button.
  3. The application form will pop up on the page.
  4. The applicant is expected to enter the required details and upload the necessary documents.
  5. The applicant would simply have to click on the “Submit” button for the final submission of the application.

Documents needed to apply online for the scheme

  1. Aadhaar card
  2. BPL ration card
  3. Bank details
  4. Four passport size photographs
  5. Functional mobile number to receive OTP and other information
  6. Residence certificate
  7. Income certificate

Summing it up

In this way, women in Rajasthan can now reach out to the schemes offered by the government to look after their own nutrition during pregnancy and not have to rely on their husband or family to look after their expenses – which leads to women empowerment exponentially.