Launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on June 1, 2011, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram benefits pregnant women admitted at government health facilities in rural and urban areas for their delivery. The scheme also encourages women for institutional deliveries instead of delivering a child at home.

Objectives

The scheme provides completely free cashless services and proper diet to over 12 million pregnant women undergoing/undergone normal and cesarean deliveries and those with sick infants (for 30 days after birth).

Free allowances for pregnant women are as follows:

  1. Normal and cesarean deliveries
  2. Drugs and diet (up to 3 days for normal deliveries and 7 days for cesarean deliveries)
  3. Diagnostics and health check-ups
  4. Blood supply
  5. Exemption from patient charges
  6. Transportation services between home and government health facilities

The scheme also offers free allowances for sick infants for 30 days after birth. These include the following:

  1. Treatment, drugs, and diet
  2. Diagnostics and regular check-ups
  3. Blood supply
  4. Medical charges
  5. Transportation services

Salient features

Under this scheme, essential care is proffered to mothers and infants. The postnatal period is crucial for the diagnosis and prognosis of any complication post-delivery. In 2014, the scheme was extended to include pre and postnatal complications of pregnancy, such as infant or maternal mortality.

All the states and union territories have implemented this scheme. As reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the number of government institutional deliveries has increased from nearly 7 lacs to over crores now.

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