Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader in Rajya Sabha, Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday accused of allotment of very low budget under the Prime Minister Matru Vandana Yojana. He also suggested that under this, the full amount of economic benefits given to pregnant women should be provided. Raising this issue in the zero hour, the Congress leader said that maternity benefits are not being provided to women under the National Food Security Act 2013 and Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana.
‘Provision to give only 5000 rupees’
Sonia said that the Parliament had passed the National Food Security Act in September 2013 under the leadership of the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Congress leader said that this was the basis of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana. He said that under this law, 6000 rupees were to be provided to pregnant women in the informal sector. He said that the Prime Minister Matru Vandana Yojana, launched in 2017, was asked to provide this right, but under this, a provision was made to give only 5000 rupees to such women. In this, it was a matter of giving such help even after having another child, provided that baby is a baby girl.
‘Budget of Rs 12000 crore required’
Sonia said that according to an analysis made in 2022-23, 68 percent of pregnant women were provided the first installment on the occasion of the first child’s birth under the Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana. He said that the very next year it declined a lot and it remained only 12 percent. He wanted to know from the government why this was allowed to happen? He said that a budget of Rs 12,000 crore will be required annually to fully implement maternity benefits under National Food Security Act 2013.
Congress leader surprised this
Sonia said that it is surprising that the allocation made under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana in the budget documents has not been mentioned separately. She said that there is a program for this under the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, ‘strength’, for which the budgetary allocation in the year 2025-26 is a total of Rs 2521 crore. He said that it is clear from this that a very low budget is being provided for the Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojana.
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