Maternity payout covers just 20% of births, claim activists

Right to Food activists are worried about the low coverage of India's maternity benefit scheme, PMMVY, which only reaches about 20% of births annually despite a legal entitlement of Rs 6,000 for all pregnant women under the NFSA, 2013. The scheme's budget has stagnated, and stringent conditions exclude many women, leading to significantly lower benefit amounts and coverage compared to states like Tamil Nadu and Odisha.Original Article