Sonia Gandhi Wednesday questioned the Narendra Modi government on the reduced fund allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana for the current fiscal.
“The allocation in 2025-26 for Samarthya is only Rs 2,521 crore. This clearly shows that the PMMVY is severely underfunded thereby violating the key provisions of the law passed by the Parliament,” Sonia said in the Rajya Sabha. “The full implementation of the maternity benefits provision requires an annual budget of around Rs. 12,000 crore. Surprisingly, the budget documents do not contain separate information on allocations for PMMVY.”
The Congress parliamentary chairperson said in 2022-23 about 68 per cent of pregnant women had received at least instalment of PMMVY for the first birth.
“But, this number drastically dropped to 12 per cent the following year. I would like to ask the union government why this was allowed to happen,” Sonia said, describing the non-fulfilment of maternity entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013 as a “pressing concern.”
Referring to Narendra Modi government’s Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, Sonia said it was riding piggyback on the provisions of the National Food Security Act, which was passed during the tenure of the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The act provides a maternity entitlement of Rs. 6,000 per child for pregnant women in the informal sector.
Although the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), launched in 2017, aims to fulfill this entitlement, it provides only Rs. 5,000 for the first child, with an extension to the second child if it's a girl.
Sonia had earlier demanded the Narendra Modi government to increase the minimum wages under the 100-days work scheme to Rs. 400 as well as increasing the maximum work days to 150.
Accusing the Modi government of undermining the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee programme launched by the UPA, Sonia said, the present BJP government has undermined the scheme.
“The budget allocation remains stagnant at Rs. 86,000 crore. The allocated budget has actually declined by Rs. 4,000 crore. Moreover, estimates suggest that nearly 20% of the allocated funds will be used to clear pending dues from previous years,” Sonia had said.
Outside the Parliament, the Opposition MPs from Kerala demanded immediate release of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
“The government’s inaction has left millions of families without livelihoods, exacerbating poverty and suffering. We demand immediate attention to this crisis and justice for affected workers who are struggling to make ends meet in the absence of wages that are long overdue,” said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress MP from Wayanad.
The opposition MPs demanded the government should increase wages to cope with the present inflation rates and increase work days to 150 from the existing 100 days.