Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday accused the BJP-led government at the Centre of non-fulfillment of maternity entitlements under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY).

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Gandhi said, “I rise to address this House on a matter of great importance. The non-fulfillment of maternity entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013 and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.”Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, Gandhi said, “I rise to address this House on a matter of great importance. The non-fulfillment of maternity entitlements under the National Food Security Act, 2013 and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.”

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Recalling that the NFSA was passed by Parliament in September 2013 under the leadership of then Prime Minister Dr Mamohan Singh , she said it has been the foundation for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).

“The Act also includes Rs 6,000 per child as maternity entitlement for pregnant women in the informal sector. The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana launched in 2017, seeks to fulfill this entitlement. But, it provides only Rs 5,000 for the first child, which is extended to the second child also if it is a girl,” the CPP chairperson said.

She claimed that according to an informed analysis in 2022-23, about 68 per cent of pregnant women received at least one installment of PMMVY for their first birth.

“But in the very next year, this number drastically dropped to 12 per cent. I would like to ask the Union government why this was allowed to happen,” Gandhi said.

Asserting that the full implementation of the maternity benefits provision of the NFSA , 2013 requires an annual budget of around Rs 12,000 crore, she said the budget documents do not contain separate information on allocations for the PMMVY.

“There is a program called Samarthya in the Ministry of Women and Child Development. 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 Parliament,” Gandhi added.