Nine years of Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

In Context

• As of now, 6.19 crore pregnant women have been examined under Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA).

About Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA)

• Launched in June 2016, it is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
• It was designed to provide assured, comprehensive, and quality antenatal care (ANC) services free of cost to all pregnant women on the 9th of every month, particularly during the second and third trimesters.
• The PMSMA aligns with the broader goals of the Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health plus Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) strategy under the National Health Mission (NHM).
• This has led to a significant improvement in India’s Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), which declined from 130 per lakh live births in 2014-16 to 80 per lakh live births in 2021-23—a notable reduction of 50 points.

Extended PMSMA (E-PMSMA)

• About: Launched in 2022 to ensure tracing and tracking of High-Risk Pregnant (HRP) women till a safe delivery is achieved by provisioning financial incentivization for the identified HRP women.
• Features: Name-based line listing of HRPs.
  • Provision of additional PMSMA Session (Max 4 times in a month).
  • Individual tracking of HRP up to a healthy outcome (till 45th day after delivery).
  • SMS alert to beneficiary as well as to the ASHA for registration of HRP & follow-up visits.

Integration with National Health Policies

• PMSMA complements other existing programs of the government like:
  • Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): Launched to incentivize institutional deliveries through conditional cash transfers. This scheme has benefitted over 11.07 crore women as of March 2025.
  • Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK): Launched to promote free institutional delivery and neonatal care. More than 16.60 crore beneficiaries have been served since 2014–15.
  • LaQshya: Initiative for improving quality of care in labour rooms.
  • Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN): Launched to strengthen respectful and quality care for pregnant women. 90,015 SUMAN health facilities have been notified across the country by March 2025.
  • POSHAN Abhiyaan: Launched to target the most vulnerable—children, adolescent girls, pregnant women, and lactating mothers—by revamping the nutrition services. As of present, there are 6.97 crore Poshan Pakhwadas across the country.
  • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Launched to promote institutional delivery and ensuring maternal health, the scheme provides direct cash benefits of ₹5,000 to pregnant and lactating women.

Source: PIB