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Kochi: The Kerala government has decided to launch the scheme declared by the union government to tackle the declining trend in the female birth rate. According to the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Rs 6000 will be provided for the second child, only if the newborn is a girl.
Kerala State Directorate of Women and Child Development released an order after receiving the centre’s directive to implement the scheme soon. The central and state government employees, staff at public sector undertakings and those who receive similar maternity benefits will not be eligible for the benefits under PMMVY.
As per reports of the National Family Health Survey 2019-21, the sex ratio at birth for children born in the preceding five years (females per 1000 males) was estimated as 929. In the survey of 2015-16, this figure was 919 female children for 1000 male children. The union government introduced new projects for the girl children on account of the lack of considerable improvement in the sex ratio.
In Kerala, the sex ratio at birth has dropped from 1047 girls per 1000 boys in 2015-16 to 951 girls per 1000 boys in 2019-21. The decline in female birth rate has been reported in 11 states, including Kerala.
The girl child born on or after April 1, 2022 are eligible for the financial benefits under PMMVY. The applications have to be submitted till June 30, 2023.
However, in order to receive the grants from July 2023, the name of the second girl child must be registered in an anganwadi or directly in the portal http://pmmvy.nic.in before the child attains nine months of age.
Apart from this, the PMMVY provides Rs 5000 to the lactating mother for first child birth, irrespective of the newborn’s sex. The benefit can be received by registering the child’s name in the nearest anganwadi.
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