Fact Box: Janani Suraksha Yojana

May 23, 2013

Age eligibility norm to get financial aid under JSY relaxed
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has relaxed the eligibility criteria for the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY), which provides financial assistance to mothers for institutional deliveries. As per new changes, Below Party Line (BPL) women can access JSY benefits irrespective of their age and number of children.
What is JSY?

Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) was launched in 2005 with an aim to enable women — especially those from vulnerable sections — to access institutional delivery. This was done to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality.

Why these changes?
It was found that a majority of women, who needed JSY benefits, remained out of the purview of the scheme because they had to prove they were 19 years of age and had no more than two children. Besides this, highest maternal mortality is reported among girls aged 14-15; the majority of these were out of the purview of the JSY as they were unable to produce proof of age or verify the number of children they had. Thus it was felt that age criteria and the requirement to prove number of children must be done away with in order to bring these left out sections into this scheme.
What were the existing norms?

Till now, the scheme provided assistance for institutional delivery to all pregnant women who give birth in a government or private accredited health facility in Low Performing States (those with bad health indicators, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Assam).

Sub-section within Low Performing States:
In Rural Areas:

Rs 1400 to the woman who delivered in a government facility or accredited private facility
Rs. 600 to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) in rural areas.

In the urban areas

Rs.1,000 the woman who delivered in a government facility or accredited private facility
Rs. 400 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

In High Performing States (those with good health indices, such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka), assistance for institutional delivery was available to women from BPL/SC/ST households, aged 19 or above and only up to two live births for delivery in a government or private accredited health facility.
Sub-sections within High Performing States:
In Rural Areas:

Rs. 700 to the woman who delivered in a government facility or accredited private facility
Rs. 600 to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

In Urban Areas:

Rs. 600 to the woman who delivered in a government facility or accredited private facility
Rs. 400 to Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA)

Further, in all States/Union Territories, the scheme provided Rs. 500 to BPL women — aged 19 or above and who deliver up to two live births — who prefer to deliver at home. With the amendments, all women who deliver at home will be entitled to this amount, basically for nutrition.
What are the changes?
As per the changed norms:

All women from BPL category, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in all States and Union Territories will be eligible for JSY benefits if they have given birth in a government or private accredited health facility.
BPL women who prefer to deliver at home can also get JSY benefits.
Below Party Line (BPL) women can access JSY benefits irrespective of their age and number of children.

What is the performance outlook of JSY?
As per the Government the scheme has resulted into an increase in institutional deliveries — from 47% in 2007-08 to 72.9% in 2009 (Coverage Evaluation Survey) and, most recently, to approximately 79% — as per Health Ministry data.

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