Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) is a safe motherhood intervention under the National Health Mission (NHM). The Yojana was launched on 12th April 2005. It is being implemented in all states and UTs. It is a 100 % centrally sponsored scheme and it integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-delivery care.
- Objectives: It was Launched for reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, to promote institutional delivery among pregnant women especially with weak socio-economic status i.e. women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and BPL households.
- Cash assistance: Under the JSY, eligible pregnant women are entitled to cash assistance irrespective of the age of mother and number of children for giving birth in a government or accredited private health facility.
- Area of Focus: The scheme focuses on poor pregnant woman with special dispensation for states that have low institutional delivery rates, namely, the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, and Jammu and Kashmir.
- While these States have been named Low Performing States (LPS) under the scheme, the remaining States/UTs have been named High Performing States (HPS).
- The scheme also provides performance-based incentives to women health volunteers known as ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) for promoting institutional delivery among pregnant women.