On a two-day visit to Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday will launch a scheme on maternal nutrition in the State at an outlay of ₹800 crore.
Under the “Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana”, pregnant and lactating mothers will be given 2 kg of chickpeas, 1 kg of tur dal and 1 kg of edible oil free of cost every month from anganwadi centres in Gujarat. An estimated 1.36 lakh women will benefit from the scheme.
The Prime Minister will also disburse around ₹120 crores towards ‘Poshan Sudha Yojana’, which is now being extended to all tribal beneficiaries in the State. The scheme was being implemented as a pilot project in 10 talukas of five tribal-dominated districts and is now being expanded to 14 tribal-dominated districts. It offers one nutritious meal a day to pregnant and lactating women.
The schemes aim to intervene during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, which is the period from conception till the time the child turns two. Their objective is to reduce the number of newborns who are underweight at birth as well as to improve infant mortality and maternal mortality rates.
