New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be touching base in Gujarat once again. He will visit the state on June 18, Saturday, and inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for various projects worth over Rs 21,000 crore during the ‘Gujarat Gaurav Abhiyan’ programme to be held in Vadodara.
During the event, Mr Modi will also launch the state-wide ‘Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana’ (MMY).
This scheme by the Government of Gujarat is aimed at providing nutritious food to pregnant and lactating mothers for initial 1,000 days along with their newborn child to improve the nutritional status of both.
Simultaneously, ‘Poshan Sudha Yojana’ will be launched in all the tribal talukas of the state and the women of the tribal areas will be covered under the benefits of this scheme.
Sources said the MMY will seek to address the issues of Malnutrition and Anaemia during pregnancy.
These problems often hinder the development of the fetus, leading to the poor health of the newborn child. For a woman, from the days she conceives till the 270th day, and for a child from conception till the first two years or 730 days, this total period of total 1,000 days is very crucial
for their development.
Acknowledging the importance of these issues, the Central government’s ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ scheme calls for critical interventions in these 1,000 days.
The Government of Gujarat has approved ‘Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana’ (MMY) for providing nutritious food to pregnant and lactating mothers during the first 1,000 days.
In the year 2022-23, all the pregnant and lactating women along with those beneficiaries registered as pregnant or as a mother of a child up to 2 years in the software of the Health Department can avail the benefits of this scheme.
Under this scheme, every beneficiary will receive two kg of chickpeas, one kg of Tuvar dal and one litre of groundnut oil from the Anganwadi Centres every month.
The state government has allocated a budget of Rs 811 crore for this scheme this year, the source said adding, that the state will make a provision of Rs 4,000 crore in the next five years.
Sources further said the Gujarat government on a pilot basis implemented the ‘Poshan Sudha Yojana’ in 10 talukas of five districts – Dahod, Valsad, Mahisagar, Chhota Udepur and Narmada in tribal areas.
After its success, the state government will be now expanding the scheme in a total 14 tribal districts comprising 106 talukas.
