Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram

Health is a State Subject and State Governments are providing health care including drugs to the patients. In order to strengthen the hands of the State Governments, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is providing additional support under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) for overall health system strengthening including support for provision of free drugs in public health facilities.

Janani Suraksha Yojana was launched in 2005. The scheme is intervention for safe motherhood and seeks to reduce maternal and neo-natal mortality by promoting institutional delivery, i.e. by providing a cash incentive to mothers who deliver their babies in a health facility. The scheme is fully sponsored by the Central Government and is implemented in all states and Union Territories (UTs), with special focus on low performing states. With the launch of JSY the number of institutional deliveries has increased manifold. There are however more than 25% pregnant women who still hesitate to access facilities. Important factors affecting access include: 

a) User charges for OPD, admissions, blood etc.

b) Expense on medicines and other consumables.

c) Cost can be very high in case of caesarean operations. 

Thus under NRHM, a new initiative called Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) has been launched in 2011 for providing free and cashless maternity services  and newborn care in all Government healthcare institutions including diet, no out-of-pocket expenditure for drugs, disposables, diagnostics, blood transfusion, referral transport and drop back facility. Janani-Shishu Suraksha Karyakram supplements the cash assistance given to a pregnant woman under Janani Suraksha Yojana and is aimed at mitigating the burden of out of pocket expenses incurred by pregnant women and sick newborns. Besides it would be a major factor in enhancing access to public health institutions and help bring down the Maternal Mortality and Infant mortality rates.

The Free Entitlements under JSSK would include:

1. Free and Cashless Delivery

2. Free C-Section

3. Free treatment of sick-new-born up to 30 days

4. Exemption from User Charges

5. Free Drugs and Consumables

6. Free Diagnostics

7. Free Diet during stay in the health institutions – 3 days in case of normal delivery and 7 days in case of caesarean section

8. Free Provision of Blood

9. Free Transport from Home to Health Institutions

10. Free Transport between facilities in case of referral as also Drop Back from Institutions to home after 48hrs stay.

11. Free Entitlements for Sick newborns till 30 days after birth similarly include Free treatment, Free drugs and consumables, Free diagnostics, Free provision of blood, Exemption from user charges, Free Transport from Home to Health Institutions, Free Transport between facilities in case of referral and Free drop Back from Institutions to home.

Eligibility for Cash Assistance:

• Low Performing States-All pregnant women delivering in Government health centres or accredited private institutions.

• High Performing States-BPL pregnant women, aged 19 years and above.

• Low and High both-All SC and ST women delivering in a government health centre or accredited private institutions

Uttar Pradesh,Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Rajasthan, Orissa and Jammu and Kashmir have been identified as Low Performing States while all others are High Performing States.