JSY and JSSK Entitlements
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Cash for delivery came first, freedom from payment followed: the Janani Suraksha Yojana (12 April 2005, under the National Rural Health Mission) pays a one-time cash incentive for institutional delivery in a public facility — Rs 1,400 rural and Rs 1,000 urban in the ten low-performing states, Rs 700 and Rs 600 in high-performing states where eligibility is restricted to BPL, SC and ST women for up to two live births. The Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (June 2011) then made the delivery itself free: for every pregnant woman delivering in a public facility — and every sick newborn — entitlements cover free and cashless delivery including caesarean section, free drugs and consumables, free diagnostics, free diet during stay (three days for normal delivery, seven for caesarean), free blood, free transport from home to facility, between facilities and back home, and exemption from every user charge. The ASHA's escort incentive (Rs 600 rural, Rs 400 urban) oils the pathway.
What you must remember
- JSY launch and logic: 12 April 2005 under NRHM; a conditional cash transfer promoting institutional delivery among poor women — demand-side financing.
- Cash amounts: low-performing states Rs 1,400 (rural) and Rs 1,000 (urban); high-performing states Rs 700 and Rs 600 — the LPS/HPS split is the most tested number pair.
- LPS list (the classic ten): Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Assam and Jammu and Kashmir; in LPS all women delivering in public facilities qualify.
- HPS restriction: BPL, SC and ST women only, limited to two live births.
- ASHA package: escort and mobilisation incentive of Rs 600 rural and Rs 400 urban for facilitating the delivery, plus registration and follow-up payments.
- JSSK entitlements (2011), pregnant woman in public facility: free normal and caesarean delivery, free drugs and consumables, free diagnostics, free diet (3 days normal, 7 days caesarean), free blood, free transport (to, between and back), zero user charges.
- JSSK sick newborn: the same free package — treatment, drugs, diagnostics and transport — for sick infants in public-sector care.
- Sibling scheme: Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (2017) gives Rs 5,000 in three instalments for the first live birth — a separate benefit often confused with JSY.
What a pregnant woman pays: 2005 versus 2011
In 2008, a Bihari primigravida delivered in the district hospital: JSY handed her Rs 1,400 at discharge, but the family had still borrowed for the auto fare — cash assistance with priced services. In 2012 the same journey was rebuilt by JSSK as a zero-bill pathway: the JSSK ambulance fetched her; registration charged nothing; delivery, vaginal or caesarean, was cashless; her diet came from the hospital kitchen for three days (seven after a caesarean); haemoglobin and indicated ultrasound cost nothing; and a transfusion drew on the blood storage unit without a bill. JSY's cash still arrived — the schemes stack — but the out-of-pocket leakage had been abolished at source.
The exam logic is that JSY is conditional cash (a demand-side incentive payable on institutional delivery in a public facility), while JSSK is unconditional free services (a supply-side entitlement of every public-facility birth regardless of category or parity). Note also the outcome arithmetic: institutional delivery rose from roughly 39% (NFHS-3, 2005-06) to about 79% (NFHS-4) and 89% (NFHS-5). The unfinished business is quality: public deliveries rose faster than EmOC capability, so entitlement must travel with functionality — 24×7 PHCs, skilled birth attendants and referral transport.
Scheme-matching traps
Three traps recur. First, amount-shuffling: LPS 1,400/1,000 versus HPS 700/600 — options mix urban and rural across the pairs. Second, JSSK diet days: three normal, seven caesarean, with the transport trio (to, between, back) asked as a "which is NOT an entitlement" item. Third, JSY versus PMMVY: JSY is delivery-linked cash for up to two live births; PMMVY is Rs 5,000 for the first live birth in instalments tied to ANC and immunisation. Remember the eligibility asymmetry (all women in LPS; BPL/SC/ST in HPS) and that JSSK covers every public-facility delivery irrespective of parity or income.
Frequently asked questions
How much cash does JSY give, and where?
Rs 1,400 in rural and Rs 1,000 in urban low-performing states; Rs 700 and Rs 600 in high-performing states — paid for delivery in a public facility, with the two-live-birth limit applying in HPS for BPL/SC/ST women.
What are the JSSK entitlements for a pregnant woman?
Free and cashless delivery including caesarean, free drugs, diagnostics, diet (3 days normal, 7 days caesarean), blood, all-stage transport and exemption from user charges in public facilities.
Who is covered under JSSK?
Every pregnant woman delivering in a public health facility and every sick newborn seeking care in the public sector — no income, caste or parity conditions.
What does the ASHA earn from a JSY delivery?
An escort and facilitation incentive of Rs 600 in rural and Rs 400 in urban areas, alongside payments for registration, antenatal visits and postnatal follow-up.
How do JSY and PMMVY differ?
JSY is delivery-linked institutional-delivery cash (up to two births, LPS/HPS rates); PMMVY gives Rs 5,000 in three instalments for the first live birth, tied to antenatal check-ups and immunisation.