The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) will kick off nationwide celebrations on June 9 to commemorate a decade of the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), one of India’s flagship maternal healthcare initiatives aimed at ensuring safe pregnancies and healthy motherhood.
The year-long observance, themed “10 Years of PMSMA – A Decade of Care,” will be formally launched by Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda at a national event in New Delhi.
As part of the celebrations, awareness and outreach activities will be conducted across states and union territories to encourage pregnant women and their families to avail themselves of the nine assured free antenatal care services offered under PMSMA. The campaign will also focus on spreading awareness about the importance of timely check-ups and quality antenatal care for reducing maternal and neonatal health risks.
To mark the milestone, the Health Minister will release a special ₹75 commemorative coin and a ₹5 postal stamp, recognizing the programme’s contribution to improving maternal healthcare and promoting safe motherhood across the country over the past decade.
Launched on June 9, 2016, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, PMSMA was designed to provide free, comprehensive and quality antenatal care services to pregnant women on the 9th day of every month. The initiative has since emerged as a key component of India’s maternal and child healthcare strategy.
Over the last ten years, PMSMA has played a significant role in strengthening antenatal healthcare delivery by improving access to diagnostic services, counselling, risk assessment and specialist consultations for expectant mothers. The programme has particularly focused on identifying and managing high-risk pregnancies, enabling timely medical interventions and reducing complications during childbirth.
The MoHFW said PMSMA has become a vital pillar of the government’s Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) strategy and supports the broader Continuum of Care approach. The scheme has contributed to enhancing the quality and coverage of antenatal care services while benefiting crores of families across the country.
The ministry noted that the initiative has helped strengthen maternal healthcare systems and has been an important factor in India’s continued progress in reducing the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) over the past decade.
As the programme enters its second decade, the government aims to further expand awareness, improve service utilization and ensure that every pregnant woman has access to quality antenatal care, reinforcing its commitment to safer motherhood and healthier outcomes for mothers and newborns nationwide.
