<span style="color: #222222;">The Government has initiated a number of schematic and legislative interventions over the past few years for educational, social, economic, and political empowerment of women. These have resulted in improving the status of women on many counts.<br />”<br />”AIR correspondent reports that the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, launched by the Government of India on January 1, 2017, is a major scheme for the empowerment of women. Under this scheme, financial assistance is provided to pregnant and lactating mothers to improve the health and nutrition of the mother and child.<br />”<br />”In the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, women are provided financial assistance for the first two living children, but it is necessary that the second child should be a girl. In the scheme, an amount of ? 5000 is provided in two installments in the case of the first child, and an amount of ? 6000 is provided in one installment after the birth of the second child means a girl child.<br />”<br />”The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to women to compensate them for the loss of wages during maternity so that the woman can take adequate rest before and after childbirth. This scheme is making a significant contribution to improving the sex ratio at birth and preventing female feticide by promoting positive behavioural change towards the girl child.&nbsp;</span>