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With reference to the 'Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan', consider the following statements : 1. This scheme guarantees a minimum package of antenatal care services to women in their second and third trimesters of pregnancy and six months post-delivery health care service in any government health facility. 2. Under this scheme, private sector health care providers of certain specialities can volunteer to provide services at nearby government health facilities. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Explanation
The correct answer is option B (Statement 2 only).
**Statement 1 is incorrect** because PMSMA guarantees a minimum package of antenatal care services to women in their 2nd / 3rd trimesters of pregnancy at designated government health facilities[1], but it does **not** include six months post-delivery health care services. The scheme is focused solely on antenatal (prenatal) care, not postnatal care.
**Statement 2 is correct** because as part of the Abhiyan, a minimum package of antenatal care services would be provided to pregnant women in their 2nd / 3rd trimesters, by OBGY specialists/ Radiologist/ Physicians at government health facilities, with support from private sector doctors to supplement the efforts of the government[2]. Additionally, this programme follows a systematic approach for engagement with private practitioners, motivating them to volunteer in the scheme at government health facilities[3].
Therefore, only Statement 2 is correct, making option B the right answer.
Sources- [1] https://pmsma.mohfw.gov.in/
- [2] https://cms.rajyasabha.nic.in/UploadedFiles/Debates/OfficialDebatesDatewise/Floor/244/F02.01.2018.pdf
- [3] Economics, Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 3: Poverty as a Challenge > Anti-Poverty Measures > p. 40
PROVENANCE & STUDY PATTERN
Guest previewThis is a classic 'Scope Creep' trap. UPSC took a scheme focused on 'Antenatal Care' (ANC) and subtly extended its mandate to 'Post-delivery' in Statement 1 to test your precision. Statement 2 was a direct lift from NCERT Class IX, proving that basic textbooks often hold the 'Unique Selling Point' (USP) of major schemes.
This question can be broken into the following sub-statements. Tap a statement sentence to jump into its detailed analysis.
- Statement 1: Does the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) guarantee a minimum package of antenatal care services for pregnant women during their second and third trimesters?
- Statement 2: Does the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) guarantee six months of post-delivery (postnatal) healthcare services in any government health facility?
- Statement 3: Does the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) permit private-sector healthcare providers of specified specialties to volunteer to provide services at nearby government health facilities?
- Official parliamentary document states the scheme provides a minimum ANC service package specifically for women in 2nd/3rd trimesters.
- Specifies delivery by OBGY specialists, radiologists and physicians at government facilities, indicating a formal guaranteed service.
- Ministry website explicitly states that PMSMA 'guarantees a minimum package' for women in 2nd/3rd trimesters.
- This is a direct, unambiguous statement from the scheme's official site supporting the guarantee.
- Program guidelines describe PMSMA's objective to provide quality ANC and state that under the campaign a minimum package of antenatal care services would be provided.
- Mentions the services are to be given on the fixed-day clinics, supporting the operational guarantee.
Direct description of PMSMA: it was launched to provide 'quality antenatal care' nationwide, with services provided on the ninth day of every month and an approach to ensure regular treatment.
A student could infer that a scheme promising regular, nationwide antenatal care likely defines a standard set of services; they should check official PMSMA guidelines (or compare with standard antenatal care checklists) to see if a minimum package is specified.
Example of another Pradhan Mantri scheme (PMFBY) listing 'salient features' and explicit coverage/entitlements, showing a pattern that central schemes often enumerate concrete components.
Using this pattern, a student might look for a similar 'salient features' or 'salient components' section in PMSMA documentation to confirm whether a minimum package is defined.
PM-AASHA is presented as an 'umbrella scheme' with clearly listed components—again indicating that government schemes commonly specify subcomponents and entitlements.
A student can reasonably expect PMSMA to follow the same documentation convention; absence of such a list in the snippet suggests the provided source doesn't state a guaranteed minimum package, so they should consult official scheme documents.
This statement analysis shows book citations, web sources and indirect clues. The first statement (S1) is open for preview.
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