Himachal raises maternity cash incentive to Rs 25,000 ahead of assembly polls

New Delhi: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday (November 8) announced the increment in the maternity cash incentive. Addressing a public rally, Thakur announced that the government has decided to increase the maternity cash incentive from Rs 6,000 to Rs 25,000. "Keeping in view the health of newborn children and their mothers, the State Government has increased the maternity cash incentive from Rs 6,000 to Rs 25,000," said Himachal CM.

Himachal CM's announcement came ahead of Assembly polls in the state that is scheduled for November 12, 2022. Notably, BJP in its manifesto for the 2022 assembly polls has made 11 commitments for women-led development.

Under "Stree Shakti Sankalp", part of the BJP`s manifesto named `Sankalp Patra`, the party promised to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in government jobs and educational institutions, establish a corpus of Rs 500 crore to give interest-free loans to women entrepreneurs to set up homestays, besides construction of two hostels for girls pursuing higher education in all 12 districts. 

BJP has emphasized policies and schemes for women in its manifesto for 2022 assembly polls as women voters outnumber men in every election in Himachal Pradesh. In the 2017 Assembly polls, the women voting percentage was 77.92 per cent, 7.34 per cent higher than the men.