Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK)

What is Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram?

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, implemented under the National Health Mission, that entitles every pregnant woman delivering at a public health institution to completely free and zero-expense care: including caesarean section.

According to the National Health Mission, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram was launched on 1 June 2011 with the specific objective of eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for pregnant women and sick infants who use public health facilities. It is not a cash transfer scheme. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram works by removing charges at the point of care and by making the health system supply the drugs, tests, blood, food and transport that families were otherwise paying for.

The entitlements were expanded in 2014 to cover all antenatal complications during pregnancy, all postnatal complications after delivery, and treatment of sick newborns and infants up to one year of age at public health institutions.

Key objectives

• Remove the cost barrier that keeps women from delivering in an institution.
• Cut maternal and newborn deaths by making timely institutional care usable.
• End informal payments and user charges in the maternity and newborn wards.
• Guarantee transport, which is often the practical reason a delivery happens at home.

Main features

• Free and zero-expense delivery, including caesarean section, at public health institutions.
• Free drugs and consumables, free diagnostics including blood, urine tests and ultrasonography, and free blood where needed.
• Free diet during the stay, up to 3 days after a normal delivery and up to 7 days after a caesarean section.
• Free transport from home to the institution, between facilities on referral, and drop back home.
• Exemption from all kinds of user charges.
• Similar entitlements for sick newborns and infants up to one year of age.

Who is eligible for Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram?

You can claim the entitlements if:

• You are a pregnant woman delivering at a public health institution. A sub-centre, primary health centre, community health centre, district hospital or medical college hospital.
• You develop an antenatal or postnatal complication and are treated at a public health institution.
• You are the parent of a sick newborn or infant up to one year of age being treated at a public health institution.

There is no income test, no caste condition and no age condition. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram is a universal entitlement at public facilities, and all states and union territories have adopted it.

You cannot apply for or claim JSSK if:

• You deliver or seek treatment at a private hospital or nursing home. The entitlement applies at public health institutions. A private facility empanelled under a separate insurance scheme is covered by that scheme, not by JSSK.
• You are looking for a cash payment. Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram pays no money to the beneficiary; it removes charges. For cash assistance linked to institutional delivery, apply under Janani Suraksha Yojana, which is a separate National Health Mission scheme.

What documents are required for Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram?

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram is deliberately light on paperwork. No document requirement can be used to deny free delivery care to a woman in labour.

How to apply for and claim Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram benefits

1. Register your pregnancy early at the nearest sub-centre, primary health centre or government hospital and get your Mother and Child Protection (MCP) card filled in at every antenatal visit.
2. Ask your ASHA or ANM which public facility is your designated delivery point, and keep that facility's number handy.
3. When labour begins or the baby falls ill, call 102 for the free patient transport service for pregnant women and infants, or ask your ASHA to arrange it.
4. On arrival, tell the registration counter that you are claiming your Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram entitlements, and show the MCP card if you have it.
5. Accept no charge and no outside purchase; drugs, consumables, diagnostics, blood and diet are all supplied free during the stay. If you are asked to buy medicines outside, refuse and escalate.
6. If you are referred to a higher facility, insist on the free referral transport and take the referral slip with you.
7. On discharge, use the free drop back home, which is available after the stay at the institution.
8. Separately, ask the facility about Janani Suraksha Yojana cash assistance, for which you will need a bank account and the MCP card.

What exactly is free under Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram?

For pregnant women:

• Free and zero-expense delivery, including caesarean section
• Free drugs and consumables
• Free essential diagnostics; blood tests, urine tests and ultrasonography
• Free blood provision where needed
• Free diet during the stay — up to 3 days for normal delivery, up to 7 days for caesarean section
• Free transport from home to institution, between facilities on referral, and drop back home
• Exemption from all user charges
• Free treatment of antenatal and postnatal complications

For sick newborns and infants up to one year of age:

• Free treatment
• Free drugs and consumables
• Free diagnostics
• Free blood provision
• Free transport between facilities and drop back home
• Exemption from all user charges

How much does Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram pay the beneficiary?

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram pays the beneficiary nothing in cash. The benefit is delivered as free services, which is why the scheme is described as a zero-expense entitlement rather than an amount.

Families frequently confuse this with Janani Suraksha Yojana, which does pay cash assistance for institutional delivery directly into the mother's bank account. Both operate under the National Health Mission and a woman delivering in a public facility can benefit from both at once: free care under JSSK, cash under JSY.

What to do if a facility denies your JSSK entitlements

1. Ask the ward in-charge to record the demand for payment in writing.
2. Escalate to the medical superintendent or the facility's grievance officer the same day.
3. Call the 104 health helpline of your state to lodge a complaint.
4. Ask your ASHA worker to raise it with the block medical officer, since ASHAs are the frontline link for maternal entitlements.

Help and grievance redressal

• 102: free patient transport service for pregnant women and infants under the National Health Mission.
• 108: emergency response ambulance for critical care, trauma and accident cases.
• 104; health helpline and grievance redressal line run by states under the National Health Mission.
• nhm.gov.in, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram guidelines and state contacts.

Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram costs nothing. Any demand for payment at a public health institution for delivery, newborn care, drugs, tests, blood, diet or transport is a violation of the entitlement and should be reported.