Medical Termination of Pregnancy Scheme (Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society)

What is the PULWS Medical Termination of Pregnancy Scheme?

The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Scheme is one of the welfare benefits of the Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society (PULWS), which functions under the Labour Department, Government of Puducherry. The Society was constituted in 2001 under the Societies Registration Act to cater to the welfare of unorganised workers in the Union Territory, and it has branch offices in the Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions besides Puducherry.

Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 250 is provided to members of the Society, or to the spouse of a member, on a medical termination of pregnancy. The assistance is available on up to two occasions, and the amount is transferred directly to the beneficiary's bank account through direct benefit transfer.

Rs 250 is a small sum, and it is important to describe it honestly. This is not a scheme that meets the cost of a procedure. It is a token benefit inside a package of small-value benefits that a low-cost membership society provides to unorganised workers, the kind of body where the annual subscription is Rs 100 and the benefits are correspondingly modest. A worker considering whether to join PULWS should look at the package as a whole, including its maternity benefit and other assistance, rather than at this single head.

The Society's schemes sit alongside the wider social security architecture for unorganised workers in the Union Territory, including the Puducherry Unorganized Workers Social Security Rules, 2020, and the Puducherry Social Security Board.

Who is eligible for the medical termination of pregnancy assistance?

You can claim if:

• You are a member of the Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society, or the spouse of a member.
• Your annual subscription of Rs 100 is current.
• A medical termination of pregnancy has been carried out, with records to establish it.
• You have not already claimed this assistance twice.

To be a member of the Society you must:

• Be an Indian citizen and a resident of Puducherry.
• Be an unorganised worker in one of the trades the Society covers; taxi and car drivers, shop workers, catering workers, carpenters, allied service workers such as hairdressers, tailors and cobblers, and light music workers, among others.
• Be aged between 18 and 59 years.
• Pay the registration fee of Rs 25 and the annual subscription of Rs 100.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not a member of the Society and are not the spouse of one. Membership is the gateway, and it cannot be taken out after the event.
• Your subscription has lapsed, which takes you out of benefit.
• You are outside the 18 to 59 age band for membership.
• You are a construction worker registered with the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, that is a separate statutory board with its own benefits, and a household claims from the body it belongs to.
• You have already received this assistance on two occasions.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the PULWS medical termination of pregnancy assistance

1. Confirm that the membership is live. Check with the PULWS office in your region that the membership is current and the annual subscription of Rs 100 is paid. Clear any arrears before making a claim.
2. Collect the medical records of the procedure from the hospital or health centre where it was carried out, showing the date.
3. Obtain the claim form from the Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society office — the Puducherry office, or the branch offices at Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam.
4. Fill in the form with the membership number, the name of the beneficiary, the date of the procedure, and the bank account details for the transfer.
5. Attach the documents: membership card, medical records, subscription proof, Aadhaar card, bank passbook copy, and marriage proof if the claim is by the spouse of a member.
6. Submit the claim at the Society's office and keep the acknowledgement.
7. Follow up on the transfer. The assistance is credited by direct benefit transfer to the account recorded in the claim.

How to become a member of PULWS

For most people reading this page, membership is the real question, because the benefit only exists for members.

1. Check that your trade is covered. The Society caters to unorganised workers such as taxi and car drivers, shop and catering workers, carpenters, allied service workers including hairdressers, tailors and cobblers, and light music workers.
2. Check your age. Membership is for workers aged 18 to 59 years.
3. Apply at the PULWS office in your region with proof of identity, proof of residence in Puducherry, proof that you work in a covered trade, photographs and bank details.
4. Pay the registration fee of Rs 25 and the annual subscription of Rs 100.
5. Renew the subscription every year. A lapsed subscription puts a member outside every one of the Society's benefits on the day they are needed.

How does this compare with the other Puducherry labour welfare bodies?

The Labour Department of Puducherry runs more than one welfare body, and workers are frequently confused about which one covers them.

Register with the body that matches your trade. A construction worker's household should be with the Board; a driver's or tailor's household with PULWS.

Why claims are rejected, and how to avoid it

• Not a member, or membership taken after the procedure. There is no retrospective cover.
• Subscription in arrears on the date of the claim.
• No medical records establishing the procedure and its date.
• Third claim. The assistance is limited to two occasions.
• Relationship not established where the spouse of a member claims. Carry marriage proof.
• Bank account inactive or details wrong, so the direct benefit transfer fails. Update the account with the Society before claiming.
• Claim filed at the wrong body, for example, a construction worker's family filing with PULWS instead of the construction workers' Board.

Where to apply and how to raise a grievance

Claims go to the Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society, Labour Department, Government of Puducherry, at its Puducherry office or its branch offices in Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The Labour Department publishes details of its societies and boards, welfare measures and notifications at labour.py.gov.in.

If a claim is delayed or rejected, take it up first with the Society's office and then with the Labour Department, Government of Puducherry. An unresolved grievance can be filed through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) against the Government of Puducherry.

No fee is payable for a claim form or for filing a claim. The only money a member pays the Society is the Rs 25 registration fee and the Rs 100 annual subscription, both paid at the Society's office against a receipt.

How to check your application status

This is an offline claim to a small welfare society, not a scheme with an online tracking portal or an application ID system. The Puducherry Unorganised Labourers' Welfare Society does not run a portal login or an SMS status service for this benefit, so checking on a claim means following up directly with the office where it was filed.

• Keep the acknowledgement from submission. When the claim is handed in at the PULWS office, ask for a dated acknowledgement or receipt number. This is the only reference the office will recognise when you follow up, since there is no separate tracking number issued for the claim itself.
• Follow up in person or by phone at the same office. Claims are processed at the Puducherry office or the branch office in Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam where the claim was filed, so return to that office rather than a different branch. Carry the acknowledgement and the membership number when asking about progress.
• Ask specifically whether the claim has been approved and sent for payment, since the amount is credited by direct benefit transfer once the office clears the claim. If it has been approved, the office can tell you when the transfer was made; if the bank account details on file are wrong, the transfer will fail silently rather than show as rejected, so it is worth confirming the account number and IFSC recorded against the membership.
• Check your bank account or passbook for the Rs 250 credit rather than expecting a notification, since the Society does not send confirmation messages for this benefit.
• If there is no update after a reasonable wait, raise it with the PULWS office first, and if that does not resolve it, take the matter to the Labour Department, Government of Puducherry, which the Society functions under. Details of the Department's welfare measures are listed at labour.py.gov.in/welfare-measures.
• For an unresolved delay, a grievance can be filed through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) against the Government of Puducherry, quoting the claim acknowledgement and the date of submission.

There is no published helpline number specifically for this scheme, so an in-person or telephone follow-up with the Society's own office remains the most reliable way to check where a claim stands.