The Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) programme is a maternal health initiative launched by the Government of India in 2005 to promote institutional deliveries among pregnant women in order to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality rates. The programme provides financial assistance to pregnant women below the poverty line to access institutional delivery and to encourage them to deliver in a health facility instead of delivering at home. The scheme provides a cash incentive to the mother to meet the cost of delivery and encourages her to seek medical care during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal period.

Under the scheme, the financial assistance provided to the eligible pregnant women includes cash incentive for delivery, reimbursement of the cost of transportation, and other benefits such as free check-ups and medicines. The programme focuses on reducing maternal mortality by ensuring that pregnant women are provided with quality maternal care during delivery and the immediate postpartum period. The scheme has contributed significantly to increasing institutional deliveries in the country and reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rates.