The endeavour of 'Janani Suraksha Yojana' Programme is 1) to promote institutional deliveries 2) to provide monetary assistance to the mother to meet the cost of delivery 3) to provide for wage loss due to pregnancy and confinement Which of the statements given above is /are correct?

The correct answer is A. Statements 1 and 2 describe JSY; statement 3 does not.

Janani Suraksha Yojana was launched in 2005 as a centrally sponsored scheme under the National Rural Health Mission. Its core aim is to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality by bringing women to institutions for delivery, so statement 1 is correct. To make this attractive, it gives cash assistance to eligible pregnant women who deliver in public health facilities, and in some states accredited private facilities, so statement 2 is correct.

• Statement 3 is wrong. JSY does not compensate for lost wages. Wage protection comes from the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, which was amended in 2017 to provide 26 weeks of paid leave. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, launched in 2017 after this question's exam year, gives a cash incentive in the first pregnancy. JSY's cash is meant for the cost of delivery and transport, not for earnings lost.

Core concept: conditional cash transfers to change health-seeking behaviour. This links to GS-II health schemes and to the Mains debate on whether cash incentives alone raise institutional deliveries when facility quality is weak.

Trap: candidates see "monetary assistance" and "pregnancy" and assume every maternity cash scheme covers wage loss. Keep JSY's objective of institutional delivery separate from maternity leave and wage-compensation schemes.