Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, or JSSK, provides free delivery services, including caesarean sections, to pregnant women delivering in public health institutions. Its entitlements also cover treatment for sick infants up to one year of age. To access it, ask the government facility providing care about JSSK services and referral transport. The official pages checked do not set out a single nationwide online application form.
| Question | JSSK entitlement |
|---|---|
| Who is covered? | Pregnant women delivering in public institutions and sick infants up to one year |
| Cash payment amount | No fixed cash grant listed; the benefit is free services |
| Delivery | Free normal delivery and caesarean section |
| Diet during delivery stay | 3 days for normal delivery, 7 days for caesarean section |
| Application deadline | No national closing date stated on the checked scheme pages |
JSSK eligibility and the services it covers
The National Health Mission's maternal health page says the programme covers all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions. Its description does not limit that entitlement to a particular income group. However, the reference to public institutions matters: the page should not be read as a promise of reimbursement for any private hospital bill.
The Health Ministry's booklet for expecting mothers, page 23, lists maternity entitlements including drugs and consumables, diagnostic tests, blood when required and exemption from user charges. These accompany free delivery and caesarean section. A family should ask the treating institution how it supplies these entitlements during admission, rather than assuming the scheme is a cash allowance paid after the birth.
Diet is included during the institutional stay, with the maternal health page specifying three days for a normal delivery and seven days for a caesarean section. These are the programme's stated diet entitlements. They are not instructions about the medically appropriate length of an individual admission, which remains a matter for the treating team.
Does JSSK cover newborns and older infants?
Yes. The maternal health page says similar entitlements apply to sick newborns and infants up to one year of age accessing public health institutions for treatment. It also records that the programme was extended in 2014 to complications before and after childbirth. That is an existing extension, not a new rule announced in October 2026.
A separate NHM JSSK introduction and entitlement list retains an older reference to sick newborns within 30 days, followed by a statement that coverage has expanded to sick infants. Read it with the maternal health page, which gives the broader age limit. Using only the older heading would leave readers with an incomplete account.
For sick infants, the entitlement list includes free treatment, medicines and consumables, diagnostics, blood and exemption from user charges. These are service categories. They do not establish a particular diagnosis or treatment for a child, and the family should obtain clinical decisions from the public facility providing care.
How to access JSSK and ask about transport
Start with the public health institution where delivery or infant treatment is planned. Ask its maternity or child health desk how to access JSSK entitlements, how referral transport is arranged and who handles a complaint if a listed service is charged for. The checked national pages describe the benefits but do not provide one common online registration process for every state.
Transport is part of the programme: home to a health institution, travel between facilities when referred, and transport back home. The introduction page describes maternity drop back after a 48 hour stay. Confirm the local arrangements with the facility before relying on a particular pickup route or telephone number, since those operational details are not specified nationally on the pages reviewed.
The same pages do not publish a uniform document checklist. Ask the facility which records it needs for registration, delivery admission or infant care. Keep existing pregnancy and treatment records available for that discussion, but do not mistake this practical preparation for an additional national eligibility condition. No national application closing date is stated in these sources.
Official contact and what has changed
The NHM website lists 011-24013415 as its office contact. It is an administrative contact, not an identified emergency ambulance line. Ask your state health service or treating institution for the appropriate local service and grievance numbers. The national pages confirm the 2011 launch and the 2014 expansion; they do not establish a fresh 2026 benefit increase.
Related service explainers include our e-Shram registration guide, Uttar Pradesh welfare pension report and CTET certificate document guide. Each concerns a separate service with its own eligibility and process.
