India, March 26 -- Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said the Narendra Modi government's flagship programme for pregnant women, Pradhan Mantri Vandana Yojna (PMMVY), is "severely under-funded" and has resulted in drastic fall in entitlements to beneficiaries.

Flagging the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Gandhi said the National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed by Parliament in 2013 under the leadership of Manmohan Singh in September 2013 and it has been the foundation for PM Gharib Kalyan Yojna (PMGKY), which was launched during Covid 19 to provide foodgrains to poor families. PMGKY currently has 81 crore beneficiaries.

She said NFSA also includes Rs.6,000 per child as maternity entitlement for pregnant wom...