The Jaccha-Baccha Survey (JABS) was conducted by economists Jean Drèze, Reetika Khera and Anmol Somanchi across six states—Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh. The teams surveyed 10-12 randomly selected Anganwadis (spread over two blocks in the same district) and interviewed the pregnant and nursing women registered – 342 and 364 respondents respectively.
According to the survey, the eight-year-old maternity scheme in Odisha and the concentration on social development has put the state ahead of other states in women and children’s health indicators. Like Tamil Nadu, Odisha runs a separate state-run maternal benefits scheme called ‘Mamata’ which has delivered good results on social indicators.
Odisha government’s Mamata scheme was in operation in all the 318 rural projects of the state. People covered under this scheme included pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age and above for the first two births. The report quoted, “Some states, notably Odisha, are now giving eggs as “take-home ration” (THR) to pregnant and nursing women. This is a good practice that should be replicated in all states”.
As per the report, Odisha ranks high in terms of the reach in integrated child development services (ICDS), with near-universal coverage of basic services (health checkup, tetanus injections, iron and folic acid tablets, food supplements, etc.) among pregnant and nursing women enrolled at the Anganwadis.