‘KCR Kits’ set to touch 15 lakh mark

So far a total of 14,89,998 lakh KCR kits have been distributed to pregnant women who delivered in government hospitals

Hyderabad: The KCR Kits initiative aimed at the overall improvement of mother and child healthcare services in government hospitals and boosting institutional deliveries is on the verge of a record of distributing 15 lakh kits to pregnant women in Telangana.

Launched in June 2017, under the initiative, which also comes with financial incentives, so far a total of 14,89,998 lakh KCR kits have been distributed to pregnant women who delivered in government hospitals.

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Since its launch, a total of 19,47,790 pregnant women have availed of the KCR Kits facility in government hospitals. In the same time frame, a total of 35 lakh women had registered themselves to avail of the initiative, which involves the distribution of financial benefits of Rs 13,000 for women who deliver a girl child and Rs 12,000 for women who deliver a male child.

To avail of the financial benefits, pregnant women must undergo regular ANC check-ups before delivering the baby and also attend the all-important immunisation sessions after delivery. As a result, the percentage of immunisation (both private and State-run hospitals) in the first three and half months and nine months of birth now hovers between 95 per cent and 99 per cent.

As a result of the KCR Kits initiative, the percentage of deliveries in government hospitals across Telangana has also increased from 30 per cent (prior to KCR Kits) to 60 per cent in 2023.

Since its launch, on average, every year for implementation of KCR Kits initiative, the Telangana government is incurring an expenditure of anywhere between Rs 450 crore and Rs 500 crore annually. In its budget 2022-2023, the State government allocated a massive Rs 443 crore to implement the KCR Kits scheme.