evidence: Low public spending is certainly part of the problem. Take two important schemes for women and children: the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY). Both are part of the National Food Security Act 2013 and have suffered from neglect in different ways in the past six years. The PMMVY is a cash transfer to pregnant and lactating women. It is supposed to be the equivalent of the Maternity Benefits Act for women in the unorganized sector. Until 2017, a pre-existing scheme, the Indira Gandhi Matru Sahayog Yojana was running in 50-odd districts. The PMMVY was instituted in 2017, in diluted form. One, it restricted the cash benefit to the first child and, two, instead of Rs. 6,000, women now get only Rs. 5,000. Remember, women in the organized sector are entitled to six months wage compensation as maternity benefits, whereas for women in the unorganized sector, the law provides a fixed amount (Rs. 6,000). It is not pegged to the minimum wage nor is it indexed to inflation. The allocations made since 2017 are one-fifth of what are required to achieve universal coverage, as required by the law. Moreover, findings from our survey in six states indicate the paperwork is so cumbersome that many do not get their benefits. In the year of the pandemic, when women’s needs must have been even greater, the Union Budget reports that in 2020-21 only Rs. 1300 crores (of the total allocation of Rs. 2500 crores) was utilized.