INTEGRATING DIGITAL HEALTH AND CROSS-REGIONAL ANALYSIS IN EVALUATING BIHAR'S MATERNITY BENEFIT SCHEMES

Bihar lags on key maternal indicators despite national cash-transfer schemes. To test whether embedding a focused digital package within JSY/PMMVY delivery improves service uptake, processes, and early clinical outcomes versus a cross-state comparator, a quasi-experimental evaluation was conducted in six districts with baseline and 6–9-month follow-up among 2,400 beneficiaries and 520 workers. Difference-in-differences estimates favoured Bihar for ≥4 ANC (+12.8 pp), institutional delivery (+14.3 pp), PNC ≤48 h (+11.2 pp), and full immunisation by 12 months (+9.4 pp) (all p