Mother’s Day: What is Janani? All about India’s new maternal and child healthcare digital push

In a major digital healthcare push, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched JANANI — short for Journey of Antenatal, Natal and Neonatal Integrated Care — a new national platform designed to digitally track pregnancies, childbirth, newborn care, and women’s reproductive health across India. 

The platform was unveiled during the National Summit on Innovation and Inclusivity and is being positioned as an upgraded version of the government’s existing Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal. 

Unlike the earlier system, JANANI creates a longitudinal digital health record for women throughout their reproductive years. The platform captures the entire continuum of care, including antenatal care, delivery preparedness, institutional delivery, postnatal care, newborn care, home-based child care, and family planning services. 

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Officials say the platform aims to strengthen last-mile healthcare delivery and ensure that no mother or child misses critical healthcare services, particularly in vulnerable and migratory populations.

QR-based digital health cards

One of JANANI’s key features is the introduction of QR-enabled digital Mother and Child Health (MCH) cards. These cards allow doctors and healthcare workers to instantly access patient records across healthcare facilities and states. 

The portability of records is expected to especially benefit migrant families, who often lose continuity of healthcare due to frequent relocation. Earlier, many beneficiaries had to restart medical documentation after moving between states or districts.

The platform also offers:

• Real-time tracking of pregnancies and newborn care
• Automated alerts for high-risk pregnancies
• Reminder systems for vaccinations and check-ups
• Due-list generation for follow-up healthcare services
• Real-time dashboards for healthcare administrators 

Officials said JANANI can help identify high-risk pregnancies at an early stage, enabling timely medical intervention and reducing complications during pregnancy and childbirth. 

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The system also supports scheduling and monitoring of antenatal visits, immunisations, and institutional deliveries. Women and families can access information about nearby healthcare facilities, expected delivery locations, nutritional guidance, and healthcare education through the platform. 

Other government health schemes

JANANI has been integrated with other national digital health platforms such as U-WIN, which tracks immunisation, and POSHAN, which focuses on nutrition and child health.  The government says this interoperability will improve coordination across healthcare programmes, strengthen beneficiary tracking, and reduce duplication of records.

Women can register on the platform using Aadhaar, ABHA ID, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication, biometric verification, or simply a mobile number. 

Another important feature is the pan-India search function, which allows healthcare workers to retrieve patient records even if beneficiaries relocate to another city or state. JANANI also allows self-registration through web and mobile platforms, encouraging beneficiaries to actively manage their healthcare journey. 

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Why experts say it matters

Healthcare experts believe JANANI could significantly improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes if implemented effectively at scale. The government said JANANI has already recorded over 1.34 crore beneficiary registrations, including more than 30 lakh pregnant women and over 30 lakh digital MCH cards generated. 
Officials said the platform represents a major structural reform in maternal and child healthcare administration and reflects India’s broader push toward integrated digital healthcare delivery.

Early adoption numbers

The government said JANANI has already seen significant early adoption across the country. So far:

Over 1.34 crore beneficiaries have been registered
More than 30 lakh pregnant women have enrolled
Over 30 lakh digital MCH cards have been generated
More than 1 lakh biometric verifications have been completed

Officials say the larger goal is to strengthen last-mile healthcare delivery and ensure that no mother or child misses essential healthcare services, especially in vulnerable and mobile populations.

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