Centre mulls over scheme to provide free sanitary napkins to rural poor

New Delhi: Feb 21, 2010

To boost female health and hygiene in rural India, the Union government is working on a scheme to provide women living below poverty line (BPL) with free sanitary napkins. The scheme, which will eventually supply “highly subsidised” sanitary napkins to women above the poverty line, is likely to be rolled out gradually, in three to six months from now. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Saturday that the government intended to take care of the sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent girls through a community-led programme for behaviour change by promoting the use of sanitary napkins.

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