15th January 2022

Topic: Punjab Government Scheme

Importance: Punjab PCS Prelims and Mains

What is the Scheme?

• Punjab Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme 2022.

What else is Scheme called?

• Punjab Udaan Scheme.

Objective:

• The primary objective of the Punjab Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme 2022 is to provide women with free sanitary napkins.
• The Punjab Udan Scheme aims at normalizing public debates on menstrual hygiene. Udaan is a good initiative of the government because menstrual hygiene is right of every woman.
• The Punjab government announced on December 22, 2021, the launch of the Udaan program to provide free sanitary napkins to women in need.
• Free sanitary napkins will be provided each month to needy women at the state’s 27314 Anganwadi centers as part of the Udaan program.

Important:

• According to the National Family Health Survey (2015-2016) report, only 55% of women (15-45 years) use hygiene protection methods during their menstruation.
  In urban areas the situation is a bit better than in rural areas. About 78% of women in urban areas and 50% of women in rural areas use sanitary napkins, tampons and locally prepared tampons as hygiene methods.
• According to the Survey reports, 45% of women aged 15 to 24 in the state are at greater risk of being exposed to menstrual hygiene-related diseases.
• Such women may be exposed to fungal infection, urinary tract infection, reproductive tract infection and other health diseases.

What Minister shared?

• The Ministry of Social Security and Women and Child Development, Razia Sultana, recently launched the project in Malerkotla. Sultana said that a number of initiatives have been undertaken by the government to empower women in Punjab. She added that nine sanitary napkins per month will be provided free of charge to needy women in all Anganwadi centres in Punjab. Sultana also asserted that the state government is taking measures to increase the female ratio in the state.
• Punjab Udaan Yojana is necessary because “Of the women-related diseases that occur in the state, 60% are due to non-adherence to menstrual hygiene. With that in mind, the Udaan program is an innovative initiative by the Punjab government. A total of 13.65 lakh women b/w the age of 10 to 45 years will be benefitted through Pb Udaan scheme. At this scale, it is a unique initiative of Punjab in the country itself.”

Who will be the nodal agency?

• The Department of Women and Child Development, Punjab will be the nodal agency for the Udan scheme.

(Source: Punjab Government (Sarkari Yojana))

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