Udaan Scheme Punjab | Pb Udaan Scheme Sanitary Pads | पंजाब मुफ्त सेनेटरी पैड योजना | Menstrual Hygiene Scheme for Women in Punjab | Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme for Girls in Punjab

Good News for Women ! The state govt. of Punjab will provide free sanitary pads to women every month. An ambitious menstrual hygiene scheme or Udaan Scheme will be launched by Punjab government. Around 13.65 lakh women will get free sanitary napkins every month under Pb Muft Sanitary Pad Yojana. Needy women would be able to get free sanitary napkin from all anganwadi centres across the state, let's check the complete details.

Punjab Udaan Scheme Announcement

Previous Congress government in Punjab announced on 22 December 2021 to start Udaan Scheme for providing free sanitary pads to women in need. Now the newly formed CM Bhagwant Mann led AAP state govt. has not given any update on this. But it is expected that the Punjab state govt. will focus on this important issue and will soon start Free sanitary pad scheme in the state. 

The Punjab Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme would promote menstrual hygiene among girls. Free sanitary napkins will be provided to needy women every month at all 27,314 Anganwadi centres across the state under the Udaan Scheme.

Punjab Free Sanitary Pads Scheme for Menstrual Hygiene

Punjab govt will soon start distributing free sanitary napkins under Udaan Yojana. Special awareness campaigns focusing on women's health will be run through women self-help groups, social and non-government organisations. 

Launch of Punjab Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme

Punjab government aims to empower women and so, free sanitary pad scheme will soon be launched. 9 sanitary pads per month will be provided for free to needy females at all the Anganwadi Centers in Punjab. The state government is taking up efforts to increase the female sex ratio in the state.
Punjab Udaan Yojana is necessary because "Out of the women-related diseases happening in the state, 60% are due to non-adherence to menstrual hygiene. Keeping all these things in mind, the Udaan scheme will be an innovative initiative of the government of Punjab. A total of 13.65 lakh women b/w the age of 10 to 45 years will be benefitted through Pb Udaan scheme. On such a large scale, this would be a unique initiative of Punjab in the country itself."
 

1st Phase of Punjab Free Sanitary Pad Scheme

In the first phase, over 50 women will be covered at each Anganwadi Centre and sanitary pads would be given to 13.65 lakh beneficiaries each month. A total of 1.23 crore pads will be distributed under Punjab Free Sanitary Pad Scheme.

Punjab Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme Coverage

The new Punjab Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme would cover the following category of women:-
  • School drop-outs
  • Out-of-school girls
  • Young women not attending college
  • Women from BPL families
  • Homeless women
  • Residents of slum areas
  • Women who are not availing free or subsidised sanitary pads under any scheme of other departments.
An amount of Rs 40.55 crore per annum will be incurred on the Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme, called Udaan Yojana. To encourage adolescent girls and women to use sanitary napkins as well as to create a conducive environment to bring awareness related to their dignity, safety, and menstruation, a special campaign will be organised.

Implementation of Menstrual Hygiene Scheme for Women 

The Department of Women and Child Development, Punjab will be the nodal agency for the Udan scheme. The purpose of Pb Free Sanitary Napkin Scheme is to spread awareness about menstrual hygiene, improve accessibility to basic products and promote better standard of living. It is a women-oriented scheme aimed at improving the quality of life, enhance their self esteem and ensure safe disposal of sanitary pads.

On the launch ceremony of Punjab Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme, 1 lakh packets of sanitary pads will be distributed at 1,500 online locations as well as at other Anganwari centres in the state. A state level task force, comprising senior officers of various departments, would be constituted to monitor the overall progress and smooth implementations of the scheme. Every month, the government-approved empanelled laboratories would conduct quality testing of sanitary napkins.

Objectives of Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme in Punjab

Menstruation is a natural process and most of the previous governments shy on this topic. Punjab govt. will launch this Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) in which 13.65 lakh women between the age group of 10 to 45 years of age would be able to avail the benefits of Muft Sanitary Pad Yojana. The state govt. will start this Free Sanitary Napkins Scheme in Punjab for the following reasons:-
  • To spread awareness about hygiene and to promote sanitary napkins distribution among women.
  • To increase access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins to adolescent girls in rural areas.
  • To ensure safe disposal of sanitary pads in an environmentally friendly manner.
By using sanitary napkins, women can be prevented from various menstrual hygiene related diseases.

Salient Features of Punjab Muft Sanitary Pad Yojana

The important features and highlights of this Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) Scheme would be as defined here:-
  • Approx. 13.65 lakh women in the age group of 10 to 45 years would be able to take benefits of this Health Scheme.
  • The state govt. will make budgetary provision for Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS). Govt. will distribute sanitary napkins and spread hygiene message among women.
  • As per Nation Family Health Survey report (2015-16), only 55% women (15-45 years) are using hygiene protection methods during their menstrual periods.
  • In urban areas, situation is slightly better in comparison to rural areas. Around 78% of women in urban areas and 50% of women in rural areas uses sanitary napkins, locally prepared pads and tampons as hygiene methods.
  • As per the Survey reports, 45% women between 15 to 24 years in the state are at higher risk of getting exposed to menstrual hygiene related diseases.
  • Such women can be exposed to fungal infection, urinary tract infection, reproductive tract infection and other health diseases.
In order to prevent women from menstrual related diseases, Punjab govt. will launch Muft Sanitary Pad Yojana.