Budget 2022 should provide greater opportunities for women, with a focus on menstrual hygiene

By: WE Staff | Tuesday, 1 February 2022

The country is preparing for what Finance Minister Shri Nirmala Sitharaman has planned for the upcoming fiscal year as we approach the budget declaration in February.

This year's budget focuses on promoting inclusive growth in the country, and we're interested in hearing about the revisions in light of Women's Wellness, particularly menstrual hygiene, which is set to get its due attention.

The government can alter its tactics to a long-term goal, focusing on the implementation of important reforms necessary for long-term economic growth. From improving the start-up environment to lowering the cost of raw materials needed to create menstrual products, there's a lot to do.

Monthly menstruation affects every woman today, and despite the fact that we make up half of the country's population, it is still a neglected area despite new reforms every year.

Despite the fact that sanitary pads are classified as a tax-free item, the costs associated with their manufacture are nevertheless taxed. We believe that lowering the import duty on raw materials will enable these enterprises to expand their market and meet public demand.

The government should expand its efforts to educate and teach women about the need of personal cleanliness throughout menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, postpartum depression, polycystic ovary syndrome, mental health disorders, and other general health concerns.

In order to become green and protect women's health from chemicals and poisons, the government might also adopt and promote the use of environmentally friendly, biodegradable menstrual products.

This single campaign has the potential to reduce the amount of disposable sanitary goods that end up in landfills, which presently totals 12.3 billion per year.

Through incentives and opportunities to reach out to states and villages, the government might help start-ups that are attempting to produce biodegradable products at reasonable costs.

Incorporating these guidelines into the budget could open up more chances for Indian businesswomen who wish to focus on filling in the gaps in what women need and want.

Quoting the FM from last year “The role of women is a very sweet story in India’s growth, particularly in the rural economy. The government wishes to encourage and facilitate the role of women in India’s growth story.” 

Given the government's frequent announcements in the budget that it is committed to becoming more woman-centric, the finance minister should be able to grant funding to new schemes and committees while overseeing and ensuring the success of existing ones.

This year, the government should prioritise the proper implementation of existing programmes above the introduction of new ones. The gender budget allocation was slightly increased to Rs 1,31,700 crore from Rs 1,21,961 crore during the announcement of the interim budget in 2018-19.

Last year's temporary Finance Minister, Piyush Goyal, emphasised the creation of women-specific initiatives with 100% allocation for women. A policy incentive for Made in India items and start-ups led by women that focus on sustainability and solving women's issues might potentially drive the budget allocation notion in the 2022-2022 cycle.

We also expect the government to develop digital infrastructure in Tier-II, III, and rural areas, allowing the next generation of consumers to join the D2C ecosystem.