Question : Suvidha Scheme

Will the Minister of CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has launched ‘Suvidha’, the 100 per cent Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) recently;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the cost and the time by which it is likely to be made available in all the Janaushadhi Kendras in the country;
(c) whether any mechanism has been put in place to check the quality and production of the said sanitary napkins and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) whether the Government has taken steps for popularizing Suvidha sanitary napkins among the women in the country and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS; MINISTRY OF SHIPPING AND MINISTRY OF CHEMICALS AND FERTILIZERS
(SHRI MANSUKH L. MANDAVIYA)

(a) & (b) Yes Madam. On 8th March 2018, Government has announced the launching of Oxo-biodegradable Sanitary Napkin under ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ (PMBJP). These Sanitary Napkins will be made available at ‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) Kendras’ across the country soon at the price of Rs.10/- for the pack of 4 sanitary pads which comes to Rs. 2.50 per pad. It will ensure affordablility, hygiene as well as ease of use and disposal.
(c) Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) which is the implementing agency of PMBJP, will procure these sanitary napkins from open market through competitive bidding and supply them to PMBJP Kendras across the country after they are tested at National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) empanelled with BPPI. BPPI will follow the norms and regulations under IS 5405:1980 of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for quality testing of sanitary napkins.
(d) The announcement about launching of the sanitary napkins was done through a ‘Press Conference held in Press Information Bureau at Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi in the presence of print media and social network media. Publicity about the said product at national level will be carried out after launching of the product.
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