Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday stated in a written reply in Lok Sabha that currently there is no proposal under consideration of the Centre to include the provision of menstrual leaves for Central Government employees in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.
New Delhi: There is no proposal under consideration of the Centre to include the provision of menstrual leaves for Central Government employees in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, the Government informed the Rajya Sabha on Friday. The information was shared by Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani in a written reply.
“The Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 applicable to the Central Government servants do not have provisions for menstrual leave and presently there is no proposal under examination to include such leave in these rules,” stated Irani.
She further stated that various types of leave are available to a female Government employee under these Rules including in the form of Earned Leave, Half Pay Leave, Extra Ordinary Leave, Child Care Leave, Commuted Leave, Maternity Leave, and Leave on Medical Certificate.
According to Irani, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare implements the Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years since 2011. She further stated that the major objectives of the scheme are to increase awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene, to increase access to and use of high-quality sanitary napkins by adolescent girls, and to ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environment-friendly manner.
“Further, to ensure access to sanitary napkins and good quality medicines at an affordable price, the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers implements the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janausadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP), an important step in ensuring the health security for women,” she stated.