Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy announced on Sunday that Andhra Pradesh will introduce the Gender Budget that will come into effect from the upcoming financial year.
The CM also launched “Swechha,” a scheme to provide 10 free biodegradable sanitary napkins per month to the girl students studying in classes 7-12 in all government institutions, from July 1.
These napkins would also be made available at low prices in the YSR Cheyutha grocery stores across Andhra Pradesh from July 1. “Swechha” is also intended to create awareness on menstrual hygiene among the adolescent girls
Participating in the International Women's Day celebrations at the CM camp office in Amaravati on Monday, Reddy virtually inaugurated Women Help Desks in Police Stations across the state along with cyber kiosks, and flagged off a fleet of 900 Disha patrolling vehicles and 18 Disha crime scene management vehicles `````````````````for women safety.
Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh will become the first state in the country to come up with the Gender Budget concept. The gender budget statement is proposed in two parts. Part A reflecting schemes that are 100 percent targeted towards women and girl beneficiaries; and Part B reflecting the pro-women and girl schemes in which 30 to 99 percent allocations are towards women and girls.
Stating that his government had introduced several schemes for the welfare of women like Amma Vodi, YSR Cheyuta, YSR Asara, the CM claimed that about Rs 80,000 crore was spent for women welfare in his 21 months of governance so far.
The YSRCP government also decided to enhance the casual leaves for women government employees to 20 from the present 15 annually.
“Workplace committees to prevent harassment of women should become mandatory in all government and private institutions,” the CM said while instructing the Chief Secretary to set up such a committee in the state Secretariat as the first step.
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