The second Budget of the first BJP led coalition Government in Assam on Monday assured to give stipend of Rs 600 for sanitary napkins to girls between 12 and 20 years of age annually and made the unmarried daughters eligible for pension in the event of pensioners’ death.
The 2018-19 Budget presented by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in the State Assembly today announced that an amount of Rs 600 will be transferred annually to the bank account of girls’ in the age group of 12 to 20 years for easy access of sanitary napkins. “Girls in the age group, whose family income is below Rs 5 lakh annually, are eligible for the scheme and the amount will be transferred directly to their accounts,” Sarma said while presenting the Budget in the House today.
“The registration will be through the block development offices. This will be linked to their date of birth and payments will automatically stop once the girl attains 20 years of age,” he said adding that this amount will encourage the use of good quality hygienic products. The Minister said that the government proposes to cover 5 lakh girls during 2018-19financial year and that the government has earmarked a sum of Rs 30 crore for the scheme in the Budget.
The Budget also assured to make the unmarried daughters of pensioners eligible for the pension in case of the death of pensioners. “Under current system there is no provision for unmarried daughters of pensioners, who do not have any other source of income, to receive the pension benefits. “Our Government has decided that unmarried daughters of pensioners will be eligible to avail of the pension in the event of a pensioners’ death,” Sarma said.