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مارس 17, 2022

Weight of captaincy removed, a stress free Kohli could be dangerous news for opposition: Glenn Maxwell

Virat Kohli nowadays looks “stress free” without the burden of captaincy weighing him down, a dangerous sign for the opposition teams in the upcoming IPL, feels Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Glenn Maxwell.
Kohli, who relinquished RCB captaincy after last year’s IPL, has also resigned from T20 and Test captaincy while being removed from ODI leadership role.
Maxwell feels that Kohli now is no longer the “in-your face” aggressive cricketer that he used to be and that has been pleasantly surprising.
“He knows he’s handing the captaincy over, which I think is potentially a big burden for him. It might have been something that’s been weighing him down for a while and now that he’s been able to release it, it might be dangerous news for opposition teams,” Maxwell told RCB Podcast.

The flamboyant Australian is happy that Kohli is in that phase when he would actually be enjoying being out there in thick of things.
“It is amazing for him to be relaxed a bit and actually enjoy the next few years of his career without any of that sort of external pressure. I think playing against him in earlier days, he was a fiery competitor, getting in your face. He’s always trying to impose himself on the game. Impose himself on the opposition.”
The Australian all-rounder is loving the cricketing conversations he is having with Kohli and is himself surprised that the former India skipper has become a close friend.

“Something I’ve noticed more from him this year is he’s been really measured with his emotions. He’s actually been really measured with his decision-making. He’s certainly really surprised me and probably how close we’ve both gotten to each other as well this year. Being able to talk about the game in a calm manner,” Maxwell said.
“Because you do see that over-excited, in your face style when you play against him. But to play with him and have really good conversations about the game, I’ve really enjoyed that.”

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مارس 15, 2022

Explained: Export avenue for farmers

There are winners and losers in wars. And collateral beneficiaries too: The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is happening when Indian farmers seem set to harvest a bumper rabi (winter-spring) crop. That includes not only wheat, but also mustard, maize (corn) and barley. Their prices have all firmed up, thanks to the war-induced disruption of grain trade via the Black Sea and Russian banks being blocked from the international payments system.
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India has already exported over 6 million tonnes (mt) of wheat during April-January 2021-22. Amit Takkar, managing director of Conifer Commodities Pvt. Ltd, a Gurgaon-based agricultural trade consultancy, expects total shipments for the fiscal to top 7.5 mt, an all-time-high.
The same goes for rice, where non-basmati exports have touched 14 mt in April-January and surpassed the 13.1 mt record for the whole of 2020-21. “We should end up doing close to 17 mt of non-basmati and another 4 mt of basmati,” says Nitin Gupta, vice president of Olam Agro India Ltd, a leading exporter of the cereal. Even corn shipments are on course to reach 3.5-4 mt, levels last seen in 2013-14 (see table).
Source: Department of Commerce
The Ukraine factor
The surge in Indian rice exports since 2020-21 has been driven primarily by drought in Thailand – plus diversion of free/ultra-subsidised grain whose allocations, ostensibly for the public distribution system, were substantially increased post the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the escalating Russo-Ukrainian conflict’s impact is wider and probably far more beneficial for Indian farmers. According to the US Department of Agriculture, Russia and Ukraine together account for 28.3% of the world’s wheat exports, with the corresponding shares at 19.5%, 30.8% and 78.3% for corn, barley and sunflower oil, respectively. These are projections for 2021-22 made in early-February, before the war broke out.
The war has led to port closures in the Black Sea and Russian cargo movement being largely restricted through the Caspian Sea. As supplies from these two key agri powerhouses have dried up, it has created opportunities for India to fill the gap, even if partially. Further, it has driven up global prices and realisations for Indian farmers – just when they are about to bring their harvested rabi crop to the mandis!

The opportunity…
Mustard is selling now in Rajasthan’s major wholesale markets at Rs 6,500-6,700 per quintal, as against Rs 5,000-5,200 a year ago and the government’s minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,050. That’s good for growers of this oilseed also in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
Barley prices, too, are ruling at Rs 2,100-2,200 per quintal, higher than last year at this time (Rs 1,300-1,400) and its official MSP (Rs 1,635). This feed grain, which is also malted for use by breweries, is cultivated mainly in Rajasthan, UP, MP and Haryana. Maize is similarly trading at Rs 1,900-2,000 per quintal in most mandis, compared to Rs 1,200-1,300 a year back and the MSP of Rs 1,870.
The biggest beneficiary of higher maize prices would be Bihar. The state has a nearly 25% share in the country’s production of the feed grain, while even more, at roughly three-fourths, for the rabi crop marketed from late-April to May. There has been a huge jump in Indian maize exports to Vietnam and Malaysia, in addition to nearby markets such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. These could further pick up with the Bihar crop’s arrival. New supplies from Brazil and Argentina won’t ready for dispatch before late-June/July, besides requiring longer voyage time to South-East Asian ports than from Visakhapatnam or Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh.
The opportunities are still higher in wheat, which is currently being shipped from Gujarat’s Kandla and Mundra ports at $340-350 per tonne free-on-board. That price (Rs 26,000-26,775/tonne) works out above the MSP of Rs 20,150, even after deducting port handling, storage and vessel loading charges (Rs 1,400), transport (Rs 1,500-3,000, depending upon the distance from inland to port) and costs of bagging, loading, etc at the mandi (Rs 1,600-2,000).
Simply put, soaring international prices have opened up export possibilities for Indian wheat, so much so that the government might not have to undertake significant MSP procurement this time. Farmers in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka or even MP and Rajasthan are likely to realise MSP-plus prices on the back of rising export demand. This will help whittle down public wheat stocks, which, at 23.4 mt on March 1, already stood below the 29.5 mt and 27.5 mt for the same date of 2021 and 2020, respectively. With lower procurement and the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (free grain scheme) ending this month, there could be a corresponding reduction in the Centre’s food subsidy outgo as well.
The overall improved price sentiment may, moreover, induce farmers to plant more area under maize, cotton, soyabean, sesamum and sunflower in the upcoming kharif cropping season. That should go some way in promoting crop diversification – especially, weaning farmers away from paddy and sugarcane.

…Threats
On the downside, there is also the possibility of exporters competing among themselves to ship out the maximum quantity of grain. This is evident in Indian wheat being heavily discounted and offered at $340-350 per tonne, compared to $400-450 for grain from Argentina, Australia and European Union. The rush of cargoes is also resulting in congestion at ports and vessel wait periods (time spent after arrival and berthing) going up from 1-2 days to 5-7 days. “Logistical bottlenecks are going to be a real problem in the weeks ahead,” warns Takkar.
A second, perhaps greater, risk relates to availability of fertilisers. While the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s global food price index has hit an all-time-high in February, it has also been accompanied by skyrocketing prices of fertilisers and their raw materials/intermediates. Ensuring adequate availability of urea, di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP) and complex fertilisers, well before the start of kharif plantings from June, would have to receive priority.
“With question mark over the supply of MOP from Russia and Belarus, the government has to talk to other countries such as Canada, Israel and Jordan. Similar expeditious effort is needed to secure supply of DAP, phosphoric acid and rock phosphate from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, Senegal, Tunisia and Togo,” a fertiliser industry source points out.
(The writer is National Rural Affairs & Agriculture Editor of The Indian Express and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi)

مارس 14, 2022

Arif Mohammad Khan: ‘I’m opposed to minority commissions, rather strengthen the human rights panel that can take care of everybody’

Arif Mohammad Khan talks on the relationship between governors and state governments, the hijab controversy and why he thinks there should be no special status for minorities in the country. The session was moderated by Deputy Political Editor Liz Mathew.
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Liz Mathew: What do you think about the controversies between the governorships and the state governments?
As far as my personal experience is concerned, there has been absolutely no conflict between the government and the Office of the Governor. The duty of the Governor is to preserve and defend the Constitution. The Governor is not in the state to run the administration; he is there to ensure that the business of the government is conducted in accordance with law, which means the Constitution and constitutional morality. So that has happened in the past and it was only at the time of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) where I had a strong feeling that citizenship is a subject which comes under the jurisdiction of the Central government. But it does not mean that people who are in the state government cannot give expression to their views. But I took exception where the state institutions were being used to create an environment of suspicion and misunderstanding in the minds of the people about the purpose of the Act, passed by Parliament.

Liz Mathew: Were there issues like the Vice-Chancellor’s appointment and other substantive matters wherein that rapport was kind of spoiled?
Actually, that should not be taken as a great difference of viewpoint. If we have submitted to University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, we should do everything in accordance with those regulations. Here, the term of the V-C was completed. We had already set in motion the process of selection of a new V-C. The committee was constituted with one representative each of UGC, the university and the chancellor. Suddenly, the government, armed with the opinion of the Advocate General, asked me to scuttle the process which had already been in motion for about 20-25 days. They said, scuttle the process and appoint the same person. Therefore, I made it clear to them that I do not agree with it but since you have come with your opinion of the Advocate General, I’m accepting the recommendation.

Liz Mathew: Considering the track record of right-wing organisations and the BJP’s political stance when it comes to minorities, it surprised many that a person like you came to be associated with them and when you said there is no need to have any special status for minorities.
May I request you to point out when I made this statement for the first time, or objected to the use of the terminology of majority and minority. The first interview on this subject was given by me in 1980. After the Moradabad riots, an exclusive meeting of the Muslim MPs cutting across party lines was held. I had refused to attend that meeting, and raised this question that why the security of Muslim or anybody should not be the concern of everybody. Why should it be a concern of only MPs belonging to one denominational group?

Liz Mathew: That context was different, the situation in the country is different now and so is the minority status.
I do not know what difference you are talking about. Never forget that in 1946, Mahatma Gandhi had written in Harijan, that ‘to a section of Muslims, I am evil’. Before the Partition, if they really believed in the secularism of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, why was there a need for partition? In 1986, the Congress Party had more than 400 members, the BJP had only two members. Even then, this movement started. Why? Because (some people felt) ‘our religion is in danger. We feel insecure’. Point out any one time when these people, who pursue the same kind of politics, were not saying that the religion or their language is in danger.

Liz Mathew: 1992 Babri Masjid, 2002 Gujarat riots, then the Muzaffarnagar riots, then the Pehlu Khan incident, then the 2022 hijab controversy. So, why shouldn’t Muslims in this country feel insecure?
You have left out the main issue from where all these problems started — the Shah Bano issue. Babri Masjid was only part of the deal. The then Prime Minister himself told me after the lock was removed that nobody’s going to raise any objections. In order to manage that adverse fallout, within a few days, the government organised to remove the lock and what was specifically said was that Muslims are happy with Shah Bano decision and Hindus will become busy with Ayodhya. I have been saying right from day one, if you had entered into a deal, what was promised to you was given to you. So therefore, honour the rest of the deal. But till the unfortunate assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, Muslim Personal Law Board did not raise this issue and that was the reason why more than two Babri Masjid action committees came into existence. But after the death of Rajiv Gandhi, the Board possibly thought that now that the man to whom we had made the commitment is no more, and it was not a written agreement, they took the matter in their own hands.

Liz Mathew: You’ve always stood for reforms in the Muslim community. Even the Prime Minister speaks about the need for reforms and he brought in the ban on triple talaq. Still the party and the Centre are not able to win the confidence of the minorities. What do you think they can do to bridge this trust deficit between the minorities and the ruling party?
How long are we going to view Indians as majority and minority? You want me to accept that I’m a minority? In elections, I’ve defeated candidates who happen to be Hindu, in Kanpur where the Hindu population was more than 80 per cent in 1980. And you want me to accept that because I was born in a Muslim family, therefore I should accept that I’m a minority? This was the attitude of the colonial masters, because they never accepted India to be a nation. They always said India is a conglomeration of communities, not a nation. They used to talk to community leaders. Are we going to continue this? The party which opposed it, unfortunately, after Independence, during the elections, they also did not behave differently. And that legacy is continuing. But somebody somewhere will have to stop and think about it. Please, let me also become Indian. Why do you want me to wear this label of being a minority?
Discrimination (against Muslims) has been there since 1947. Is the way out to develop a sense of victimhood? In social relations, it is okay. But in public life, I am viewed more as an Indian than the community or the family in which I was born
For the British, the building block of India was community — Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian. For the Constitution of India, the building block is the citizens of India. We have a duty, particularly those who are born after Independence, to change the discourse. And who is the majority? The political majority is one who is voted into power. Minority is the one which is not voted into power. We are a democracy, the situation can change in the next elections. But why should being a minority be permanently attached to me?
Ananthakrishnan G: You had raised this question recently on the pension that the ministers’ personal staff in Kerala are entitled to. The Opposition seems to be united in opposing you. Where does this go?
They are absolutely right that I do not have the power to put an end to it. It is only the elected government which can take a decision. When you say that the government and the Opposition both have joined hands — from the government’s side, nobody is making any statement against whatever I have said, and the Leader of Opposition, who was speaking on this issue against me, has been told by the UDF not to poke his nose into this issue. Here, every minister appoints more than 20 people on a ‘quo terminus’ basis, and they become entitled to pension after two years. So one set of people resign from their positions, another set of people comes in. In one term, every minister appoints about 45-50 people, who later work full-time for the party. They receive their salary in the form of a pension from the government. Nowhere in the country is this thing happening. Every party is benefiting from this scheme. And I find it highly improper.
Why do you want me to wear this label of being a minority? The political majority is one who is voted into power. Minority is the one which is not voted into power. The situation can change in the next elections
Harikishan Sharma: You said there should not be any distinction like majority and minority. In that case, is there a need for bodies like the National Minorities Commission and State Minority Commission? Do you think this is the right time for bringing the uniform civil code?
During Prime Minister VP Singh’s time, the government had created a Minority Finance Corporation. I was the only one in the Cabinet who opposed it. When the Constitution does not define who a minority is, through government orders, you are creating minorities. And you are creating these minority commissions. I am totally opposed to it. I’m for strengthening the National Human Rights Commission, which can take care of anybody and everybody. The Minority Finance Corporation would have rather provided an excuse to those who indulge in discrimination, a sort of moral justification. If some application, belonging to the targeted group comes, he will say ‘for you, a Minority Finance Corporation has been created, you go there’. And Minority Finance Corporation will not have enough finances to fund even the rickshaw pullers.

On the uniform civil code, anybody who is elected to an office is required to take an oath of the Constitution. For so many years, this doubt was created in the minds of the people that we should fear each other. And on that basis, ultimately, this country was partitioned. Therefore, the Constitution makers were of the view that we need a little more time to normalise the situation and then we should have a uniform civil code. Yes, we have to move in that direction. Maybe don’t do it today, tomorrow we will do it and it is not very difficult. You just have to tell everybody that the function of the law is not to create uniformity. Hindu code has not been able to create uniformity among the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and others. Even among Hindus, it has not been able to create uniformity. How can a uniform civil code seek to have a uniformity for everyone? Actually, it is a common civil code, it is not a uniform civil code. You are free to observe your own ceremonies, rituals, customs or whatever the religion prescribes. The aim is not to make people fall into one line, or create uniformity.
How can a uniform civil code seek to have a uniformity for everyone? Actually, it is a common civil code, it is not a uniform civil code. The aim is not to make people fall into one line, or create uniformity
Liz Mathew: Are there any differences that you see between the lives and moorings of the Muslims in North India and in a state like Kerala?
When I go to my village, which is only 110 km from Delhi, whatever I’ve seen in the last 15 years is unbelievable. In the village community, young girls were not allowed to step outside their homes after the age of 11-12 years. And today, more than 50 girls are cycling to go to the college every morning. The people of the same mindset (to whom I was referring earlier) have tried their best to stop these girls from going to college. Nobody’s listening to them now. I’ve made this statement that this controversy over veil should also be viewed in this same context. After the abolition of triple talaq, the rate of divorce has come down in the Muslim community. Muslim girls used to be reminded every day by their elders, mothers, elder sisters, other senior women of the house that if you don’t behave, you can be divorced, and it will be instant. After the law, that load is now off the mind of young Muslim girls. And they are doing so well in academics. This is worrying some of these conventional leaders. Imagine a Muslim woman who is an IPS officer, or flying a plane, or is a computer engineer, or working as an anchor on television. If you accept that hijab is essential, will it be possible for these young ladies to work? They will either have to give up their jobs or live with a sense of having committed the sin of not following what their religion prescribes as essential. That is why I’m repeatedly saying that this is no controversy, this is a conspiracy to limit her career prospects. If that happens, she will start losing her interest in education and be forced back into the four walls of the house where she was earlier.
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Liz Mathew: But do you see any difference between the Muslims in northern India and the Muslims in Kerala?
In the north, we need to work very hard for healing the wounds of the Partition, which still haunt us. The south, fortunately, has not been affected by the Partition. Therefore, the basic harmony is there. If you go to any part of Kerala, they all wear the same dress, speak the same language. The language doesn’t divide them, the food does not divide them. The culture does not divide them. As far as expression of the religious faith is concerned, India has always accepted
this diversity.
Krishn Kaushik: The discrimination against Muslims is well-documented. So are you suggesting that this discrimination does not exist on the ground and it is just a propaganda by certain motivated people? Also, do you believe there is any majoritarianism right now?
Anyone who has studied the manner in which the movement for the Partition of the country was conducted… it is not a question of denial. We have sown certain seeds, we have to reap the fruits. Now, instead of blaming one party or the other, we need to work unitedly. Discrimination has been there since 1947. Is the way out to develop a sense of victimhood? Is the way out that I further enhance the identity which has created these problems? The solution is in creating an environment where religion becomes a personal affair and we all are known by our identity, at least in public life. In social relations, it is okay. But in public life, I am viewed more as an Indian than the community or the family in which I was born.
Krishn Kaushik: The right wing questions the Indianness of certain sections of the society.
Absolutely not. Maulana Azad could see that as a result of the Partition, this would happen. Now, if I was realistic enough, I should have moved in the direction of healing those wounds. If I’m conscious of the problem, I will take action to solve the problem, not to make it more complicated. I’m not denying that many of these things which should not be there are there, but they need to be addressed. And they have not been there since 2014, they have been there since 1947.

Manoj CG: When a disproportionate share of Muslims become victims of all draconian laws like UAPA, NSA, sedition, we haven’t heard you at all that time.
I think you didn’t ask me a question about this, otherwise I would have spoken even at that time. If I will be identified more by my religious denomination, then for the misdeeds of one or few persons, the blame is shared by everybody. We repeatedly say terror has no religion. But the world has become a global village. At no point of time, I believed that Kashmiris are responsible for the situation which prevails in Kashmir. In fact, Kashmiris have made great sacrifices for the unity of India. We have this problem of terrorism since the early ’80s. The whole world knows who is responsible for this. This problem is coming from across the border. There are no simple answers to the question. There are so many factors and historical context which is responsible for it. There is no need to sweep these issues under the carpet. But realising the gravity of these issues, we must have a positive mindset that we will change the situation and run this country in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, which prohibits any discriminatory action on the part of the government. Yes, there are gaps. We will have to take a positive attitude instead of complaining all the time and developing a sense of victimhood.
Liz Mathew: There is talk that you are one of the contenders for the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections.
Fortunately, our system is such that nobody can nominate himself or herself for this post. All those who are
making these remarks, I take it as their good wishes or blessings. But I do not want to talk about it because I have
no role.

مارس 14, 2022

Government curbs choking media in J&K: Press Council panel

A fact finding committee (FFC) of the Press Council of India (PCI) has found that the “news media in the Jammu & Kashmir region, and especially in the Valley is slowly being choked mainly because of the extensive curbs imposed by the local administration”.
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“There is also the threat of violence by the militants which acts as a deterrent,” the committee has said in its report that was submitted last week.
The FFC was set up in September 2021 by then PCI chairman Justice (retd) C K Prasad to look at the state of the media in Jammu and Kashmir after PDP leader and former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote to the Council.
“There is a long list of journalists who have been individually harassed. The object is to create a fear and intimidation to fall in with the government line,” the FFC report says.
According to the report, “normal lines of communication between the local government administration and journalists has been disrupted” because of the government’s “suspicion that a large number of local journalists are sympathizers of the militants’ cause”.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha had “frankly told the FFC that many journalists were of ‘anti-national’ persuasion”, the report says. “He (Sinha) conceded that when he was first appointed, he used to encourage open press conferences, but now had gone back to a ‘selective engagement’ with preferred journalists.”
The three-member committee, comprising Prakash Dubey, Suman Gupta, and Gurbir Singh, recorded “numerous cases of journalists being subject to interrogation, threatened and made to fill irrelevant profiling documents”.
Some journalists had been “summoned to the dreaded ‘Cargo Centre’ for questioning — a location reserved for interrogation for armed militants”, the report said. Many journalists spoke about “the constant harassment they faced in the line of duty from security forces. These ranged from accusations of aiding the ‘separatists’ to lengthy interrogation in police camps, to detention and arrests for circulating ‘fake news’”, it said.
The police had “conceded to the FFC that as many as 49 journalists have been arrested and charged since 2016, not a small number considering that J&K has a very small press corps.
“Of these 8 have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which makes bail almost impossible. The police case is many journalists indulge in ‘anti-national’ activities.”
The committee recommended that “those indulging in any criminal acts, are not journalists pursuing their profession”, and if a journalist “is bearing arms or carrying grenades and other ammunition, he is not a journalist; he is a militant, and should be treated as such”.
However, the security establishment “cannot label writing against government policies, or quoting a family or civilian sources in a story about excesses of the armed forces, or tweeting a point of view as ‘fake news’ or ‘anti-national activity’ and then arresting the journalist for sedition”, the FFC said.
It is “not the business of journalists to support government policies or development work. A journalist’s job is to report the news as it happens, even if it is unpalatable to government officials”, the report underlines.
“A conflict zone has many players and many aspects of events that unfold. A journalist cannot and should not ignore the government version; at the same time, he is not the spokesperson of the government.”
The FFC found that “in the guise of information gathering, threats and various forms of intimidation by the police have become part of the new ‘normal’ in the Kashmir valley, particularly after the imposition of central rule since August 2019”.
It expressed concern that “the public relations work of various government departments has been taken over by the Police”, and recommended that “this should cease as it is against the letter and spirit of the functioning of the various arms of a democratic government.”
Journalists, the committee said, “rely on communication networks like the Internet, and access to events and persons, to gather and transmit news”, which “a government has the power to snuff…out as we have seen in the case of J&K”.
It noted that the suspension of mobile Internet whenever there is a conflict, and denying access to the scene of an armed encounter are ways to prevent free and fair news gathering in J&K. These “policies must be reversed”, the committee said.
“Journalists must be allowed to go about their work as professionals, as long as they do not hinder normal security operations,” the report said.
“It is also noticed that the government establishment has denied normal privileges like ‘accreditation’ and freedom to travel locally and abroad… By choking lines of communication and a free flow of reporting, the government will only encourage the spread of rumours and hearsay, which is in the long run detrimental to everyone.”

The committee said “there is no convincing reason” for why the Kashmir Press Club was “superseded and put in cold storage”. Its registration should be restored, “and government officials should not interfere is the election process of what is essentially a private body of news persons”, it said.
The report recalled that in her letter to the Press Council, Mehbooba Mufti had mentioned that journalists who are summoned by the police are made to fill a questionnaire “which is suggestive that the person might have links with ‘anti-national’ forces”. Among the 25 questions are those on the journalist’s “political allegiance”, “details of property owned”, and “relations in Pakistan”.
Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar had “no hesitation in conceding that there exists a programme to profile journalists working in the J&K region”, the report said. It quoted the officer as saying, “Our aim is to profile 80% of Kashmiris, and we will do it for journalists too.”

مارس 13, 2022

Eye on dropouts, Sikkim plans free sanitary pads in all govt schools

IN A first, the Sikkim government is set to announce a scheme to install vending machines to provide free sanitary pads in all its 210 secondary and senior secondary government schools across the state, in its annual Budget later this month.
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The scheme, “Bahini”, aims at providing “100 per cent access to free and safe sanitary pads to secondary and senior secondary schoolgoing girls”, says a government note. It aims to curb dropout of girls from schools and raise awareness about menstrual hygiene.
There are about 18,665 adolescent girls studying in government schools in Sikkim. The scheme is based on an experiment the state government initiated in 2018, in collaboration with Sulabh International, where vending machines were installed in some schools.
“This is the first time that a state government has taken a decision to cover all girls studying in Classes 9-12. We had provided sanitary pads through vending machines in some schools, but that was ad hoc. And due to lack of budgetary support, some machines have fallen into disrepair, or stocks of pads have not been acquired. But this time, with the scheme being a part of the Budget, this will not be a problem. All schools will be covered and we will issue tenders for the dispensing machines. We will also install incinerators at these schools for proper disposal of pads,” said Additional Chief Secretary (Education) G P Upadhyay.
The decision to roll out ‘Bahini’ was taken at a meeting of the ruling Sikkim Krantikari Morcha on March 4.

“The issue of menstrual hygiene has been important for the SKM. The Chief Minister has talked about it in several of his speeches and we have been trying to formalise a scheme since 2018. Access to sanitary napkins, especially in rural Sikkim, much of which is remote and difficult terrain, is difficult. Often, even shops don’t keep napkins in these areas,” said Bikash Basnet, press secretary to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang.
“It’s not just providing sanitary napkins which is important, but creating an awareness about menstrual hygiene as well as general hygiene among girl students, especially adolescent girls,” said Upadhyay. “In rural Sikkim, there is little knowledge about menstrual hygiene. So we will hold training programmes for teachers and counsellors who will then disseminate the information to the students. Our hope is that the students will take this information back to their communities — and we will be able to target the women of these communities through the students,” he said.
He said that while girls in Sikkim may not drop out of schools due to menstruation, it is definitely a contributing factor. Upadhyay said the dropout rate of students in Sikkim, for both boys and girls, is similar to the national average, which is approximately 20% for both genders.
According to WaterAid India, during menstruation, adolescent girls skip school for five to six days every month, and 23 per cent opt to drop out completely due to lack of proper toilet facilities and inadequate provisions.
“Another factor is that accessibility of sanitary pads depends on affordability. There are many companies that produce pads locally now, but the fear is that these pads are not of good quality,” said Ranjana Das, who works on gender at Oxfam.
Upadhyay said that according to the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, anganwadi centres are to be set up inside school campuses. “Very often, women don’t always turn up at anganwadi centres. But if they are in schools, access becomes more natural as students come everyday in any case. So anganwadi and ASHA workers will also be roped in for our menstrual hygiene programme under Bahini,” he said.

In 2015, the central government introduced the national guidelines on menstrual hygiene management. The World Bank earlier noted that one of the surveys that informed the national guidelines found that in 14,724 government schools across the country, only 53 per cent had a separate and usable girl’s toilet. In addition, 132 million households did not have a toilet.
“Most women in rural areas resort to homemade sanitary pads… In Champaran in Bihar, for instance, women continue to use homemade napkins. Lack of access to menstrual facilities is a major reason why girl students drop out of schools in India, alongwith having to help in household chores, and look after their siblings. Schools in India simply do not provide safe places for menstruating girls, such as proper toilets,” said Das. “During their menstrual cycle, girls simply don’t go to school, which affects their education. And this lack of access follows them into the workforce,” she said.