Pad Man director R Balki and the original Pad Man, Arunachalam Muruganantham, in the wake of sanitary napkins being exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a decision that has been lauded by people across society, including activists
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; July 24, 2018)

Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said on Saturday after a meeting of the GST council that sanitary napkins were exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Previously, sanitary pads were charged at 12 per cent tax under the one-year-old GST regime, which attracted some serious criticism from various quarters of the society, including social activists, women and celebrities. The GST on sanitary pads has now been cut from 12 per cent to zero, which has evoked a positive response across the country.

In February this year, actor Akshay Kumar’s socially-relevant film Pad Man, eventually became a posterboy of the campaign, as it propagated menstrual hygiene and aimed at changing the taboos and stigma associated with periods. Delighted with the decision, Akshay tweeted, “One of those days when news brings tears of joy as a cause close to your heart gets fulfilled. Thank you, #GSTCouncil, for understanding the need for menstrual hygiene & exempting sanitary pads from tax. I’m sure crores of women in our country are silently sending gratitude your way.” Twinkle Khanna, the producer and writer of the film, too welcomed the decision. She wrote, “When I raised questions about why there was GST on sanitary pads I had a large number of people barking at me. Glad to see positive results finally #PadManTalks.”

Talking to BT from London, director of Pad Man, R Balki said, “I am so pleased with this news. Pad Man has woken up a lot of people and sensitised them to the important matter of menstrual hygiene. This proves once again that cinema can create real and positive change!”

Social entrepreneur and inventor Arunachalam Muruganantham (below; left), whose heroic real life story and initiative towards the cause inspired Pad Man, spoke to this paper. He said, “I welcome the withdrawal of GST on sanitary pads. Now India can truly become a superpower by empowering every woman in this country. Now, every woman will be a superwoman. Everyone will have access to sanitary pads as the prices are bound to come down by 10 to 15 per cent. Girls won’t have to skip schools owing to periods. This will enable the country to become academically strong. Credit goes to the central government and the finance minister for making this happen. Even the United States of America hasn’t done this yet. I am extremely proud of our country and its people.”

Speaking about the film, he added, “What we couldn’t achieve in so many years, a film like Pad Man has managed to do – spreading the required awareness. Balki and I continue to advocate the cause, even after the film has released. We still talk about it and the conversation needs to go on. This move will ensure menstrual hygiene even at the grass-roots levels. Even today, Akshay Kumar calls me to discuss matters related to this issue.”

While many have embraced the government’s initiative, there are some who wonder if the raw material needed to manufacture a sanitary pad should also be exempted of taxes. Mumbai activist Suhani Jalota, whose NGO Myna Mahila Foundation (below) works closely towards this cause, said, “The raw materials for sanitary napkins are used to manufacture many other products, not just sanitary napkins. So, I don’t know if it is feasible. Overall, the GST wasn’t the largest cost burden, so this move wouldn’t necessarily change the prices much. Let’s see how the manufacturers react to this change.” She added, “This is a good signal from the Government that they are responding to the public. Lower tax rates on sanitary napkins were needed to help reduce prices on the necessity product, however the manufacturing cost may increase.”

Deane De Menezes, Founder of ‘Red Is The New Green’ campaign and recipient of the Queen's Young Leader Award, who works towards installing sanitary napkin dispensers and incinerators in Mumbai’s schools welcomes the move. Her campaign stresses on another bigger issue which is disposal of sanitary napkins. She told BT, “The decision of the GST Council to remove the tax is a good move. Nobody should miss out on an opportunity because of lack of affordability, as menstruation is a normal bodily function. This is definitely a step in the right direction towards making our country period positive.”