The Maharashtra government has kick started its nationwide Ashmita Yojana program under which sanitary napkins are being provided to women in the state at a discounted price. Rural school girls can get a package of sanitary napkins for just Rs 5 while rural women can get them at a subsidized rate of Rs24-29. The official launch of this plan occurred on International Women’s Day in March and was attended by the minister for Rural Development, Women and Child Development, Pankaja Gopinath Munde.