New GST list out: Is there a hidden agenda behind not making sanitary napkins GST-free?

According to the new list, 29 items and 54 services freed from the burden of GST
But sanitary pads still have not found a place in the GST-free list
Nor has the GST rate been cut for sanitary napkins, and people have to pay 12% GST for the pads

The new GST-free list is here. There are 29 items and 54 services freed from the burden of GST. Now, you can not only buy a small item like vibhuti for lesser price, but can also own diamond sets at economical rates. The new rates will be applicable from January 25.

Well, the new GST-free list still does not have sanitary napkins in it. It means, you will still pay GST for the purchase of sanitary napkins.

Mystery shrouds Centre's decision on retaining the GST on sanitary napkins despite series of protests, letters written explaining the difficulty in purchasing napkins every month with 12% GST on it.

Yes, certain leaders in Karnataka courted controversy with the subject of using cloth instead of napkins! But clothes have proved to be less hygienic than sanitary napkins and also difficult in maintaining.

ALSO READ: Free reusable sanitary pads for BPL girls to halt school dropouts

It is also true that the companies making these sanitary napkins are trying to spread the business by making it big in India. But we have our own Padman (not Akshay Kumar) but the real padman like Arunachalam Muruganantham, who is trying to make pads in India and sell them at an affordable price.

But an additional GST on it is surely failing the objective of making pads in India at an affordable price. Akshay Kumar's film PadMan, might inspire women to use pads and men get used to the idea of their women using pads. But will it change the minds of the great administrators to make sanitary napkins GST-free?

ALSO READ: GST: Politics behind sanitary napkins and PERIODS

Are used cars, SUVs, Mehendi and diamonds more necessary than sanitary napkins? Why does the government think that these luxury items are more important for people than sanitary napkins?

Or is it a way to force women, who are economically backward, to use a cloth again? Is there a hidden agenda behind not making pads GST-free

Last Updated Mar 31, 2018, 6:35 PM IST