Maharashtra's Fourth Women Policy to Include New Quotas & Financial Aid

Maharashtra will soon implement its fourth policy for women. It will contain a range of benefits and incentives for women. The policy includes quotas in state-owned housing schemes, insurance programme reductions, and tax rebates. 

The cabinet and the two deputy chief ministers have approved the policy and are waiting for the chief minister's approval. The policy also proposes maternity and paternity leave for semi-government and private companies. The cost may be shared between the government and businesses, similar to the model in Singapore. The policy also encourages working from home for pregnant women.

For the unorganised sector, the policy proposes maternity benefits and a welfare fund, managed by the district magistrate. However, a proposal for menstrual leave was deemed inappropriate and removed from the policy.

Despite opposition from the finance department, the policy includes incentives for industrial firms with more than 30% female workers. It also supports women entrepreneurs with a 10% local tax rebate for women-only hotels, a 10% professional tax exemption, and a 10% quota for women-led businesses in Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) plots. The plan also includes equal sharing of the pension of a worker for his parents and wife.

During the discussion regarding the policy, leaves during the menstruation cycle were also proposed by the women and child welfare department. But after opposition from deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and other ministers, the plan was removed from the policy. Ajit Pawar had said that there should be no measures that would reduce the productivity of the administration.

But the policy does include paid leave for women cutting sugarcane during their periods. This included women who complained about being forced to work during their menstrual cycle.

The policy mandates rural marriages to be registered with the bride and groom's birth certificates. It also proposes a 30% reservation for women and girls in sports, arts, science, and vocational fields, and financial aid to reduce the dropout rate among tribal girls.