Free education, health card for women: National policy gets GoM nod

A Group of Ministers, headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, approved the draft

A Group of Ministers, headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, on Tuesday approved a draft national policy for women which proposes free education for girls from poor families and a health card for all women.

The draft National Policy for Women, 2017, also moots that a woman accused of a non-heinous crime, who has remained an under-trial for one-third of her jail time, should be given bail. The move is likely help poor women who are accused of petty crimes and can't afford a bail, a spokesperson of the women and child development ministry said.

The policy document will now be sent to the Cabinet for its nod.

"The Group of Ministers has approved the policy. Some changes were made in light of the deliberations over four meetings between March and June. In its fifth meeting today, the GoM adopted the policy document," the spokesperson said.

The GoM comprises minister from 11 ministers, including external affairs, women and child development, finance, agriculture, social justice, HRD and law.

The latest draft is a revised version of the document released in May last year.