BALCONAGAR: On Menstrual Hygiene Day, Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer and a subsidiary of Vedanta Aluminium, has taken a positive step towards ensuring the well-being of women employees, by installing sanitary napkin dispensing machines across the plant. The thoughtful initiative addresses the pressing issue of women's well-being by providing affordable and hygienic menstrual products and serves as a platform to advocate for improved menstrual hygiene management in the workplace, thereby encouraging an inclusive and sensitive environment when it comes to women’s health. Notably, the sanitary napkins are 100% bio-degradable, thereby minimizing the impact on the environment.

To move beyond stigmas around menstruation, BALCO has installed approximately 30 sanitary napkin dispensing machines in various female washrooms across the plant to provide free access to menstrual hygiene products. These include functional buildings such as company offices, shopfloors, canteens, the township, and the BALCO hospital. To further ensure the seamless functioning and maintenance of these dispensing machines, BALCO will proactively refill them regularly. These dispensing machines come with a storage capacity of 100 sanitary napkins at a time. The wall-mounted, push- button, free napkin dispensing machines shall be placed at different locations of the plant and townships. 

Appreciating the installation of sanitary napkin dispensing machines, Mitashree Das, a female employee working in the power plant function said, “Having sanitary napkin dispensing machines at our workplace has been a tremendous support to us. These would give us the freedom to work at the shopfloor, without having to worry about basic menstrual management.” 

Talking about the initiative, Rajesh Kumar, CEO, and Director, BALCO said, "At BALCO, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive workplace that caters to the diverse needs of our employees throughout different stages of life. We firmly believe in prioritizing the health and hygiene of all our workforce. By installing sanitary napkin dispensing machines, we have taken a significant step towards creating a supportive work environment that addresses a fundamental requirement. We are proud to implement this initiative on Menstrual Hygiene Day, and we hope that it serves to increase the momentum around normalizing the conversation around menstruation as a natural process of life, deserving of respect, support, and adequate resources.”

BALCO is dedicated to fostering a diverse workplace culture that promotes the growth and development of the organization. The company has implemented various initiatives and workshops focused on women’s safety and security, health and wellness, and skill enhancement. Recently, BALCO was conferred with the prestigious ‘Happiest Workplace Award 2022’ by Happy+ and Business World and has previously also been recognized with awards such as Arogya World Healthy Workplace Award – 2022 and Great Place to Work – 2023.