(IANS/Sansad TV Photo)New Delhi, August 11 (IANS): The Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going girls is implemented through coordinated action by states/ Union Territories (UTs) to promote access to safe and affordable menstrual hygiene measures in schools through their respective and concerned departments, the Centre told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, in a written reply, said that Union government implements the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS) for promotion of menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls. The scheme focuses on awareness generation, access to quality and affordable sanitary napkins, safe and environment-friendly disposal, and counselling on safe menstrual practices, she added. Patel said that Menstrual Health and Hygiene Management (MHM) is a multidimensional and inter-ministerial issue requiring coordinated action by multiple stakeholder Ministries/Departments and states/UTs in accordance with their respective statutory mandates. She added that under the NHM, states/UTs are supported for Menstrual Hygiene Schemes based on their proposals in their Annual Programme Implementation Plans (PIPs) as per the regulatory norms.