Tata Global Beverages, Tata Group release women's manifesto for polls

Tata Global Beverages and the Tata Group have released a ten-point women's manifesto ahead of the April-May General Election. The manifesto - called Voice of 49-was prepared based on responses to the 'Power of 49' campaign, which was launched in August 2013 with an aim to create a more informed female electorate.

The manifesto for women, which make up 49 per cent of India's population, focuses on issues such as providing health, sanitation and education facilities as well as ensuring safety and increasing representation of women in Parliament. Among other things, the manifesto states that politicians must display zero tolerance for perpetrators of domestic abuse and dowry seekers. It wants political parties to give more tickets to women candidates in elections to increase their numbers in Parliament.

It also wants the government to make gender sensitization for boys a compulsory part of the school curriculum to counter sexual harassment and increase the percentage of women in the police.

Tata Global Beverages said in a press release that it received more than 1.4 million responses to the campaign from across the country. Mukund Rajan, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons, and Member of Group Executive Council, says the 'Power of 49' campaign got 1.7 million responses through missed calls and digital media, of which 600,000 women registered their issues.

"The objective of the campaign was to create a large number of educated women voters with a view that an informed female electorate would propel political leaders to include their issues in the agenda in the forthcoming election," says Vikram Grover, Vice President of Marketing for India and South Asia at Tata Global Beverages.