CHENNAI: The government led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is reviving two welfare schemes introduced by former CM J Jayalalithaa in 2011-12, namely the distribution of gold for women during their marriage—a TVK poll promise—and the supply of free milch cows to rural dairy farmers.
The Tamil Nadu government, under the DMK, initiated a marriage assistance scheme in 1989 named after social reformer Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar to offer financial support to women who had completed education till Class 8.
In May 2011, the then Jayalalithaa government rechristened the scheme as Thalikku Thangam by offering eligible women four grams of gold on their wedding day and a financial assistance of Rs 50,000. In 2016, the gold assistance was enhanced to eight grams for women graduates.
Implementation of the scheme began facing delays in 2020 due to a mounting backlog of applications and was subsequently suspended during the Covid-19 lockdown. In 2021, the DMK government cleared pending applications but did not accept any fresh applications.
In its place, in its 2022-23 budget, the DMK announced the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme (Pudhumai Penn), under which girl students who studied in government and government-aided schools were provided Rs 1,000 per month to support their higher education.
At the time, officials said the Thalikku Thangam scheme had lost its relevance with applicants facing long delays in receiving the gold and, with enrolment of girls in Class 12 at 98%, it was decided to promote higher education instead.
The TVK government is reviving Thalikku Thangam as ‘Annan Seer’, which translates to ‘elder brother’s ceremonial gift’, with an allocation of Rs 812 crore in 2026-27. Under the revamped scheme, eligible beneficiaries will receive eight grams of gold and a silk saree at the time of their marriage.
Minister for Finance N Marie Wilson also announced the revival of the free milch cow distribution scheme. Under this, 10,000 eligible women will receive milch cows free of cost every year, for which Rs 57 crore has been earmarked in the 2026-27 budget. The cows will be provided on the condition that beneficiaries sell the milk to Aavin. Officials said average procurement cost of a milch cow has been tentatively fixed at Rs 57,000.
The original scheme, launched in 2011, provided milch cows at 100% subsidy to about 12,000 dairy farmers annually. The scheme helped increase Aavin milk procurement but was suspended in December 2016 following a severe drought and was eventually discontinued by the DMK government in April 2022. “The government order and detailed guidelines for implementing both schemes will be issued shortly,” a senior official said.