CHENNAI: The TVK government’s Annan Seer (brother’s wedding gift) scheme, which provides marriage assistance including one sovereign of gold, marks a return to a welfare model that was originally designed not merely to ease marriage expenses but also to encourage girls to continue higher education.
The scheme’s revival, with an allocation of Rs 812 crore for 2026-27 announced by Finance Minister N Marie Wilson in the revised budget earlier this week, comes nearly four years after the previous DMK government replaced the flagship Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Marriage Assistance Scheme with the Pudhumai Penn Scheme, providing Rs 1,000 a month to government school girls pursuing higher education.
However, the larger question is whether the implementation is feasible and can a scheme rooted in marriage also serve as a measure of women’s empowerment even more than 35 years after such a scheme was initiated.
The marriage assistance scheme was first introduced in 1989 by the then DMK government led by M Karunanidhi. At the time, women from poor families who had completed Class 8 were eligible for Rs 5,000, supported by an annual allocation of Rs 6 crore. The assistance was enhanced over the years, while educational qualification remained an important criterion.
During the AIADMK regime with J Jayalalithaa as chief minister, a four-gram gold coin was added to the cash assistance in the 2011-12 budget. This was increased to eight grams (one sovereign) in 2016.
The scheme generally benefited around one lakh women every year. However, with one sovereign of 22 karat gold currently costing around `1.11 lakh, excluding making charges and taxes, the present allocation in the budget would cover only around 70,000 beneficiaries considering the gold cost alone.
Social Welfare Department officials, however, clarified that the `812 crore is only the initial allocation. “We are working out the modalities and eligibility criteria, including educational qualification and income limits. The government order is likely to be issued by the end of this month. If more people qualify for the scheme, additional funds will be allocated,” a senior official said.
Scheme stopped in 2022
The DMK has maintained that when it assumed office in 2021, during the peak of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Marriage Assistance Scheme had accumulated a four-year backlog, which, coupled with volatility of gold prices, was a challenge in continuing the scheme.
“The problem with gold as marriage assistance is the implementation. We can debate whether it aligns with the principles of social justice after the implementation is taken care of. We found the implementation difficult and the impact limited. Only when this government begins implementing the scheme, will it realise the practical challenges,” said a former minister familiar with the development.
The DMK government instead chose to restructure the welfare measure and delink the scheme from marriage entirely.
The social question
The scheme has been linked to girls’ education since its inception. The idea was that financial support during marriage could encourage girls from poor families to stay in school and later pursue higher education.
U Vasuki, national vice-president of the All India Democratic Women’s Association, said the two approaches should not be pitted against each other. “Investing in marriage assistance does not prevent the government from investing in education or other welfare programmes. Pudhumai Penn could have been introduced as an additional scheme,” she said.
With rising prices and growing economic distress, Vasuki said marriage assistance could provide relief to poor families. She rejected the argument that it reinforces patriarchy, saying patriarchal practices and consumerism are deeply rooted in society.
“Women’s empowerment requires a multi-dimensional approach. Education, health, livelihood, and social security are all important,” she said.
However, she objected to the name Annan Seer Scheme, saying it evokes feudal customs and reinforces expectations that the bride’s brother or maternal uncle should provide jewellery.
Ramu Manivannan, former head and professor of the department of politics and public administration at the University of Madras, said governance has largely reflected patriarchal values over the years.
“Jayalalithaa is generally seen as having brought a matriarchal dimension to governance. She introduced gold under the marriage assistance scheme and built a strong political brand through initiatives such as Amma Unavagam. However, schemes like Annan Seer and Thai Maman Thanga Mothiram Thittam (gold ring for newborns in government hospitals) take that symbolism further,” he said.
