CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday announced the rollout of the “Thaai Maaman Thanga Mothiram” scheme, under which a one-gram gold ring will be presented by the state to every baby born in government hospitals. Fulfilling a key poll promise of the ruling TVK, the chief minister announced that Rs 755.83 crore will be allotted annually for the initiative.
The scheme will be formally launched on the birth anniversary of former CM C N Annadurai on September 15, but it will retrospectively cover all babies born in government hospitals from June 22, 2026 — Chief Minister Vijay’s birthday — a press release said. Annually, around 4 lakh children are born in government hospitals across the state.
Moms with higher order births also eligible for benefits under scheme
Mothers registered with PICME (Pregnancy and Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation) with Reproductive and Child Health ID will also be covered under the scheme.
Beneficiaries would be required to submit residential proofs which include documents such as ration cards, voter ID, Aadhar card, ID card issued by the labour welfare boards or proof of address card issued by the department of posts or nativity certificates.
Mothers with higher order births are also eligible without restrictions, the order said. Benefits are to be provided irrespective of the gender of the child. Out of 4.42 lakh annual newborns recorded across the state’s government medical facilities, medical college hospitals account for 54% of deliveries, district and sub district hospitals account for 37% followed by 9% in primary health centres.
As per the GO, a State Project/Programme Management Unit, a dedicated administrative body shall be set up to implement, monitor and manage the scheme with a designated logistics manager in each district for mandatory monthly stock verification. Dedicated monitoring will be taken up by a nodal person at the state level.
Logistics for the scheme will be taken up through a hub and spoke model in which the hub is a group of 94 high load Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care centres (CEmONC) that covers 82% of government deliveries. This is to serve as the primary logistical hub.
The dean of medical college hospitals and Chief Medical Officer/Medical Superintendent of the district headquarters hospitals/sub district hospitals will be the designated custodians. The rings will be secured inside dedicated lockers under round-the-clock surveillance with a two-tier power backup. For the remaining 18% deliveries which take place in smaller facilities, the 94 hubs will act as the consolidated distribution nodes.
The procurement is to be done through the TN Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) who will also supply the gold rings based on the yearly indent given by the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
Shipments are to travel in fully insured and tamper-evident packaging from the TNMSC empanelled vendors straight to the respective facility.
The goal of the scheme, as per the order, is to elevate public healthcare settings from a baseline necessity to a preferred destination of pride and celebration with dignity at birth.
