The DMK government’s flagship scheme for poor women, that will provide them a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 per month, is expected to be launched on September 15 on the birthday of former chief minister CN Annadurai.
The ruling party had promised Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai or Kalaignar Women’s Right to Assistance in its manifesto during the 2021 state assembly elections. Even actor Kamal Hassan’s party Makkal Needhi Maiam had vowed to deliver the scheme.
The Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme aims to give women living below the poverty line a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 in their bank accounts.
Tamil Nadu’s former finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan had made the announcement about the scheme in the 2023-24 budget and also allocated Rs 7,000 crore towards this. A few days ago, the government released an order mentioning details on who can benefit from the scheme.
More than 1 crore women will benefit from the scheme, the order said.
The beneficiary needs to provide her Aadhaar number, name, ration card number, marital status, phone number, accommodation details such as living in own or rented house, district, electricity connection number, bank account number, name of the bank and branch, said a senior government official.
In order to avail the benefits as a beneficiary the woman must be living below the poverty line earning less than Rs 2.5 lakh per year, consuming less than 3,600 unit of power annually, not be employed in either Central or state government and not own land more than 2.5 acre.
The government has also said the woman beneficiary will be given the application form at her doorstep, which she can submit there and must record her fingerprints.
A few days ago, the Congress government in Karnataka had launched a similar scheme as part of the election promise. While Tamil Nadu will give Rs 1,000 per month to poor women, Karnataka has that amount increased to Rs 2,000 per month.
Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have already implemented a similar scheme in their state, and the Punjab government has also started work to introduce the scheme in the state.
Guaranteed income schemes are often dismissed as being too expensive to implement on a large scale, but several cities are trying them out among small subsets of their populations.
Giving people even a small financial leg-up can go a long way towards bridging the gap between surviving and thriving. The biggest guaranteed income pilot in the US is currently underway in Chicago, where 500 families are receiving $500 per month, with no strings attached, for 12 months.
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