Tamil Nadu govt. may gradually increase women’s rights grant

The TVK government, which is planning to revamp the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai (KMUT) scheme and rename it as Madhippumigu Magalir Thittam, may increase the monthly grant gradually, given the State’s financial position.

Initially, the amount may be increased from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500, according to a government representative. The TVK had said in its manifesto that an assistance of ₹2,500 would be given to all women heads of families up to the age of 60. At present, the number of beneficiaries is 1.3 crore. The scheme necessitates an annual outlay of ₹15,600 crore. If the amount goes up by ₹500 per beneficiary, the budgetary provision for a full year would be ₹23,400 crore.

According to a study conducted last year at the behest of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 15% of KMUT beneficiaries are senior citizens aged above 60. If one is to go by this yardstick, 19.5 lakh beneficiaries could be taken out of the restructured scheme. In that case, the total number would reduce to around 1.1 crore.

In case the government wants the senior citizen-beneficiaries to migrate to social security schemes such as old age pension (OAP), it has to keep in mind how many of these beneficiaries satisfy the criteria laid down by the Union government, which pays a portion of the OAP bill. It appears there is no such plan by the government. The old age pension amount is ₹1,200.

Yet, for academic interest, it should be pointed out that the Central government provides ₹200 per beneficiary for those in the age group of 60-79, and ₹500 for those aged 80 or above, besides ₹300 for those covered under the Disability Pension Scheme and the Widow Pension Scheme, both of which are named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. As of now, the State government is keeping the number of beneficiaries of all these schemes and some others at about 35 lakh. The current figure (March 2025) is 34.3 lakh. The pension amount is ₹1,500 for beneficiaries of the Disability Pension Scheme and the Differently Abled Pension Scheme.

The government representative says, “At present, our priority is to bring out a White Paper on the finances of the government.” The government is thinking of having the Assembly session, for the Governor’s address and possibly for the budget together, in a few months.