Minister for Tourism K. Ramachandran launched the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam in the Nilgiris, with a total of 1,598 beneficiaries set to receive their ATM cards along with information manuals. The scheme was launched in the Nilgiris at Nanjanad village on Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the event, Mr. Ramachandran said that the scheme was part of multiple schemes unveiled by the State government targeted at improving the lives of women in the State, including free bus travel for women in TNSTC town and city buses, the education assurance scheme, among others.
He said that the scheme has piqued the interests of economists from across India and the world. “Previously, women were forced to remain inside their households, while many were not even allowed to gain an education. However, it is now amply clear that women are contributing as much as their male counterparts to the workforce,” said the Minister.
He added that women across the State were providing labour to run households for which they were not being compensated. “It is to compensate a portion of the labour expended by women that the Mahalir Urimai Thittam has been launched by the government,” said the Minister.
He said that the Chief Minister had ensured that the beneficiaries have been told that it was not a welfare assistance provided to them by the government, but an entitlement they are eligible for due to the labour they provide.
Officials said that around 1,036 beneficiaries attended the event at Nanjanad. Also present was Nilgiris District Collector M. Aruna, and District Superintendent of Police K. Prabhakar, among other top officials from the district administration.
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