Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has announced a unique gift for every newborn born in government hospitals in the state. Under the ‘Thai Maman Gold Ring Scheme’ or ‘Mama’s Gold Ring Scheme’, from now on, every baby born in government hospitals in the state will be given a gold ring weighing one gram. The Tamil Nadu government has decided to allocate Rs 755.83 crore annually for the implementation of this public welfare scheme and the Chief Minister has already instructed the concerned officials to start the tender process quickly. There is an ancient tradition in Tamil culture, where after the birth of a child, his maternal uncle (mother’s brother) brings special gifts and blessings, which are known as ‘Thai Maman Sir’. Inspired by this tradition, the state government itself has decided to symbolically play the role of the child’s ‘maman’. A government statement said that the ring will be given as a symbol of love, care and warm welcome to the newborn and their family, which will also embody the Tamil cultural heritage. All children born or to be born in government hospitals from June 22, 2026 - Chief Minister Vijay's birthday - will be covered under this scheme. However, the official inauguration of the scheme will be on September 15, which is the birth anniversary of legendary Tamil Nadu leader Pereraji Anna. This was originally one of the main election promises of Chief Minister Vijay's political party Tamilaga Vetti Kazhagam and an important part of their vision document. Although various political parties have previously distributed gold rings to newborns individually on the birthday of their leaders, this is the first time that it has been institutionalized as a government scheme in any state.
