The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday relaxed the eligibility criteria for the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam, amending the guidelines to include children whose mothers were born in Tamil Nadu but had moved to another State after marriage, provided their parents reside permanently in Tamil Nadu.

Under the scheme, a one-gram gold ring is provided to children born in government hospitals in Tamil Nadu. The scheme was launched by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on September 28 and is being implemented retrospectively from June 22, 2026.

The Government Order, issued by the Health and Family Welfare Department, prescribes the guidelines for the scheme.

“While implementing the scheme, it came to the government’s notice that in some cases, women from Tamil Nadu who had been living in another State after marriage, but whose parents continued to reside permanently in Tamil Nadu, returned to their parental homes for childbirth and delivered their babies in the government hospitals in Tamil Nadu,” said Darez Ahamed, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, in an official release.

One such case was that of Uma Maheswari, who, after marriage, has been living with her husband at Udayagiri in Mysuru district of Karnataka. Her parents reside in Karaikudi in Sivaganga district. She came to Tamil Nadu, for childbirth and delivered a baby at the Karaikudi Government Headquarters Hospital on September 17.

Under the conditions that were in force, the family was initially unable to benefit under the scheme, as the mother who had delivered the child was required to be a permanent resident of Tamil Nadu. Considering this, the government has decided to expand the eligibility conditions under the scheme, the release said.

As per the new guidelines, if the mother of a child born in a government hospital was born in Tamil Nadu and had moved to another State after marriage, but her parents are permanent residents of Tamil Nadu, the child will also be provided a gold ring on submission of relevant documentary evidence. Accordingly, Ms. Maheswari was provided a one-gram gold ring.

The amendment will also apply retrospectively to eligible children from June 22, 2026, the release added.