Tamil Nadu schedules newborn gold ring scheme launch

Tamil Nadu’s government has scheduled the launch of a scheme providing eligible newborns at state-run facilities with one-gram gold rings, with benefits applying to births from June 22, 2026. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay is scheduled to inaugurate the programme at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai on September 28. The available reports describe the ceremony as planned; they do not confirm that it has taken place or that rings have been distributed. The state says the first phase includes about 128,000 rings, with distribution arrangements at 107 hospitals or hubs across Tamil Nadu. The government has said eligible babies are those born at government hospitals, whose mothers are permanent residents of Tamil Nadu and are registered in the Pregnancy and Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation system, with a Reproductive and Child Health identification number. The scheme is also described as covering births at government Primary Health Centres and medical college hospitals in Sivaganga district. Officials say the rings are intended to encourage families to choose government facilities for childbirth and to support public confidence in state healthcare.