To support government school students who secure MBBS seats, Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday, January 10, announced that the government would bear their hostel and food expenses along with tuition fees.
“These students come from very poor families. The government will ensure that they complete their medical education,” he said at a function for distributing agricultural loan waiver certificates to farmers, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Additionally, the students who missed the opportunity to receive laptops will soon be provided equivalent cash assistance via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Rangasamy also announced an enhancement of the housing subsidy for poor families from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh under central and state schemes, enabling beneficiaries to construct concrete houses.
Speaking on the support the government has been extending to farmers, the CM said the government has waived loans, interest, and penal interest totalling Rs 11.61 crore for 1,579 small and marginal farmers across 29 Primary Agricultural Cooperative Credit Societies.
The first installment of Rs 2 crore has already been released, with the remaining amount to follow in the next financial year.
He also inaugurated the free rice distribution scheme for BPL and APL families, providing 20 kg and 10 kg of rice monthly respectively through fair-price shops. Rangasamy said cash will be deposited into the bank accounts of ration card holders for missed rice distributions for two months after Deepawali, according to the report by The New Indian Express.
Furthermore, he said that the disbursal of a Rs 750 Pongal gift to ration card holders’ bank accounts commenced on Friday. LPG subsidies will also be credited soon.
Referring to the damage caused by cyclone Fengal and floods, the CM said payment of Rs 30,000 relief per hectare to farmers has begun in Yanam and will start soon in Karaikal and Puducherry. He assured the public that the central government is ready to provide additional cyclone relief funds. Rangasamy further said that the Cooperative Sugar Mill at Lingareddipalayam will be reopened within two months.
Lt Governor K Kailashnathan exhorted farmers to think out of the box for the development of the agricultural sector and cited certain examples of development. The event was attended by Speaker R Selvam, Home Minister A Namassivayam, Agriculture Minister C Djeacoumar, and other key officials.
