Chennai | The Tamil Nadu government on Monday announced in the Budget 2023-24 that the Rs 1,000 monthly assistance scheme for eligible women heads of families would be launched on September 15, 2023 by Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Making the announcement in his Budget address, state Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said the modalities were being worked out for the scheme's implementation and Rs 7,000 crore has been set apart in the Budget 2023-24 for the plan. He made the announcement towards the fag end of his budget address that stretched to 2 hours and 2 minutes.

Dravidian icon and DMK founder CN Annadurai's (1909-1969) birth anniversary falls on September 15. He was the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu between 1967 and 1969, leading the first non-Congress government in the state in post-independent India.

The Rs 1,000 assistance for women family heads is one of the electoral assurances made by the DMK ahead of the 2021 Assembly election and it eventually became a very popular promise.

Often targeted by the main opposition AIADMK for 'not implementing,' it, the DMK regime had to reiterate often the scheme would soon see the light of the day.

DMK President and chief minister Stalin, during his campaign for the recently held Erode (East) bypoll, had assured an announcement on the date of launch of the assistance scheme would be made known in the Budget presentation.