Cautious approach: According to the study, 15% of Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai beneficiaries are above 60 years of age. Photo credit: FILE PHOTO
The TVK government, which is planning to revamp the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai (KMUT) scheme and rename it as Madhippumigu Magalir Thittam, may gradually increase the monthly grant keeping in mind the financial situation of the state.
Initially, the amount may be increased from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500, according to a government official. In a statement, TVK said that all women heads of families under 60 years of age will be given an assistance of ₹2,500. Currently, the number of beneficiaries is 1.3 million. The scheme requires an annual expenditure of ₹15,600 crore. If the amount is increased by ₹500 per beneficiary, the budgetary provisions for the entire year would be ₹23,400 crore.
According to a study conducted last year at the behest of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, 15% of KMUT beneficiaries are senior citizens above 60 years of age. If this scale is to be followed, 19.5 million beneficiaries could be eliminated from the restructured system. In that case, the total number would drop to about 1.1 million.
In case the government wants senior citizen beneficiaries to migrate to social security schemes like Old Age Pension (OAP), it has to keep in mind how many of these beneficiaries meet the criteria set by the Union Government which foots part of the OAP bill. The government seems to have no such plan. The amount of superannuation is ₹1,200.
However, for academic interest, it should be pointed out that the Central Government provides ₹200 per beneficiary for those in the age group of 60-79 and ₹500 for those aged 80 and above, apart from ₹300 for those covered under the Disability Pension Scheme and the Widow’s Pension Scheme, both named after Gindhi and the former Prime Minister As of now, the state government has kept the number of beneficiaries of all these schemes and some others at around 35 thousands. The current number (March 2025) is 34.3 million. The amount of pension is ₹ 1,500 for disability pension and miscellaneous pension scheme beneficiaries.
A government official says: “Our priority at the moment is to issue a white paper on the government’s finances.” The government is considering holding an assembly session in a few months for the governor’s address and possibly the budget together.
Published – 15 May 2026 23:18 IST
