Rs 349.78 cr to strengthen Pudhumai Penn scheme

CHENNAI: The State government has decided to further strengthen the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Pudhumai Penn scheme, which provides financial assistance to girl students to pursue higher education, by appointing a team of experts.

The scheme, implemented through the Social Welfare Department, was launched in 2022. It envisages empowerment of girls, especially those who have studied from Class 6-12 in government schools.

Stating that monthly incentive benefits of Rs 1,000 per beneficiary credited directly to her bank account enables girls to pursue higher education without incurring additional expenses, a senior official from the Social Welfare Department said that in 2022-2023 alone, the scheme benefitted over 2.09 lakh girls.

“The Commissionerate of Social Welfare has proposed to senior consultants to form a State Project Management Unit. A senior IT consultant will be engaged to appoint another consultant, who will be taking care of accounts and fund management,” he added.

The official said the role of IT consultant would be to support the team in providing guidance to the State Programme Management unit towards ensuring technical support promptly. “He would also be involved in analysing data and suggest appropriate initiatives. He would support the department in technical discussions and analysis besides continuous monitoring of the technical aspects of the scheme,” he explained.

The consultant would also ensure the transfer of funds to beneficiaries and prepare annual budget by obtaining budget/revised estimate from the Stet government. “The accounts consultant would maintain books of accounts for all expenses incurred in the unit, which would look after the scheme, and ensuring reconciliation with the pay and account office on regular basis. The State has allocated Rs 349.78 crore for the scheme this year,” stated the official.