Tamil Nadu expands welfare package, including 365-day maternity leave for third child

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Minister Vijay, on Wednesday announced a series of welfare measures, including extending 365 days of maternity leave for women state government employees for a third child and enhanced benefits for MLAs.Chennai, Tamil Nadu: Minister D. Sarathkumar says, "Women government employees have been granted maternity leave of up to 365 days for their third child. Women government employees are entitled to 365 days of maternity leave for their first two children, while those with two or… pic.twitter.com/tNHjFwHD6C— IANS (@ians_india) August 18, 2026 According to the announcement, women working in the state government will now be entitled to 365 days of maternity leave for a third child, bringing it in line with the leave available for the first two children.However, opposing the announcement, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said that Tamil Nadu was the first state to follow family planning and encouraged couples to have not more than two children.#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil Nadu: On maternity leave for the third child of women government employees, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan says, "... Tamil Nadu is the first state to follow family planning in a restricted sense. That is why we stopped at two children. It is better to… pic.twitter.com/NDNT1bwCbY— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2026 "Tamil Nadu is the first state to follow family planning in a restricted sense. That is why we stopped at two children. It is better to have only two children in a family, which will help the family and enable the parents to bring up their children," the DMK leaders said.Saying that the current TVK-led state government might be abandoning family planning, he added, "But if they are having a third child, it means they are abandoning the family planning programme. I don't understand the meaning of this. This government does not want family planning. That is the only thing I can infer from this."Additionally, the state government also announced that cars will be provided to all MLAs at government expense.CM Vijay’s MLA Bonanza: Cars, ₹75,000 Monthly Maintenance And ₹25,000 Assistant Allowance For All 234 Tamil Nadu Legislators | Video The monthly vehicle allowance for every MLA has been increased to Rs 75,000, while the assistant allowance has been fixed at Rs 25,000 per month.Further, the government has decided to enhance health insurance coverage for MLAs under the government scheme from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a series of major measures under Rule 110, covering milk procurement prices, medical education, healthcare infrastructure, and insurance coverage.The government has announced an increase in the milk procurement price from ₹38 to ₹41 per litre. The announcement states that, as a result of the increase, the government will incur an additional expenditure of ₹30 crore per month and ₹360 crore per year.Tamil Nadu Makes Online, Presence-less Registration Mandatory For First Sale Of Plots And Flats Under STAR 3.0 In the healthcare and medical education sector, the government has announced ₹351 crore for increasing student admission capacity in government medical colleges. A total of 6,098 additional seats will be created for developing healthcare professionals, including 660 B.Sc. Nursing seats, 1,925 additional seats in nursing colleges and schools, 2,778 seats across 12 paramedical courses, and 735 additional seats in medical courses.The announcement also states that seven new government nursing colleges will be established.In Perambalur, a 400-bed world-class multi-speciality hospital will be established at an estimated cost of ₹300 crore. The facility is intended to provide advanced medical treatment and healthcare services.Tamil Nadu Govt Revokes ‘No Students At CJP Stir’ Order After Backlash Another major announcement concerns the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The annual limit for medical treatment is proposed to be increased from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh, according to the announcement.Additional medical and surgical services for transgender persons will also be provided under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme at Chennai, Stanley, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Chengalpattu, Thiruvarur, Karur and Kanyakumari. The milk procurement measure is expected to benefit more than 3.16 lakh milk producers. In addition to the increase in the procurement price, the government has announced that the government incentive will be increased from ₹3 to ₹5 per litre.Taken together, the announcements focus on improving the livelihoods of milk producers, expanding medical and nursing education, strengthening healthcare infrastructure, increasing access to insurance-funded treatment and expanding specialised healthcare services across Tamil Nadu. (Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)

The announcements span employee welfare, support for milk producers, medical education, healthcare infrastructure and expanded access to insurance-funded treatment