<p>Constitution of a separate board for the welfare of gig workers employed in food and cab aggregators, expanding the breakfast scheme to all government schools in the state, and a special skill development scheme to train ex-servicemen are some of the major announcements made by Chief Minister M K Stalin on the occasion of Independence Day. </p>.<p>In his speech at the Fort St. George after unfurling the national flag, Stalin also announced that the government will fill 55,000 vacancies in various departments this year, while it will construct a park at a cost of Rs 25 crore in Cathedral Road to commemorate the centenary year of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. </p>.Sign the anti-NEET bill: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin tells Prez Murmu.<p>Devoting a significant portion of his speech to the welfare schemes being rolled out by his government, Stalin spoke in detail about the programs that benefit women like the free bus travel, Rs 1,000 assistance to college girls who studied in government schools and nutrition enhancement among toddlers and children. </p>.<p>“We see people working with Ola, Uber, Swiggy, and Zomato everywhere in cities like Chennai. The life of these people whose job requires time management is precious and I am happy to announce the constitution of a separate welfare board for them,” Stalin said, adding that the scheme to provide financial assistance to women auto drivers will be expanded. </p>.<p>On the free bus travel scheme for women in town buses, Stalin said officers were against the program when it was launched in 2021 citing the condition of the transport corporations. However, Stalin said he insisted that the scheme should be launched to announce the arrival of a “new dawn” when the DMK dispensation assumed office in May 2021. </p>.<p>The Chief Minister said women have made 314 crore free trips since the launch of the programmee and renamed it as Vidiyal (dawn) Payana Thittam. Dwelling into another women-centric program, Stalin said as many as 2.11 lakh girls benefit from the Pudumai Penn scheme this year that provides Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to college students who studied in government schools.</p>.<p>He also announced that the government has decided to fill about 55,000 vacant posts in various departments this year which will help youngsters. </p>.<p>Another new scheme that Stalin announced was training 10,000 ex-servicemen with skill development to increase their employability. He said the government has allotted Rs 7 crore for the scheme this year. </p>.<p>Stalin said the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme will be expanded to all 31,008 government schools in the state from August 25. “I will launch the scheme from the school where our leader (M) Karunanidhi studied in Thirukkuvalai (Nagapattinam district),” he added. </p>.<p>The scheme, which is an extension of the state’s mid-day meals scheme, will ensure students from classes one to five get breakfast at their schools with the government allotting Rs 404 crore. The scheme was launched in 1,545 schools in September 2022. </p>.<p>Students will be served upma, kichadi, or pongal from Monday to Friday, while rava kesari or semiya kesari will be added to the food menu on Friday. Millets available in the area will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu has had a long history of providing food to students at schools -- the mid-day meals scheme, which is now being implemented across the country, was first conceived by the Justice Party dispensation which provided free meals to school children in government schools in Chennai. However, the then British regime stopped a few years later citing lack of resources.</p>.<p>The scheme was then relaunched by Congress Chief Minister K Kamaraj in 1957 and expanded it to the entire state. Then came M G Ramachandran who expanded it further by providing nutritious meals to children between 2 to 9 years old. M Karunanidhi added eggs on all days to the menu and bananas for children who don’t eat eggs, while Jayalalithaa introduced a variety of rice. </p>
<p>Constitution of a separate board for the welfare of gig workers employed in food and cab aggregators, expanding the breakfast scheme to all government schools in the state, and a special skill development scheme to train ex-servicemen are some of the major announcements made by Chief Minister M K Stalin on the occasion of Independence Day. </p>.<p>In his speech at the Fort St. George after unfurling the national flag, Stalin also announced that the government will fill 55,000 vacancies in various departments this year, while it will construct a park at a cost of Rs 25 crore in Cathedral Road to commemorate the centenary year of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi. </p>.Sign the anti-NEET bill: Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin tells Prez Murmu.<p>Devoting a significant portion of his speech to the welfare schemes being rolled out by his government, Stalin spoke in detail about the programs that benefit women like the free bus travel, Rs 1,000 assistance to college girls who studied in government schools and nutrition enhancement among toddlers and children. </p>.<p>“We see people working with Ola, Uber, Swiggy, and Zomato everywhere in cities like Chennai. The life of these people whose job requires time management is precious and I am happy to announce the constitution of a separate welfare board for them,” Stalin said, adding that the scheme to provide financial assistance to women auto drivers will be expanded. </p>.<p>On the free bus travel scheme for women in town buses, Stalin said officers were against the program when it was launched in 2021 citing the condition of the transport corporations. However, Stalin said he insisted that the scheme should be launched to announce the arrival of a “new dawn” when the DMK dispensation assumed office in May 2021. </p>.<p>The Chief Minister said women have made 314 crore free trips since the launch of the programmee and renamed it as Vidiyal (dawn) Payana Thittam. Dwelling into another women-centric program, Stalin said as many as 2.11 lakh girls benefit from the Pudumai Penn scheme this year that provides Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to college students who studied in government schools.</p>.<p>He also announced that the government has decided to fill about 55,000 vacant posts in various departments this year which will help youngsters. </p>.<p>Another new scheme that Stalin announced was training 10,000 ex-servicemen with skill development to increase their employability. He said the government has allotted Rs 7 crore for the scheme this year. </p>.<p>Stalin said the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme will be expanded to all 31,008 government schools in the state from August 25. “I will launch the scheme from the school where our leader (M) Karunanidhi studied in Thirukkuvalai (Nagapattinam district),” he added. </p>.<p>The scheme, which is an extension of the state’s mid-day meals scheme, will ensure students from classes one to five get breakfast at their schools with the government allotting Rs 404 crore. The scheme was launched in 1,545 schools in September 2022. </p>.<p>Students will be served upma, kichadi, or pongal from Monday to Friday, while rava kesari or semiya kesari will be added to the food menu on Friday. Millets available in the area will also be part of the menu for at least two days a week.</p>.<p>Tamil Nadu has had a long history of providing food to students at schools -- the mid-day meals scheme, which is now being implemented across the country, was first conceived by the Justice Party dispensation which provided free meals to school children in government schools in Chennai. However, the then British regime stopped a few years later citing lack of resources.</p>.<p>The scheme was then relaunched by Congress Chief Minister K Kamaraj in 1957 and expanded it to the entire state. Then came M G Ramachandran who expanded it further by providing nutritious meals to children between 2 to 9 years old. M Karunanidhi added eggs on all days to the menu and bananas for children who don’t eat eggs, while Jayalalithaa introduced a variety of rice. </p>