Tamil Nadu’s Gold Ring Scheme:Just One Paisa Making Charge!

Tamil Nadu’s ‘Thay Maaman Thanga Mothiram’ scheme has attracted widespread attention after jewellery major Joyalukkas reportedly quoted just one paisa as the making charge for each gold ring. The quoted amount excludes the price of gold. Under the scheme, one-gram gold rings will be provided to babies born in government hospitals. The state has planned the first phase of procurement for babies born from June 22 to September, with 128,499 rings proposed for purchase.

Eleven jewellery companies reportedly participated in the tender. Apart from the gold price, bidders were required to quote for making charges and other expenses associated with the rings. Joyalukkas emerged as the lowest bidder with a quote of ₹0.01 per ring, while other participating companies quoted substantially higher amounts. Kalyan Jewellers reportedly agreed to match the lowest quote, following which the order was shared between the two companies.

The unusually low quote has triggered discussion over how a gold ring can be supplied with such a minimal service charge when expenses such as manufacturing, wastage, insurance, packaging, hallmarking and transportation are involved. The tender has also become a subject of political debate, with opposition voices raising questions about the procurement process. However, the one-paisa figure refers to the quoted charge apart from the actual cost of gold.