M.K. Stalin, who took charge as Tamil Nadu chief minister on Friday, approved a Rs 4,000 cash relief for every household with a ration card to soften the income losses caused by the pandemic and extended the state health insurance scheme to cover Covid treatment costs in private hospitals.
Arriving at the secretariat here after governor Banwarilal Purohit swore in the new DMK ministry headed by the chief minister and his council of 33 ministers at the Raj Bhavan, Stalin signed orders implementing the top-priority pre-poll promises of the DMK.
During the campaign, Stalin had said the 2.07 crore households that come under the public distribution system would each get a cash relief of Rs 4,000 from June 3, his late father K. Karunanidhi’s birthday. However, with the pandemic raging, the new chief minister directed that Rs 2,000 be paid to each family immediately as first instalment.