(MENAFN- IANS) Chennai, Aug 9 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will launch a new welfare initiative on August 12, providing doorstep delivery of essential commodities to senior citizens above 70 years of age and persons with disabilities across the state.

The Chief Minister's Thayumanavar scheme aims to ensure that vulnerable sections of society receive their Public Distribution System (PDS) entitlements without the difficulty of visiting ration shops.

The programme will cover rice, sugar, wheat, palmolein oil, and toor dal, the key commodities supplied under the PDS.

According to state government data, Tamil Nadu has 2.26 crore ration cards covering a population of seven crore.

Of these, 16.73 lakh ration cards - benefitting a total of 21.7 lakh people - will be included under the Thayumanavar scheme. This includes 15.81 lakh family ration cards with one or more elderly members, covering 20.42 lakh beneficiaries, as well as 91,969 ration cards for households with one or more disabled members, benefitting another 1.27 lakh people.

The Tamil Nadu government had decided to implement the initiative statewide earlier this year.

Under the scheme, staff from the Co-operation Department, attached to respective ration shops, will deliver the commodities on the second Saturday and Sunday of every month. Deliveries will be made using mini-vans and other vehicles equipped with point-of-sale (PoS) machines and weighing scales. Beneficiaries will receive their goods after Aadhaar authentication at their doorstep.

The initiative is designed to help those unable to access ration shops on their own. It will particularly benefit households where all members are aged above 70, with no adult below 18 years, and those where all members are disabled or only one member is disabled without any other adult member aged 18 or above.

Officials said that the scheme will not only make life easier for elderly and disabled citizens but also ensure uninterrupted access to their entitled PDS goods. The state government hopes the monthly service will significantly improve convenience and food security for this section of the population.

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