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A government doctors' association in Tamil Nadu has raised concerns over the high security and logistical costs associated with the proposed Thaimaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam, a scheme for distributing gold rings to newborn babies. The Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA) pointed out that the Health Department does not have the expertise in gold custody, armed security, and bullion logistics.
In response to a district-level costing of the proposed hub-and-spoke model, the SDPGA estimated that the hospital-based arrangement could cost roughly three times the State-wide administrative norm prescribed in the Government Order. This would include expenses for dedicated vaults, armed security posts, and armored transport. The association recommended that the scheme be delivered through a bank channel, either via direct disbursal or bank-run logistics under a Memorandum of Understanding.
The SDPGA's administrative cost at 0.66% of the total budget was five crore rupees, covering monitoring, transport, evaluation, consumables, software, and hardware. However, the annualised cost of the model involving two hubs and 25 spokes, with 25,000 deliveries per year, was estimated to be ₹84.18 lakh, which is nearly three times the 0.66% administrative cost norm.
The SDPGA argued that using existing bank infrastructure could reduce administrative costs significantly, allowing health staff to focus on patient care. They suggested that a bank model, similar to the one used by the Revenue Department for the Thalikku Thangam Scheme, could be more practical and cost-effective.
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