Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme - II

What is Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme - II?

Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme - II was the higher tier of Tamil Nadu's best-known marriage assistance scheme, run by the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department, earlier styled the Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme Department. The scheme was designed to help poor parents meet the cost of a daughter's marriage and, at the same time, to reward girls who had stayed in education.

The scheme had two tiers, and the tier decided the amount:

• Scheme-I, Rs 25,000 through Electronic Clearing Service with a 1 sovereign (8 gram) 22-carat gold coin, for a bride who had passed Class 10.
• Scheme-II; Rs 50,000 through Electronic Clearing Service with the same 1 sovereign (8 gram) 22-carat gold coin, for a bride holding a degree or a recognised diploma.

The gold coin was given specifically for making the thirumangalyam, the marriage thali, which is why the weight and purity are fixed at 8 grams of 22-carat gold rather than paid as cash.

Important status note. Tamil Nadu revamped the scheme from 2022-23 into the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme, which pays a girl student Rs 1,000 a month while she completes her higher education, instead of a one-time payment at marriage. The Social Welfare Department's citizen charter now lists the higher education assurance scheme, and not the marriage assistance scheme, under the Moovalur Ramamirtham name. This page therefore records the marriage scheme accurately as it operated, and points readers to the schemes that are open today.

Who was eligible for Scheme-II?

A bride could claim Scheme-II if:

• She held a degree passed from a regular college, distance education or a government-recognised open university, or a diploma from an institution recognised by the Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Tamil Nadu.
• She had completed 18 years of age at the time of the marriage. There was no upper age limit.
• She was from a poor family in Tamil Nadu, with family income verified during the departmental enquiry.
• The application reached the District Social Welfare Officer 40 days before the marriage.

A bride could not claim if:

• She held no degree or recognised diploma. Such a bride was not eligible for the Rs 50,000 tier and had to claim Scheme-I at Rs 25,000 instead, on the strength of a Class 10 pass.
• Her qualification came from an unrecognised institution. A diploma outside the Directorate of Technical Education's recognised list did not qualify.
• She was under 18 on the date of marriage.
• The application was filed on or after the date of the marriage. Across the department's marriage assistance schemes, applications received on or after the marriage date are not entertained.
• Another daughter of the same family had already been sanctioned assistance, since the benefit was limited to one girl per family.

What documents were required?

How to apply under the Moovalur Ramamirtham marriage assistance scheme

The scheme is closed to fresh marriage-assistance applications, but the process is recorded here because it is identical to the marriage assistance schemes that remain open in Tamil Nadu, and because pending cases still follow it:

1. Obtain the application form from the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) at the block office, the District Social Welfare Officer, or an e-Sevai centre.
2. Attach the bride's degree or diploma certificate, the marriage invitation, the age certificate, the family income certificate from the Tahsildar, Aadhaar and the bride's bank passbook.
3. Submit the completed application to the District Social Welfare Officer or the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) at least 40 days before the marriage date. In exceptional circumstances the department accepted an application up to one day before the marriage, but never on or after the marriage date.
4. Take a dated acknowledgement, and keep the acknowledgement number, since every follow-up turns on it.
5. Cooperate with the field enquiry. The Extension Officer verifies the family's circumstances, the bride's age and the genuineness of the marriage before recommending sanction.
6. Receive the sanction, with the cash component credited by Electronic Clearing Service into the bride's account and the 8-gram gold coin handed over at a departmental function or by the district office.

Across the department's marriage assistance schemes, the published processing time is within 15 days from the date of receipt of the application.

What is the successor scheme, and how do you apply for it?

The Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme now carries the name. Its terms, as published in the Social Welfare Department's citizen charter, are:

• Rs 1,000 per month paid to the girl student.
• Open to all girls who completed Classes 6 to 12 in government or government aided Tamil-medium schools and have enrolled in a recognised higher education course in an institution in Tamil Nadu recognised by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the Government of India or the University Grants Commission.
• Girls who studied Classes 6 to 8 in a private school under the Right to Education and then Classes 9 to 12 in a government school are also eligible.
• No income ceiling, no community restriction, no bar on availing other scholarships, and no limit on the number of students from the same family.
• The incentive is available for the first higher education course only.
• Correspondence, distance education and unrecognised institutions are not eligible.
• Students apply on the UMIS portal through their higher education institution.

A parallel scheme, Tamizh Pudhalvan, extends the same Rs 1,000 a month to male students on the same conditions.

Which marriage assistance schemes are still open in Tamil Nadu?

A family looking for marriage assistance today should check these four schemes, each of which has a Scheme-I of Rs 25,000 and a Scheme-II of Rs 50,000 with a 1 sovereign 22-carat gold coin:

• Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme; minimum age 20 for the bride, maximum 40 for the bridegroom, no income ceiling, application within 6 months of the remarriage.
• E.V.R. Maniammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme for Daughters of Poor Widows, family income not exceeding Rs 1,20,000 a year, one daughter of the widowed mother, application 40 days before the marriage.
• Annai Teresa Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme for Orphan Girls — for orphan brides who have completed 18 years.
• Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Ninaivu Inter-caste Marriage Assistance Scheme: no income limit, application within two years from the date of marriage.

How to check the status of a pending application

There is no online tracker for marriage assistance files. Ask the Extension Officer (Social Welfare) at your block, quoting the acknowledgement, and then the District Social Welfare Officer. Grievances go to the District Collector or the District Social Welfare Officer at district level, and to the Commissioner of Social Welfare at state level.

Why applications were rejected

• Filed on or after the marriage date; applications received on or after the date of marriage are not entertained.
• Unrecognised degree or diploma, especially diplomas outside the Directorate of Technical Education's recognised list.
• Bride under 18 on the date of marriage.
• Second daughter of the same family claiming, when the benefit is one girl per family.
• Bank account not in the bride's own name, which blocks the ECS credit.
• Income certificate missing or stale, where an income condition applied.

Help and grievance route

• District Social Welfare Officer and Extension Officer (Social Welfare). The first points of contact in every district.
• District Collector: district-level grievance authority.
• Commissioner of Social Welfare, Commissionerate of Social Welfare, Lady Willington College Campus, Kamarajar Salai, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005 to phone 044-24351885.

No fee is charged at any stage. No agent can charge for filing a marriage assistance application or for "getting the gold coin sanctioned".