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| Agency overview | |
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| Jurisdiction | Tamil Nadu |
| Headquarters | Chennai |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Government of Tamil Nadu |
| Website | Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department |
TheDepartment of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment is one of thedepartments ofGovernment of Tamil Nadu.
The department is responsible for the implementation of the welfare schemes forchildren,women,senior citizens andtransgender. It monitors the implementation of various enacted social legislation to protect children, women and senior citizens and to preventchild trafficking,dowry,domestic violence against women,child marriage andsexual offences.[1] The department has three wings: social welfare, social defence and integrated child welfare services.[1]
The directorate of social welfare is responsible for welfare schemes such asmarriage assistance to poor, protection of girl children, nutritious meal for children and supply ofuniforms to school children.[2] The department runs service homes for the destitute and young girls and working women hostels in district headquarters and industrial areas. Various co-operative societies for women and transgender self-employment are facilitated by the department.[1] The department is also responsible for the monitoring and enrollment of girl students inpublic schools.
The state was the first to introduce theMidday Meal Scheme to school children which was started in 1926 and expanded to cover all public schools byK. Kamaraj.[3] The state government also introduced a breakfast meal programme for school children in 2022.[4] The department is responsible for the implementation of the schemes. The state introduced free school uniforms to weed out caste, creed and class distinctions among school children in the 1960s and the department is responsible for the distribution of the same.[5]
The directorate of social defence is responsible for governmentpension schemes implemented byrevenue department.[1][2]
The department of integrated child development services is responsible for the health andnutrition ofpregnant andlactating mothers and children of age 0 to 6 years.[1] The department oversees distribution ofnutritional supplements for the responsible categories, ensure healthychild birth,inoculation andhealthcare services.[2]
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