CHENNAI: Aadhaar has been made mandatory for women residing in the State to avail themselves of the 'Annan Seer' scheme, under which brides will be provided with an eight-gram 22-carat gold coin and a silk saree.

The State government has issued a notification stating that women who do not possess an Aadhaar number or haven't yet enrolled for Aadhaar must apply for enrolment.

"Brides should provide their Aadhaar details while applying for the Annan Seer scheme. If they have applied for Aadhaar but have not yet received their number, they should submit one of the 12 prescribed documents," the government said.

The prescribed documents include a bank or post office passbook with a photograph, PAN card, passport, ration card, voter identity card, G Ram G job card, Kisan photo passbook, driving licence, government-issued photo identity card and other documents specified by the Department.

The government has also outlined alternative authentication procedures when Aadhaar verification fails.

"If Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor fingerprint quality, iris scanning or face authentication should be adopted. If fingerprint or iris scanning fails, one-time password (OTP) authentication shall be used. If both verification methods fail, the government said authenticity should be verified through the Quick Response (QR) code printed on the Aadhaar letter.

The State government has already accorded administrative sanction for the annual implementation of the Annan Seer scheme. The government has allocated Rs 812 crore as the initial provision in the Revised Budget Estimates for 2026–27 to implement the scheme.