CHENNAI: The State government has given administrative sanction to implement the freemilch cow scheme for rural women, allocating Rs 57 crore to benefit 10,000 women in the current financial year.

The TVK-led government is continuing the scheme introduced by the previous AIADMK government, which announced it in the maiden Budget.

In a statement, the government said the scheme aims to improve rural women's livelihoods and income, increase milk production, and strengthen milk cooperative societies.

Under the scheme, each eligible beneficiary will receive a healthy and productive milch cow capable of yielding eight litres of milk a day. The government said each cow could give birth to three to five calves over five years.

The scheme is expected to provide a regular source of additional income and help improve the economic condition of women beneficiaries.

The government said the initiative would also increase milk production and strengthen the State's cooperative dairy sector. Finance Minister Marie Wilson had announced the scheme in the maiden Budget speech of the TVK-led alliance government. The latest administrative sanction clears the way for the scheme to be implemented during the current financial year, with 10,000 eligible women set to benefit.