🔆 Women-Centric Welfare in Tamil Nadu: Big Promises, Uneven Delivery 📍 1. Policy vs. Reality ✅ Many women-focused schemes launched with fanfare, but implementation lags behind. ✅ Delays, exclusions, red tape dilute transformative potential. 📍 2. Monthly Income Support Scheme ✅ 2.06 crore women applied, but only 1.06 crore approved by March 2024. ✅ 9.24 lakh appeals filed — a clear signal of frustration and unmet promises. ✅ Even approved applicants faced payment delays, eroding dignity and trust. 📍 3. Free Bus Travel for Women ✅ Helps save money, but overcrowding, low frequency, and safety issues plague tier-2/3 towns. ✅ Lack of female staff and last-mile options limit its real-world benefit. 📍 4. Maternity & Empowerment Gaps ✅ Amma Baby Kits continue but show no growth or innovation. ✅ Microcredit & subsidies for women-led SHGs have seen budget cuts, harming local entrepreneurship. 📍 5. Proven Impactful Schemes ✅ Cradle Baby Scheme cut female infanticide by 75% (1992–2011). ✅ 222+ all-women police stations operational by 2021 – boosting safety and access. 📍 6. Empowerment Beyond Welfare ✅ Schemes like Thalikku Thangam, Amma Canteens, Amma Bicycles → enabled mobility, education & dignity. ✅ These weren’t freebies—they were freedom enablers. 📍 7. Political & Grassroots Power ✅ 50% seat reservation in local bodies = rise of women leaders shaping real decisions. ✅ Women now impact budgets, governance & development from the ground up. 📍 8. What Must Change ✅ Focus less on headlines, more on impact. ✅ Real success = healthier mothers, educated girls, financially confident women — not scheme counts.