Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation — the state agency that procures drugs and medical equipment for govt hospitals — has floated a tender to supply gold rings for newborns under a signature welfare scheme of chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s govt.The corporation is seeking a one-year rate contract for roughly 4.41 lakh one-gram, 22-carat gold rings, each certified with a BIS hallmark and a unique tracking code, for distribution under the “Thaimaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam” scheme. Bids are due August 18, with the winning supplier tasked with delivering rings to 107 govt hospitals across all 38 districts of the state.Only firms with an average annual turnover of at least ₹750 crore over the past three years, and a dedicated credit line of ₹187 crore, may bid — a threshold designed to ensure suppliers can shoulder the upfront cost of gold before being reimbursed. Payment will be calculated using the bullion market’s daily gold rate on the date each order is placed, insulating the state from long-term price risk while tying its cost directly to market swings, a senior TNMSC official said. Officials estimate the program will cost the state about ₹755.83 crore a year and reach some 4.42 lakh newborns.Sources in the govt said the scheme will encourage institutional deliveries and boost patient loads at govt hospitals. “The out-of-pocket expenditure for deliveries in private hospitals is among the highest in Tamil Nadu compared to other states, as per the NSO survey. On the other hand, it is the lowest in govt hospitals. This scheme will save up to ₹67,000 in expenditure and add one gram of gold. It will also promote safe deliveries and help reduce infant and maternal mortality,” said health minister K G Arunraj.Doctors’ associations and healthcare activists disagree. “The medical corporation is not an expert in gold purchase, procurement, storage or distribution. Audits at every stage of this process will strain the corporation, healthcare workers and the system,” said public health expert T Sundararaman, former chair of the Technical Advisory Committee for Health Technology Assessment at the Department of Health Research. The health department’s priority, he said, should be the growing burden of non-communicable diseases, geriatric care and gaps in urban healthcare.Doctors association point out that TNMSC does not supply all the drugs. “There are glitches in supply. At any point of time hospitals get no objection certificate to procure at least 20 essential drugs such as paracetamol injection and basic antibiotics. Besides this there is speciality drugs. Medical college hospitals spends crores of rupees they earned from the insurance scheme on medicines. And they don’t get the volume advantage because hospitals buy them from open market,” a senior doctor said.Former state planning commission member and senior vascular surgeon Dr J Amalorpavanathan agreed that “purchase of gold rings is not the remit of TNMSC, nor is it the remit of the health department to implement this scheme,” adding that the social welfare department, which has a specific mandate for such programs, should be given the responsibility.Govt doctors flagged a more immediate concern: the scheme’s likely effect on patient volumes. “How do we manage the increase in deliveries with existing staff shortages and infrastructure? Also, why should deans, RMOs and HODs oversee gold when they have a ward full of patients to care for?” asked Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association general secretary Dr A Ramalingam.Officials say protocols are being developed to make the process safe. Payment will be calculated using the bullion market’s daily gold rate on the date each order is placed. “This will insulate the state from long-term price risk while tying its cost directly to market swings. Transportation and storage will be secured,” a senior official at TNSMC said.
