Tiruchirappalli:
Celebrating the 69th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in his own way, a local Congress leader announced a gift of Rs 2,500 each to the girl babies born in the district today.
Joseph Louis, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee member and son of former MP from the district AGL Adaikalaraj, said he will deposit the amount in a bank in the names of the children, and upon their reaching the age of 18, they would get a maturity value of Rs 28,000.
The girl children born in government hospitals, Primary Health Centres, Health Centres and other state-owned medical centres in the district would be eligible for the benefit, he said, adding he was working with a private bank for implementing the programme.
The fixed deposit certificates would be handed over to the parents of the children at a function here on September 16, the birth day of Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the Congress leader said.
Louis said he was in the process of getting the list of new-borns in the district from Health Department officials.