- By Raju Kumar
- Tue, 13 Jan 2026 04:38 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Pongal Celebrations 2026: Days after the Tamil Nadu government provided financial aid to people on the occasion of Pongal, the Puducherry government also announced similar festival gifts for 3.47 lakh families. The UT government on Tuesday said it will provide a Pongal gift of Rs 3,000 to each family covered under the public distribution system (PDS), with immediate effect.
Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy directed the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs to credit the amount to beneficiaries' bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
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Pongal Commodity Package: An Additional Gift
The cash assistance is in addition to the free distribution of a Pongal commodity package worth Rs 750 being provided through ration shops to PDS cardholders, it added.
Each kit comprises rice (4 kg), naatu sakkarai (1 kg), moong dal (1 kg), sunflower oil (1 litre) and ghee (300 grams), along with a bag. A senior official of the Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs said Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan has approved the payment of the Rs 3,000 Pongal gift.
Pongal Cash Gift Of Rs 3,000 With Hampers In Tamil Nadu
Earlier, on January 8, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin distributed Pongal cash gift of Rs 3,000 and a special package to rice category ration cardholders on Thursday, marking the simultaneous distribution of cash and gift hampers through the fair price shops across the state.
The gesture is aimed to enable people celebrate the mid-January harvest festival in a grand manner, he said. The CM personally handed over Rs 3,000 cash, one kg raw rice, a kilo sugar, a sugarcane, a dhoti and a saree to a few beneficiaries at a fair price (FP) outlet in Alandur here.
The Pongal gift package covers 2.22 crore rice category ration cardholders, besides the families living in the Sri Lankan rehabilitation camps in the state. The state government had earmarked Rs 6,936 crore exclusively for the cash component. In addition, Rs 248.66 crore has been allotted for procuring and distributing the package items.
(With PTI inputs)