Under the scheme launched by actor-turned-Chief Minister Vijay, all babies born in public health facilities in the state are eligible for a one-gram gold ring, worth some $143.

Gold has immense cultural significance in India, featuring prominently in weddings and religious ceremonies, and seen as a safe generational asset.

“The gold ring would give the child something valuable to keep for the years ahead,” said one mother at a government hospital in the state’s Madurai district, who declined to give her name.

She was among dozens of mothers who cradled their newborns as they queued up to receive the gift.

“This scheme feels personal,” another grateful mother, Stella Mary, told AFP.

Officials say the initiative aims to highlight maternal and newborn care, while strengthening faith in public healthcare institutions in the southern state of over 72 million people.

The scheme, however, drew some criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is in the opposition in Tamil Nadu.

“A gold ring for a newborn may be a welcome gesture, but for families, the most immediate need is ensuring that essential nutrition is available every day,” party member Tamilisai Soundararajan said in a social media post.

India’s overcrowded public hospitals often struggle with staff shortages, long waiting times and patchy infrastructure, prompting many patients to seek treatment in the costly private sector.

While most women in India give birth in hospitals, home deliveries still occur in some rural communities, making institutional childbirth a priority for health authorities.

Despite significant gains in recent years, infant and maternal mortality rates continue to languish in India.

The country recorded 24 infant deaths per 1,000 live births while maternal deaths stood at 88 per 100,000 live births, according to latest official data.

The gold ring scheme, known as the “Thaimaman” (maternal uncle) programme, draws on the special cultural significance of a child’s maternal uncle, who is often expected to play a key role in family milestones and celebrations.

It also taps into India’s enduring obsession with gold.

For many women, particularly in rural areas, gold jewellery can serve as a form of personal financial security.

India is one of the world’s largest consumers of the metal. According to the World Gold Council, demand in the country reached $25 billion in the first quarter of this year.

The volleyball team were taken to the wrong gymnasium by their bus driver, leaving the players with little time to warm up before the match. In a video posted on Instagram, a visibly frustrated Murad described the episode as “another mismanagement” and said players had been forced to change into their playing kits on the moving bus.

“We have a very important match and the bus driver doesn’t know which gymnasium we are going to play,” he said. “He took a wrong way and came to a wrong gymnasium and now we are short of time. It’s an embarrassing situation.”

Murad said the team had not expected such problems in Japan and added that food was also not always available at dining areas after training sessions.

“This is not the only mismanagement that athletes are facing here,” he said.

The organisers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Pakistan, however, brushed aside the disruption to secure their second successive victory, defeating Uzbekistan 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.

Murad led Pakistan’s scoring with 14 points, while Musawer Khan contributed 13, Usman Faryad Ali 10 and Mohammad Hamad 11. Pakistan produced 48 successful spikes and dominated at the net, scoring 18 points from blocks compared to Uzbekistan’s five.

The victory followed Sunday’s 3-1 win over Kazakhstan and leaves Pakistan with two victories from two matches ahead of their final Pool A game against hosts Japan.

Complaints about logistics have been a recurring feature of the Games, with the chief organiser apologising on Saturday for widespread operational glitches. He attributed the problems to a late influx of around 2,000 additional athletes and team officials, which had overwhelmed preparations.

Hockey side finish strongly

Pakistan completed their Asian Games hockey pool campaign with a commanding 7-2 victory over Oman, recovering from their defeat by Malaysia to finish the group stage strongly and keep their medal hopes alive.

Sufyan Khan scored twice from penalty corners, while Rana Waheed completed a hat-trick as Pakistan dominated Oman at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Ghazanfar Ali and Ammad Butt were also on target as Pakistan led 2-0 after the first quarter and extended their advantage to 5-1 by half-time.

Sufyan opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and doubled the lead six minutes later before Waheed made it 3-0 in the 34th. Ghazanfar added another in the 40th minute and Waheed struck again four minutes later to give Pakistan a four-goal cushion at the interval.

Oman reduced the deficit through Al Baraa Al Nofli in the 27th minute and Aiman Madit in the 36th, but Pakistan remained in control. Ammad scored in the 46th before Waheed completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute.

Pakistan had earlier beaten Thailand 9-0, Uzbekistan 5-1 and China 3-0 before suffering their only defeat, a 5-4 loss to Malaysia. Monday’s victory took their pool-stage record to four wins from five matches.

The top two teams from each pool advance to the semi-finals, with the last-four matches scheduled for Oct 1.

Squash teams open with wins

Pakistan’s squash teams also made winning starts to their respective pool campaigns.

The men’s team defeated the Philippines 3-0, with Nasir Iqbal beating Van Aero Dalida 11-7, 11-1, 11-4.

The women’s team, meanwhile, recovered from a 3-0 defeat by Hong Kong in their opening tie to beat Mongolia 3-0. Mehwish Ali defeated Khongorzul Bat-Erdene 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 in the opening match.

Pakistan had entered the team events after winning two bronze medals in the men’s singles through Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan. Noor beat Ashab 3-0 in the third-place playoff on Sunday, with the two players sharing the bronze medals after losing their respective semi-finals.

Rabia finishes 33rd in pistol

There was little joy for Pakistan in shooting as Rabia Kabir finished 33rd in the women’s 25m pistol qualification with a score of 567-13x.

Ayesha was unable to progress to the final, which was led by Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan with 587-25x.

Pakistan also finished seventh in the PUBG Mobile Asian Games competition, accumulating four points in the completed results. China won the event with 20 points, ahead of Japan and South Korea.

Pakistan’s attention now turns to athletics, with Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem set to compete in the men’s javelin final alongside compatriot Mohammad Yasir. Ansar Abbas will also contest the men’s long jump final after qualifying with a personal-best 7.28 metres.

The volleyball team were taken to the wrong gymnasium by their bus driver, leaving the players with little time to warm up before the match. In a video posted on Instagram, a visibly frustrated Murad described the episode as “another mismanagement” and said players had been forced to change into their playing kits on the moving bus.

“We have a very important match and the bus driver doesn’t know which gymnasium we are going to play,” he said. “He took a wrong way and came to a wrong gymnasium and now we are short of time. It’s an embarrassing situation.”

Murad said the team had not expected such problems in Japan and added that food was also not always available at dining areas after training sessions.

“This is not the only mismanagement that athletes are facing here,” he said.

The organisers did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Pakistan, however, brushed aside the disruption to secure their second successive victory, defeating Uzbekistan 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Gymnasium.

Murad led Pakistan’s scoring with 14 points, while Musawer Khan contributed 13, Usman Faryad Ali 10 and Mohammad Hamad 11. Pakistan produced 48 successful spikes and dominated at the net, scoring 18 points from blocks compared to Uzbekistan’s five.

The victory followed Sunday’s 3-1 win over Kazakhstan and leaves Pakistan with two victories from two matches ahead of their final Pool A game against hosts Japan.

Complaints about logistics have been a recurring feature of the Games, with the chief organiser apologising on Saturday for widespread operational glitches. He attributed the problems to a late influx of around 2,000 additional athletes and team officials, which had overwhelmed preparations.

Hockey side finish strongly

Pakistan completed their Asian Games hockey pool campaign with a commanding 7-2 victory over Oman, recovering from their defeat by Malaysia to finish the group stage strongly and keep their medal hopes alive.

Sufyan Khan scored twice from penalty corners, while Rana Waheed completed a hat-trick as Pakistan dominated Oman at the Gifu Prefectural Green Stadium. Ghazanfar Ali and Ammad Butt were also on target as Pakistan led 2-0 after the first quarter and extended their advantage to 5-1 by half-time.

Sufyan opened the scoring in the 22nd minute and doubled the lead six minutes later before Waheed made it 3-0 in the 34th. Ghazanfar added another in the 40th minute and Waheed struck again four minutes later to give Pakistan a four-goal cushion at the interval.

Oman reduced the deficit through Al Baraa Al Nofli in the 27th minute and Aiman Madit in the 36th, but Pakistan remained in control. Ammad scored in the 46th before Waheed completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute.

Pakistan had earlier beaten Thailand 9-0, Uzbekistan 5-1 and China 3-0 before suffering their only defeat, a 5-4 loss to Malaysia. Monday’s victory took their pool-stage record to four wins from five matches.

The top two teams from each pool advance to the semi-finals, with the last-four matches scheduled for Oct 1.

Squash teams open with wins

Pakistan’s squash teams also made winning starts to their respective pool campaigns.

The men’s team defeated the Philippines 3-0, with Nasir Iqbal beating Van Aero Dalida 11-7, 11-1, 11-4.

The women’s team, meanwhile, recovered from a 3-0 defeat by Hong Kong in their opening tie to beat Mongolia 3-0. Mehwish Ali defeated Khongorzul Bat-Erdene 11-3, 11-2, 11-3 in the opening match.

Pakistan had entered the team events after winning two bronze medals in the men’s singles through Noor Zaman and Mohammad Ashab Irfan. Noor beat Ashab 3-0 in the third-place playoff on Sunday, with the two players sharing the bronze medals after losing their respective semi-finals.

Rabia finishes 33rd in pistol

There was little joy for Pakistan in shooting as Rabia Kabir finished 33rd in the women’s 25m pistol qualification with a score of 567-13x.

Ayesha was unable to progress to the final, which was led by Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan with 587-25x.

Pakistan also finished seventh in the PUBG Mobile Asian Games competition, accumulating four points in the completed results. China won the event with 20 points, ahead of Japan and South Korea.

Pakistan’s attention now turns to athletics, with Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem set to compete in the men’s javelin final alongside compatriot Mohammad Yasir. Ansar Abbas will also contest the men’s long jump final after qualifying with a personal-best 7.28 metres.

The 20-year-old Azeri woman had traveled to Pakistan for business purposes and was allegedly gang-raped by three men in a rented flat of a private housing society located near Raiwind on the night between Friday and Saturday.

It was the second such case in which a foreign woman was reportedly gang-raped in the Defence C police station area during the last four months.

The woman was brought to the court under tight security to record her statement before Judicial Magistrate Muhammad Sagheer. Before the proceedings began, the magistrate ordered all unrelated persons to leave the courtroom.

The statement continued for more than an hour.

The Defence C police had registered a case against three unidentified suspects on the woman’s complaint.

On Sunday, Lahore police requested federal authorities to place the names of the three prime suspects in the case on the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL), saying they had fled Lahore shortly after the alleged assault.

A police official said the location of one of the suspects had been traced to Sialkot. Police also took two close relatives and a domestic servant of one of the suspects into custody.

DIG Operations Faisal Kamran said all three suspects had been identified and police teams were working to arrest them. He said the case was being investigated jointly by the Crime Control Department (CCD), operations and investigation wings. The vehicle allegedly used in the incident had also been taken into custody, he added.

Cantt Division SP Investigation Asim Iftikhar was leading the joint police teams investigating the case, another police official said.

In June, two foreign women, nationals of the Netherlands and Venezuela, were allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted in the Defence C police station area.

According to the FIR, the women were abducted by five suspects, including a close relative of a senior political personality, who demanded ransom and subjected them to sexual assault during their captivity.