In an initiative aimed at promoting the well-being of senior citizens, especially those from the working class, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday (November 10, 2025) launched day care centres for the elderly, called Anbu Solai, in 25 places across Tamil Nadu.
The scheme was announced by the State government in its Budget for 2025-26. Established with a financial allocation of ₹10 crore, the elderly can find companionship and engage in meaningful activities at the centres set up by the Department of Social Welfare and Women Empowerment.
Mr. Stalin inaugurated the Anbu Solai at Ponamalai in Tiruchi and in other places virtually. He went around the facility and was briefed on its features and facilities by Social Welfare Minister P. Geetha Jeevan and senior officials. He also interacted with senior citizens at the centre.
Explaining the objectives of the scheme, while speaking at a government function in Pudukottai earlier in the day, Mr. Stalin pointed out that the elderly were alone at many households of employed couples. “The Anbu Solai centres will drive away their loneliness by creating a friends circle for them and keeping them active, physically and mentally. Twenty-five centres have been opened in the first phase. Indoor games, physiotherapy, training in handicrafts, and other necessary support will be provided to them at these centres. They will also be given tiffin and lunch. The initiative will ease the tension among working couples as the elders are happy and safe,” Mr. Stalin said.
The Anbu Solai, to be run with the support of voluntary organisations, will provide various services, including day-care assistance through trained personnel. Two centres each have been established in the Tiruchi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Thanjavur, Thoothukudi, Tiruppur, Dindigul, and Vellore Municipal Corporations. One centre each has been set up in the industrial districts of Ranipet and Krishnagiri. In the Greater Chennai Corporation, three centres were established in Sholinganallur, Tondiarpet, and Virugambakkam.