On her first day as chief minister, J Jayalalithaa announced the closure of 500 liquor stores run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation in Chennai. The remaining TASMAC shops in the state capital will be open from 12 pm to 10 pm, while they were open from 10 am earlier. In the run-up to the state Assembly elections, most major parties in Tamil Nadu had promised a total ban on the sale of alcohol in the state.

Besides the shutting down of these TASMAC outlets, Jayalalithaa announced four new schemes after assuming office. They are a waiver on farmer loans, 750 units of free electricity for handloom weavers, 100 units of free power for all and eight grams of gold for women for thaalis (mangalsutras).

The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazgham chief on Monday was sworn in as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. She was re-elected to the state last week and is the first chief minister to win two consecutive terms in the state in 32 years. The polls this time were closely monitored by the Election Commission, which cracked down heavily on political parties for distributing cash for votes. The EC had also issued notices to Jayalalithaa and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi, asking for explanations on expenditure regarding the freebies they had announced in their election manifestos.