The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa today announced the relocation of the office and printing press of Thamizharasu, a monthly featuring the state Government's efforts and achievements, to a new premises at Taramani in Chennai. She allocated 6 crore rupees for this purpose.

          She also sanctioned 6.50 crore rupees to purchase an advanced colour printing machine for the Government Central Press in Chennai as part of its modernisation scheme.

A state Government release today said that Thamizharasu has been carrying the details of the initiatives and achievements of the state Government, including various schemes and their benefits, details of administration and various other activities of the state Government to the people. The Thamizharasu press also prints the Governor's address to the state legislature, notepads and invitations and posters of Government functions, the release added.

The release further said that the Chief Minister has ordered that the monthly's office building and printing press be relocated from its present place at the stationery department which is insufficient for its functioning, to a new and spacious premises at Taramani in a new building with all necessary facilities, which would come up at an estimated cost of 5.83 crore rupees, the release noted. Modern equipment such as computer to plate converter  will also be procured at a cost of 90 lakh rupees for the printing press which will replace the existing manual printing process. The new equipment would help the work get done 200 percent faster, it said.

The Chief Minister also directed that the English version of the magazine, currently a quarterly, be changed into a monthly for the benefit of the people from other states and for people from abroad. As this would lead to an increase in the workload, Ms Jayalalithaa ordered the creation of four new posts, a special editor and a translator at a consolidated pay of 20 thousand rupees each, one proof reader and one DTP operator at a consolidated pay of 15 thousand and 10 thousand rupees respectively, the Government release stated.

Following increasing work load on the Government Central Press, Ms Jayalalithaa ordered for purchase of a computer to plate equipment, two computers, software, plate processor and an airconditioner at an estimated cost of 1.10 crore rupees.

Towards modernising the Government Central Press in Chennai, Ms Jayalalithaa ordered procurement of an advanced colour printing machine costing 6.50 crore rupees, the statement added.

These steps taken by the Chief Minister would serve the dual purpose of providing better quality of work, while saving time, the release said.