Should my father go for SWP from balanced funds

My father (a Super Senior Citizen) has recently sold a property and is interested to invest part of the sales proceeds in MF, with a primary objective of getting monthly income. I have recommended to him to diversify into MF investment (his present investments are ONLY in Bank FDs) under MIP or SWP, with monthly dividend / withdrawal respectively. He is not risk averse and is open to investing even in a pure equity fund. Time horizon is minimum 5 to 7 years. I shall appreciate if you can clarify on the following points - a) I understand that the monthly dividend on MIP is tax free at the hands of the investor. But the pitfall is, it comes in our hands after a hefty deduction at source in the form of Dividend Distribution Tax (28.8%) for Debt Funds (Equity funds, I reckon, are exempt from DDT). Another risk is the swing in the dividend payout, which is a pure function of the market. Hence, my father is a bit reluctant to be enticed to a MIP. i) Do you still reckon MIP is a good option from a taxation point of view? Can you suggest some schemes for MIP which, historically, has exhibited relatively less volatility in the pay out? b) As regards SWP, I understand that any withdrawal before 12 months will attract Short Term Capital Gain Tax. Is my understanding correct? i) If my father is keen to diversify to SWP, how to start withdrawal from the first month and avoid STCG? Additional information to enable you to give guidance - My father presently earns an annual interest of approx Rs. 3,20,000 from Bank Fixed Deposits. His new corpus to diversify into MF is approx Rs. 25 to 30 Lakhs. I thank you in advance for your time and guidance?