Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on Monday presented its Budget 2023-24 in the Legislative Assembly. Tabling the annual budget, sate’s finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, said that reform initiatives by the MK Stalin-led DMK government in the state has led to a reduction in revenue deficit from about Rs 62,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore.
“We have reduced the annual revenue deficit of around Rs.62,000 crore which we inherited on assuming office (May 2021), to around Rs 30,000 crore in the Revised Estimates of the current year.”
He further added that this is notwithstanding the several “massive welfare schemes” that are being implemented during the last two years by the state government.
The minister announced some major sops in the budget. “The solatium for defence personnel who sacrifice their lives during duty will be doubled from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh,” PTR said while presenting the Budget.
The Finance Minister also announced that the Kalaignar Memorial Multi Super Speciality Hospital in Guindy, which was being built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, would be thrown open to the public this year.
The Minister announced setting up of a hi-tech ‘global sports city’ in Chennai, Rs 5 crore allocation to translate Dr BR Ambedkar’s works into Tamil and Rs 25 crore for ‘factory skill schools’ and Metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai.
He added that an allocation of Rs 1,500 crore has been made for the upcoming financial year for the construction of classrooms, laboratories and toilets in state funded schools. He said that the Finance Ministry has earmarked Rs 40, 299 crore for school education and Rs 18,661 crore for state healthcare.
Pointing out that the state’s revenue deficit went down by Rs 30,000 crore from Rs 62,000 crore, PTR said that the government has allocated Rs 25 crore for ‘factory skill schools’. On the occasion, the government also announced the setting up of a hi-tech ‘global sports city’ in Chennai.
