Chennai: In the Tamil Nadu state budget presented by Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Friday, several key decisions by the state government were announced, including but not limited to, a major allocation to the education department, allocation of Rs 1,000 to bank accounts of female students who are studying in government schools between Classes 6 and 12, as well as setting up a media center to counter fake news.
For the third consecutive year, the school education department has been accorded the highest allocation in the State budget, at Rs 36,895.89 crore. Last year, the allocation was Rs 34,181 crore. State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said that the revenue deficit is set to decrease by Rs 7,000 crores.
- The GST compensation period is coming to end on 30.6.2022. Consequently, in the coming financial year, Tamil Nadu will face a revenue loss of approximately Rs 20,000 crore. Since the revenues of states are yet to recover from the impact of the pandemic, Chief Minister MK Stalin has requested the Union Government to extend this compensation for two more years.
2. A collection of Periyar's written works will be published in print and digital editions in 21 Indian and World languages at a cost of Rs 5 crore.
3. A new ‘Special Social Media Centre’ will be established to prevent the increasing crimes resulting from fake news.
4. A sum of Rs 2,531 crore for the waiver of agricultural loans, a sum of Rs.1,000 crore for the waiver of jewel loans, and a sum of Rs 600 crore for waiving self-help group loans, totaling amount works out to Rs 4,131 crore has been allotted for loan waiver in this year’s Budget.
5. The Government will set up a botanical garden at a cost of Rs.300 crore near Chennai in partnership with Kew Gardens of London.
6. The Government has the vision to create a knowledge economy by further developing the skilled human resources of the State. As part of this vision, A knowledge City will be developed through international collaboration. This city will have branches of world-renowned universities with research and development hubs, skill training centers, and knowledge-based enterprises. Further, universities in the state will be encouraged to set up research parks on their campuses in collaboration with public sector entities like TIDCO, SIPCOT, and TANSIDCO.
7. In order to motivate government school students to aspire and join premier higher education institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology, the Indian Institute of Science, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the government will bear the full cost of their undergraduate education. The students who have studied in government schools from classes 6 to 12 will be eligible to avail of this assistance.
8. Recognizing that the enrolment ratio of girl students from government schools in higher education is very low, the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme is being transformed as the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme.
All girl students who are studying Classes 6 to 12 in government schools will be paid Rs.1,000/- per month directly into their bank account till the uninterrupted completion of their undergraduate degree, diploma, and ITI courses. The students will be eligible for this in addition to other scholarships. Through this program, approximately 6,00,000 girl students can potentially benefit each year. For this new scheme, an amount of Rs.698 crore has been allotted in this Budget.
