Tamil Nadu tables Budget for FY 2022-23, notes fall in revenue deficit; Key highlights

The DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu tabled the budget for the 2022-23 financial year in the Assembly on Friday highlighting that the revenue deficit of the state has come down for the first time in eight years. The budget was presented in a paperless form by State Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan. 

Speaking during the presentation of the Budget, the finance minister said that the revenue deficit of the state has decreased by over Rs 7,000 crore taking it down from 4.15% to 3.08% adding that failure to get GST compensation of the Centre will result in the loss of Rs 20,000 crore to the government. 

In a slew of announcements made by the finance minister in the Tamil Nadu Budget 2022-23, several allocations have been made for various sectors starting from education, agriculture, health sector, startups, drinking water connections, climate change, infrastructure development, and sports among others. Read on to know the key elements of the Tamil Nadu Budget 2022-23.

Key highlights of Tamil Nadu Budget 2022

1. One of the major announcements in the State Budget included the formation of a new Social Media Monitoring Cell which will be set up within the police departments to tackle the menace of hatred on social media.
2. The government has allotted Rs 10 crore to set up museums in the Villupuram and Ramanathapuram districts. Another Rs 10 crore has been allotted to redevelop three museums in the state. 
3. The Tamil Development Department will receive an amount of Rs 82 crore in the budget. 
4. An allocation of Rs 7,000 crore has been done for government schools for the next five years as all the government schools will be modernised with the required infrastructure with 18,000 new classrooms and smart classrooms with all essential technology.  
5. "Knowledge City" will be established in the state to promote higher education. The city will have branches of reputed universities from other countries. 
6. The Budget allots Rs 3,000 crore for Jal Jeevan Scheme.
7. Book fairs are to be conducted across all districts in the state. 
8. The Budget also allocates Rs 500 crore for flood mitigation projects in Chennai city. 
9. Tamil Nadu's mental health infrastructure to be strengthened.
10. For this, an allocation of Rs 17,901 crore has been done for the health and family welfare department.
11. Kilpauk IMH to be upgraded to TNIMHANS at Rs 40 crore.
12. The Tamil Nadu government will provide assistance of Rs 1,000 a month to girl students from government schools who pursue higher education. This is expected to increase the enrollment of girls in higher education. It will likely benefit around 5 lakh girl students. 
13. Mobile help centres will be set up for migrants in Tamil Nadu. 

Image: Twitter/@CMOTamilNadu, ANI