Chennai: Education emerged as a major focus of the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led TVK government’s maiden Budget for 2026-27, with Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson on Wednesday allocating ₹44,527 crore for the school education sector and announcing a slew of initiatives ranging from modern residential schools and improved campus facilities to drug abuse awareness programmes.
Under the Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Model Schools initiative, the Chief Minister Vijay government will establish modern residential schools for students from Classes IX to XII.
Students will be provided education, food, uniforms, accommodation and textbooks free of cost. The government has earmarked ₹125 crore for developing infrastructure under the programme.
The Budget allocated ₹129 crore for the ‘Super Clean, Super Campus’ scheme, which will initially cover 10,000 government schools and focus on improving cleanliness, drinking water, sanitation and other essential facilities.
For higher education, the government earmarked ₹2,000 crore for the Vetri Laptop Scheme, under which laptops will be provided to college students.
The government also announced measures to tackle drug abuse among students, allocating ₹7 crore for awareness programmes in schools.
Wilson said the Drugs Free Tamil Nadu mobile application would be strengthened to enable members of the public to report incidents involving the sale and circulation of narcotic substances.
Alongside its education push, the TVK government unveiled several welfare schemes. An allocation of ₹560 crore has been made for the Thaimaman Thanga Modhiram Scheme, under which babies born in government hospitals will receive a one-gram gold ring.
The government also proposed a marriage assistance programme under which the brother of a bride will be provided an eight-gram gold coin and a silk saree on her wedding day.
A total of ₹812 crore has been earmarked for the scheme. Presenting the government’s fiscal road map, Wilson said Tamil Nadu’s debt had doubled over the past five years and the State was paying high interest on its borrowings.
The government expects to mobilise an additional ₹16,000 crore in revenue, including ₹1,000 crore through a liquor production cess.
A Revenue Enhancement Committee will also be constituted to identify measures to strengthen the State’s finances.
The Budget is the first comprehensive fiscal policy statement of the TVK government. The previous DMK government had presented an interim Budget for 2026-27 in February ahead of the Assembly polls.
(IANS)
