C. Joseph Vijay. File
| Photo Credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay will chair the first Cabinet meeting of his government at the Secretariat in Chennai on Friday (June 5, 2026) at 11 a.m. During the meeting, the new government is expected to discuss and take decisions on several key issues, particularly related to the functioning of Tasmac and industries and investment promotion.The State government is planning a major administrative overhaul of Tasmac operations, from the procurement stage to the retail sale of liquor. These administrative reforms and monitoring mechanisms are expected to be discussed in detail during the Cabinet meeting, said Minister for Prohibition and Excise K. Vignesh.The discussion is expected to focus on creating a foolproof system to ensure revenue generated through the sale of liquor by Tasmac goes entirely to the State exchequer and not to private individuals, he said on Thursday. Under these proposed reforms, the State government is also expected to address alleged irregularities in the collection of ₹10 under the empty bottle buy-back scheme by exploring the possibility of introducing a new system.The Minister said he would release on Friday the list of 717 retail Tasmac outlets that were closed following the order issued by Mr. Vijay soon after he assumed office as Chief Minister. He said the revenue loss to the State exchequer following the closure of these Tasmac outlets would be around ₹8,000 crore. Asked if the government was considering increasing the retail price of liquor to compensate for the loss of revenue, Mr. Vignesh said there was currently no such proposal. He also denied reports that the government was considering privatising the retail sale of liquor. Published - June 04, 2026 06:27 pm IST
