Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and State's Finance Minister N Marie Wilson ahead of the presentation of the maiden budget of the TVK-led coalition government
The maiden Budget of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government in Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, attempted to balance the State’s characteristic welfare spending and long-term investments in infrastructure development with fiscal prudence.The Budget speech, lasting almost 2.5 hours, indicated the government’s focus on women and youth with schemes including gold for brides and newborns, laptops, expansion of breakfast scheme, elder care facilities, and revamp of government schools. Many of these schemes carried the “Vetri” tag in line with the government’s identity.The Budget batted for tech-enabled transformation both in industrial ecosystem and governance. AI, semiconductors and deep-tech got special focus and the goal to reach $1.5 trillion by 2035 was supported through new policies, industrial parks, and green energy push.Investment projectsWhile previous Budgets devoted significant attention to investment projects, the new Budget seems to take a view that improving governance and quality of living will lead to economic growth.However, TN Finance Minister N Marie Wilson stressed that State is in the red, and they have been “handed a treasury box that is overburdened with debt” and leaking. “The repair has been started, but would need at least two years to bring the financial administration back to the track of fiscal prudence,” he said.Political opponents, however, accused the Budget of lacking vision, failing on election promises, and rebranding past initiatives.The Budget reduced the Own Tax Revenue estimates to ₹2,26,740 crore in FY27, a decrease of ₹2,839 crore from the interim budget estimate. “The erosion is not due to any structural weakness in the economy but due to administrative decline and systemic leakages,” Wilson said. However, OTR growth is pegged at 14 per cent in FY28 and FY29.Revenue expenditure shows an increase of 3.19 per cent over Interim Budget. This is despite reduced projections of salaries but due to increase in subsidies and grants.Anticipating release of funds from Union government under the VB-G RAM G scheme, grants are revised upwards by almost 33 per cent to ₹32,922 crore.The debt to GSDP ratio is expected to ease further to 26.57 per cent in FY28 and 26.10 per cent in FY29, as per Budget documents.Published on August 5, 2026
