A scheme to provide ₹1,000 a month to boys who have studied in government schools from classes 6 to 12 and are pursuing higher education, a scheme named after former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to provide housing for the poor with an outlay of ₹3,500 crore and the Chief Minister’s Thayumanavar scheme for poverty alleviation are among the major announcements made by the Tamil Nadu government in its Budget for 2024-25.
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Finance Minister Thengam Thennarasu, presenting the Budget on Monday, February 19, 2024, said that it has been prepared on seven broad ideals -- social justice, welfare of the marginalised, transforming young Tamils as global achievers, knowledge-based economy, equality focused on the welfare of women, a sustainable green future and Tamil language and culture.
Also read: Tamil Nadu Budget 2024 LIVE updates, Key Takeaways and Highlights.
Highways authority
Mr. Thennarasu also said that the State government would establish a Tamil Nadu State Highways Authority. A Bill in this regard is to be tabled this Assembly session. It aims at facilitating significant investments in road infrastructure development through public-private partnerships, he said.
“The Revenue Deficit in Revised Estimates 2023-24 is estimated to increase to ₹44,907 crore compared to ₹37,540 crore in the Budget Estimates.” The fiscal deficit in Revised Estimates 2023-24 was estimated to marginally increase to ₹94,060 crore as against ₹92,075 crore in the Budget Estimates, he said. The fiscal deficit as a percentage of GSDP has increased from 3.25 per cent in the Budget Estimates to 3.45 per cent in the Revised Estimates 2023-24, owing to a downward revision in the GSDP estimates, the Minister added.
Owing to various factors, the total revenue expenditure was estimated to be ₹3,17,484 crore in the Revised Estimates 2023-24 as compared to ₹3,08,056 crore in the Budget Estimates. In the Budget Estimates 2024-25, the total revenue expenditure is estimated at ₹3,48,289 crore.
The collections from State’s Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) are estimated at ₹1,70,147 crore in the Revised Estimates 2023-24 as against ₹1,81,182 crore in the Budget Estimates, Mr. Thennarasu said. The SOTR has been estimated at ₹1,95,173 crore in the Budget Estimates 2024-25, which is a growth of 14.71 per cent over the Revised Estimates 2023-24.
The State’s Non-Tax Revenue was estimated to be ₹30,381 crore in the Revised Estimates 2023-24, which is a substantial increase over the Budget Estimates. In anticipation of sustained levels of collection from the State’s Own Non-Tax Revenue, an amount of ₹30,728 crore has been estimated in the Budget Estimates 2024-25.
