TVK's First Budget In Tamil Nadu Today: Can Vijay’s Government Deliver on Poll Promises?
The budget is being presented amid claims by government that the state is reeling under a financial constraint caused by the previous DMK regime.
Published : August 4, 2026 at 11:03 PM IST
|Updated : August 5, 2026 at 10:08 AM IST
Chennai: Marie Wilson, the finance minister of Tamil Nadu, will present the first budget of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government led by C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday in the Legislative Assembly in Chennai.
The budget is being presented on the floor of the Assembly amid government claims that the state is reeling under a financial constraint caused by the previous DMK regime.
Where does the financial situation stand?
Wilson had released a white paper on the financial situation in the state during the DMK regime last month. Releasing a statement, he said, "Tamil Nadu's debt, which was Rs. 5 lakh crore in 2021, has now increased to Rs. 10 lakh crore. That is, the state’s debt has doubled in the last five years."
He also said that with the addition of Rs 3,18,176 crore in the debt of public sector undertakings, Tamil Nadu's total debt has increased to Rs 13.18 lakh crore. This means that each individual in the state has a debt of Rs 1.28 lakh, as stated in the TMC government's white paper.
He had stated that interest payments on loans have increased by 61 per cent in the last five years, and the revenue deficit is Rs. 78,324 crore. The share of total revenue receipts in the state's GDP has declined from around 10 per cent in 2021-2022 to 8.32 per cent in 2025-2026. He had also said that the state's own tax revenue has declined by 0.48 points.
The white paper had stated that the revenue deficit in 2026-27 could reach around Rs 90,500 crore instead of Rs 48,696 crore mentioned in the interim budget, and the fiscal deficit could approach Rs 1.64 lakh crore instead of Rs 1.22 lakh crore.
Key Promises Of TVK
The people of Tamil Nadu are keen on whether the TVK government will fulfill its promises made during the election.
The following are the major promises of the TVK during campaigning for the election:
- Monthly allowance of Rs. 2500 for women
- Six free gas cylinders per year
- Free bus travel for women across Tamil Nadu
- Monthly scholarship of Rs. 4,000 for unemployed graduates
- Scheme to provide Rs. 15,000 per year to parents or guardians of children so that school students study without interruption from Class 1 to 12.
Expectations:
According to government sources, one of the major announcements will be the setting up of the Tamil Nadu Strategic Investment Authority and a state investment fund of Rs. 50,000 crore will be created to invest in sectors including semiconductors, electric vehicles, space technology, artificial intelligence, and advanced manufacturing.
The budget is also expected to include an announcement on the No-Application Governance system, which will automatically identify eligible beneficiaries by integrating government databases, including Aadhaar, ration card, and family details, and provide welfare assistance without them having to apply.
Government sources have also revealed that announcements, including India's first complete AI City, AI University, high-performance GPU computing center, and world-class skill development training centers may also be included in the general budget.
"The lower and middle-class people are eagerly awaiting this budget with the hope that the new government will provide more benefits and welfare schemes than the previous governments.
However, since the new government took office in May, no significant new announcements have been made to create a unique identity,” Chinnammai, a retired professor of the Department of Economics, University of Madras, told ETV Bharat.
He added that the pace of new job creation in Tamil Nadu has slowed as new industrial investments keep increasingly going to neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
"If we want to fully assess the current government's economic approach and vision, we can only come to a clear conclusion about it after the budget is presented," he said. The state government has also decided to live-stream the budget presentation speech by the finance minister.
Also read: