Education Gets ₹44,527 Crore in TVK Maiden Budget

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.

Measures to tackle drug abuse among students include an allocation of ₹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 roadmap, 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.