Tamil Nadu bets on welfare, industrial growth ahead of polls

Braving some mildly inclement financial weather, Tamil Nadu finance minister Thangam Thennarasu on Tuesday landed the govt’s plane on the poll runway, announcing how it had made people of all sections look up to it.

He described the ‘Vidiyal Payanam’ scheme as a “catalytic initiative” that enabled women to travel free of cost in govt buses in cities. Since its launch, women took 881 crore trips, resulting in an average saving of ₹888/month for each beneficiary.





He highlighted other women-centric schemes of the DMK govt, including Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam, Pudhumai Penn Thittam, and Thozhi hostels, which “improved the lives of women, protected their dignity, safeguarded their welfare and empowered them to emerge as entrepreneurs”.

To continue this empowerment, the govt has increased spending on the social sector by more than ₹44,500 crore in the past four years amidst efforts to sustain the state’s economic growth. The finance minister also listed out schemes the govt launched for the welfare of children, including the chief minister’s breakfast scheme that benefits 19.34 lakh students.

The govt spent ₹1,284 crore over the past four years on this, he said. “It not only ensured a nutritious breakfast for schoolgoing children, but also alleviated the hardship of underprivileged mothers. As a result, students’ attendance increased and learning outcomes improved,” the minister said.

Schemes catering to transpersons, differently-abled, and senior citizens were also launched to ensure no section was left uncovered, he said. Thennarasu said the govt made “remarkable progress” in the health sector too through initiatives such as Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam, Innuyir Kappom – Nammai Kakkum 48, and Nalam Kaakkum Stalin schemes. He said the govt had launched a scheme to administer cervical cancer vaccines to girl students below 14 years of age, studying in govt and aided schools.

Meanwhile, the govt continued to focus on achieving its onetrillion-dollar economy goal by 2030 by attracting large-scale industrial investments across regions through proactive initiatives such as GIM and TN-Rising. Since DMK returned to power in 2021, the govt has signed 1,179 MOUs for a committed investment of ₹12.37 lakh crore, generating 36 lakh employment opportunities to date.

The minister said the govt focused on a balanced industrial growth across the state, establishing industrial parks in 12 districts, in addition to the existing 24 Sipcot parks, taking the total number of industrial parks to 54.

The Tamil Nadu Semiconductor Mission 2030 is another significant initiative aimed at creating highrevenue generation and highpaying jobs for the youth of the state, the finance minister said, virtually gearing up for DMK’s take-off for the ensuing assembly election.