Giving life to one of the most populist Assembly election promises of the DMK, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, in his Budget for 2023-24 on Monday, announced that women heads of eligible households will be given a monthly honorarium of ₹1,000.
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will launch the scheme on September 15, the birth anniversary of DMK founder and former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. Mr. Thiaga Rajan informed the Assembly that the Magalir Urimai Thittam will be implemented with an allocation of ₹7,000 crore.
Once implemented, it will be “one of the biggest cash transfer schemes implemented by any State government in India’s history”. The scheme’s guidelines will be issued soon, he said.
The Budget provided for a revision in guideline value and reduction in registration fees, expansion of the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme and infrastructure-related announcements.
Revenue deficit
The Finance Minister said the revenue deficit had been reduced to around ₹30,000 crore in the revised estimate for 2022-23 from the annual revenue deficit of ₹62,000 crore, which the DMK government inherited upon assuming office.
To benefit homebuyers, the Minister announced that the registration fee will be halved to 2%, while there will be an upward revision in guideline value to the rates prevailing till June 8, 2017.
The Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme will be expanded to cover all the 30,122 government primary schools in the State from the coming academic year. An amount of ₹500 crore had been allotted for the scheme.
Henceforth, for deeds of sale, gift, exchange, 5% stamp duty, 2% transfer duty and 2% registration fee will be applicable, the Finance Minister said. For non-family settlements, 7% stamp duty and 2% registration fee will be applicable. This measure will greatly benefit the poor and middle class, especially those who avail bank loan to buy homes, he said.
Earlier, guideline value was revised downwards uniformly by 33% with effect from June 9, 2017 and simultaneously, the registration fee was increased from 1% to 4% for the deeds of sale, gift, exchange and non-family member settlement, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
The Budget also focused on some pet projects of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme will be expanded to cover all the 30,122 Government primary schools in the State from the coming academic year. An amount of ₹500 crore had been allotted for the scheme, which will benefit 18 lakh students studying from Classes I to V, it added.The ‘Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’ scheme will be expanded to 711 factories, covering 8.35 lakh workers in the first phase, the Finance Minister said.
In a post-Budget press conference, Finance Secretary N. Muruganandam said the move was expected to boost the real-estate sector and generate a revenue of ₹2,000 crore for the State. The State government has constituted a committee to suggest the revised guideline value. The survey number-wise revision is expected to take time. Since the market value has risen steeply, the government has made this move as an interim measure, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
The Budget announced an allocation of ₹10,000 crore for Chennai Metro Rail’s phase II project and announced metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai, which will be implemented post-approval from the Union government with funding from external agencies.
The Coimbatore Metro Rail Project will be implemented along Avinashi Road and Sathyamangalam Road at an estimated cost of ₹9,000 crore, the Finance Minister said. The Madurai Metro Rail Project will be implemented in the city at an estimated cost of ₹8,500 crore. Constructed underground, through the central parts of the town, the Metro Rail will connect Thirumangalam to Othakadai, he added.
The Tamil Nadu Coastal Restoration Mission, Restoration of the Adyar and a scheme to upgrade the infrastructure in North Chennai were among the other schemes announced. A new textile policy and one on re-powering windmills will be evolved, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
The government also plans to set up a “Unified Digital Infrastructure” that will create a high-speed optical fibre network from the State Headquarters to all districts, which will be implemented at a cost of ₹400 crore, he said.
A proposal to provide free Wi-Fi zones in popular public places in Chennai, Tambaram, Avadi, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi and Salem also figured in the Budget.
Mr. Thiaga Rajan said Tamil Nadu’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) was estimated to have grown around 14% in nominal terms in 2022- 23, and the level would be sustained in 2023-24 too.
The fiscal deficit (the difference between the total revenue and expenditure excluding borrowings) has been estimated at ₹74,524.64 crore in the revised estimate for 2022-23, which is 3% of GSDP and a reduction of around ₹15,589.07 crore from the Budget estimates of 2022-23. For 2023-24, the fiscal deficit has been estimated to be ₹92,074.91 crore, which will be 3.25% of the GSDP.
The State plans to borrow ₹1,43,197.93 crore in 2023-24 and make a repayment of ₹51,331.79 crore. As a result, the outstanding debt as on March 31, 2024, will be ₹7,26,028.83 crore.
This constitutes 25.63% of GSDP in 2023-24, which is well within the prescribed norms, Mr. Thiaga Rajan said.
