CHENNAI: The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) on Monday released its annual shadow budget for 2025-26, outlining a range of proposals focusing on employment, education, transport, and infrastructure. It included 359 policy proposals under 109 categories, aiming to influence the state government’s policies.
It urged the Union government to raise the legal marriage age for women to 21. A new scheme it proposed said Rs 5 lakh should be deposited for every girl child born and the maturity amount should be handed to them when they turn 18.
In line with the party’s persistent demand for a caste-based census, the shadow budget allotted Rs 400 crore for the exercise. The party also recommended a 50% reservation in rural local bodies for backward and most backward classes and insisted that government jobs be reserved exclusively for Tamil-medium graduates. Additionally, it called for a 30% reservation for Tamil-medium students in higher education.
The shadow budget proposed filling 2.5 lakh government vacancies out of the 6.5 lakh identified openings in the state this year. It also suggested integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into governance, allocating Rs 250 crore for it.
PMK also suggests offering evening milk and bread to all schoolchildren under the state’s noon meal scheme. The budget increases education assistance for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students by 50%.