CHENNAI: Finance Minister N Marie Wilson on Monday informed the Assembly that the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) could be implemented only if the centre allowed the state additional borrowing to meet the cost of the scheme.
Responding to AIADMK member S Ramachandran during the debate on the revised State Budget and Agriculture Budget for 2026-27, Wilson said a committee headed by IAS officer Gagandeep Singh Bedi had earlier recommended that TAPS could be implemented if the centre permitted additional borrowing.
The minister said the committee had also recommended providing interim relief to employees who retired on or after January 1, 2026, until the scheme was implemented. “We have prepared an interim payout and will address the issue soon,” he said.
Intervening in the debate, DMK whip E V Velu disputed the finance minister’s statement on the Rs 11,000 crore provision for it. Velu said TAPS was introduced as an assured pension scheme and that the previous DMK government had not merely recommended it but also allocated Rs 11,000 crore for its implementation. He said the AIADMK member (Ramachandran) pointed out that the government had removed the Rs 11,000 crore provision from the budget, and was now proposing to remove another Rs 3,000 crore.
Responding to criticism from the opposition, Wilson said the state government was not borrowing beyond its limits. He said the DMK government had borrowed Rs 19,337 crore in the first quarter of 2025-26, while the present government borrowed Rs 20,881 crore in the first quarter of 2026-27.
However, he pointed out that borrowing as a share of GSDP was lower under the present government – 0.51% against 0.54% during the corresponding period last year. “This shows that we are reducing the borrowing burden and not increasing it,” Wilson said.
Tamil in question
During the debate, DMK member T M Rajendran suggested that Wilson’s Tamil pronunciation was not proper, while his English pronunciation was good, and requested Tamil Development Minister Rajmohan to provide him with proper training.
Responding to this, finance minister said that he had been working in the education sector for the last 25-30 years, where communication was mainly in English. “Christianity has taught me the language of love, silence and mercy, which I’ve learnt from the Bible. Some people won’t understand this no matter how much Tamil they know,” he said.
“We have brought nearly `15,000 crore into the exchequer in 65 days, but they leave all this and pick at my language. This is how I speak; I won’t change it,” Wilson said in response to Rajendran, who said that there should not be Tamil pronunciation errors when the Budget is presented.
Intervening in the debate, DMK’s E V Velu and Speaker J C D Prabhakar pacified the finance minister, saying that the minister should take it lightly since he (Rajendran) had not accused him and had only made his comments.