Tamil Nadu yet to fix 'eligibility' for Rs 1K honorarium, says PTR
The scheme is to be launched on September 15, the birth anniversary of DMK founder and former CM CN Annadurai.
Published: 27th March 2023 06:41 AM | Last Updated: 27th March 2023 10:00 AM | A+A A-
A caricature of Tamil Nadu's Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, used for illustrative purposes only. (Express Illustrations)
CHENNAI: The DMK-led government in Tamil Nadu, which recently announced its plan to roll out the poll promise of a Rs 1,000 honorarium for women heads of families, is yet to take a final call on who will be eligible for the same.
Chief Minister MK Stalin is going to convene a meeting of senior ministers to firm up the plan. Given the constraints of a revenue-deficit state, the finance ministry is in the process of collating data pertaining to income levels of families to try and figure out who should be prioritised, Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) told TNIE in an exclusive interview.
“It is just that this year, we have made a budget provision of Rs 7,000 crore,” said PTR. The scheme is to be launched on September 15, the birth anniversary of DMK founder and former CM CN Annadurai.
In the state, there are 2.33 crore families with ration cards. “If we were to give Rs 1,000 per family per month to every ration card, that is roughly Rs 27,960 crore annually. That is 1 per cent of GSDP. It creates a high risk of inflation. In the name of trying to benefit all, I should not end up damaging the poorest, the weakest, and the most vulnerable,” he said.
As per the medium-term fiscal plan, his target is to achieve a revenue surplus of Rs 1,200 crore by 2025-26. Revenues are likely to leap from Rs 2.07 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 3.59 lakh crore in 2025-26, as per the plan, a massive 73 per cent jump estimated during the five-year period.
Similarly, TN’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) is estimated to grow from Rs 21.8 lakh crore in 2021-22 to Rs 35.9 lakh crore in 2025-26, well on its way to achieving the CM’s trillion-dollar dream by 2030. “The year 2023-24 will mark an inflexion point for TN,” said a confident PTR. According to him, there is a steady natural growth in volumes.
“As our economic advisors told us during a call, we have reached the phase where we should stop putting platform consolidation or solidification of revenues as our primary focus, and we should go for the true long-term objectives of revenue augmentation, investment-led growth, and job creation,” he said.
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