Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24: State Govt. announces free breakfast for all as it presents state annual budget

Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24: The state government of Tamil Nadu has extended the previous scheme regarding free breakfast distribution in nearly all governmental schools. In the earlier financial year, the scheme was announced only for a few schools, now it has been extended to more than 30,000 schools. In the recently announced Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24, various other schemes have also been described by the state government.

The Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24 was presented by the Finance minister of Tamil Nadu, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. During his budget speech, he said that the free breakfast scheme for primary students has led to an increase in attendance of more than 10-20% of students. Not only the free breakfast scheme, but other various good schemes have also led to positive results in the state, he added.

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Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24: Key schemes for education

The state government has introduced many schemes for the development of the state. In the Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24, many schemes have been introduced for the development of the education sector. Some of the key new schemes have been laid below:

• There has been the setting up of a hi-tech ‘global sports city’ in Chennai, a Rs 5 crore allocation to translate Dr. BR Ambedkar’s works into Tamil, and Rs 25 crore for ‘factory skill schools’ and Metro rail projects for Coimbatore and Madurai.
• The government would construct classrooms, laboratories, and toilets at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore in the upcoming financial year.
• In the Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24, Rs 305 crore was for bicycles for school students. Rs 320 crore to provide bicycles to disabled persons.
• There was an allocation of Rs 40,229 crore for the school education department allocated and Rs 1,500 crore was allotted for improving infrastructure in government schools.
• Skill development center to be set up at State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamilnadu Ltd (SIPCOT) Hosur at a cost of Rs 80 crores.
• There has been an allocation of Rs 40,299 crore to the school education department, and a total of Rs 6,967 crore has been allocated for higher education besides Rs 2,877 crore, including for projects such as transforming 71 government Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) to Centres of Excellence

Mid-Day Meal to be twice served in all schools!

The Tamil Nadu free breakfast scheme will be expanded to nearly all government schools. In the previous year’s budget, this scheme was launched and it was introduced as a pilot project for 1500 schools. The finance minister in his address on Tamil Nadu budget 2023-24 included that 30,430 schools will be included instead of 1,500 schools. The minister also said that the breakfast scheme covering 18 lakh students has increased attendance between 10-30 percent in primary schools.

Rs 500 crore was allotted for this scheme and it would benefit 18 lakh students of classes 1 to 5.

Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24: Women-friendly budget

The new budget has focussed on all sections of society and has given special priority to women to include them in the mainstream. During the address of the finance minister on Tamil Nadu Budget 2023-24 he said, “I am very happy to announce that Rs 1,000 per month will be provided to women heads of eligible households from the upcoming financial year. Women heads of families who have been affected adversely by the steep increase in cooking gas price by the Union government and the overall price rise will greatly benefit from this scheme,”.

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The scheme will be rolled out on September 15, on the birth anniversary of DMK founder and former chief minister C N Annadurai. Though there is an allocation of Rs 7,000 crore in the Budget for this scheme, the government is reportedly taking steps to prepare a detailed database on the basis of necessary economic and social conditions to select eligible women homemakers for the scheme.

Apart from women, under the ‘Pudhumai Penn Scheme’ as it is popularly called, all girls studying in classes 6 to 12 in government schools are provided Rs 1,000 per month for their higher education.

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