CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ technology education language infra welfare Knowledge Corridor in Hosur Laptops for college students Excavations at eight locations New city on 2,000 acres near Chennai More women to get `1,000 honorarium Semiconductor Mission at a cost of `500 crore to be implemented over the next five years to boost semiconductor exports. Hosur to have Knowledge Corridor | P5 20 lakh college students will be provided free tablet or laptop, based on their preference, over the next two years at a total cost of `2,000 crore | P2 Archaeological excavations to be carried out in eight locations. A language museum announced in Madurai, with the conduct of World Tamil Olympiad every year | P4 A 2,000-acre new city to come up near Chennai. TN to build its longest elevated flyover (14.2 km) from Uthandi to Thiruvanmiyur at a cost of `2,100 crore | P3, 5 illustration: sourav roy chennai l Saturday l march 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION The state has allocated about `13,807 crore for the Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme for women. More beneficiaries to be added this fiscal year | P6 state to foot `2,152 cr SS funds as centre holds tn’s dues 1% reduction in registration fee for properties up to `10 lakh for women `3,500 cr for 1 lakh kalaignar homes B u d g e t at a g l a n c e ( ` i n c r o r e ) T M u r u g a n a n a n d h a m @ Chennai Amid language war with the centre and with just a year left for the Tamil Nadu Assembly poll, the DMK government’s last full-budget stayed true to its theme of ‘everything for everyone’ and gave the pride of place for Tamil. The ruling DMK has resisted the temptation to go for big-bang announcements, perhaps constrained by its financial situation, and appears to have gone for targeted interventions in key sectors while maintaining the existing allocations for its flagship social-security measures. An exception was the allocation of `2,000 crore for 2025-26 to revive the free distribution of laptops to students, a flagship scheme of the previous AIADMK government, which had been stopped for the past five ye a r s. F i n a n c e M i n i s t e r Thangam Thennarasu, who presented the budget on Friday, said 20 lakh students of government-run institutions will either get a tablet or a laptop in the next two years. It is hard to miss the political significance as the targeted beneficiaries are likely to be first-time voters in the 2026 polls. To showcase the excellence of Tamil culture to the world, new archaeological excavations in eight locations, Indus Valley Cultural Gallery in Chennai, Agaram - Museum of Languages in Madurai, World Tamil Olympiad competition every year, and deep-sea excavations along coastal Tamil Nadu have been proposed in the budget. The financial statement accorded particular focus to industries and higher education Chief Minister M K Stalin and Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu with the budget document at the Secretariat on Friday | Express with the allocation for the former going up by 70%. A `500crore Semiconductor Mission2030 and industrial parks in Tiruchy Madurai, Pudukkottai, , Cuddalore and Thanjavur districts to tackle intra-state disparities, and Knowledge Corridor in Hosur were among the key announcements. While there were expectations that the state government may widen the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme for women, the fund allocation for the scheme remained the same although the FM announced that measures will be taken to add more beneficiaries. Allocation for most other social-welfare schemes also remained the same, with marginal increase for a few. It did announce an exemption of 1% in registration fee for properties registered in the name of women if the value is within `10 lakh. As expected, the finance min- ister attacked the union government for its refusal to allot funds for Samagra Shiksha scheme and reiterated firmly that the state would never budge from preventing the imposition of three-language formula and instead foot the bill of `2,152 crore from its own kitty He, however, . expressed hope that the union government would release the funds in the coming year without imposing any conditions. With many of the state-run universities in deep financial crisis, the government seems to have shrugged off its ambivalence in offering grants to these universities. The FM announced that block grant to universities will be enhanced to `700 crore. The budget also proposed to raise `500 crore for Anna University by tapping into alumni network and partnering with industries to foster research and make the university a globally-recognised one. While a new city has been planned near Chennai on 2,000 acres, the state’s longest elevated flyover (14.2 km) will be built from Thiruvanmiyur to Uthandi along ECR at a cost of `2,100 crore. The new city will feature a variety of modern amenities, including IT parks, fintech trade zones, research and development centres, high-tech companies, banking and insurance firms, shopping complexes, trade centres, and conference halls. While a new air por t is planned near Rameswaram, the Tamil Nadu Maritime Transport Manufacturing Policy 2025 will drive investments in ship and boat design, hull fabrication, and engine production, creating 30,000 jobs. Thennarasu also announced a significant increase of 22.4% in the capital expenditure for 2025-26 (`57,231 crore) even though the revised estimates for 2024-25 did not show any marked increase in state’s revenues. Detailed project reports for metro rail projects on the Avinashi Road and Sathyamangalam Road routes in Coimbatore estimated at `10,740 crore, and for the ThirumangalamOthakadai corridor in Madurai estimated at `11,368 crore have been submitted for equity contribution from the centre. Construction work in both the cities will commence after the approval is granted, the FM said. Sources in the corridors of power, however, said that though populist announcements were largely missing in the budget, it would not be surprising if some are made under Rule 110 by the CM during the budget session.  full coverage on P2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 India slams Pak charges on sponsoring terror On a wing and a prayer Passengers standing on the wing of an American Airlines plane as they are evacuated after it caught fire at Denver International Airport in Colorado, US, early on Friday. Flight 1006, headed from Colorado to Dallas had 172 passengers and 6 crew | AFP | P13 Man with iron rod attacks devotees at Golden Temple H a r p r e e t b a j w a @ Chandigarh A man armed with a rod attacked devotees inside the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on Friday injuring five. , Sources said the attack took place inside Guru Ram Dass Inn near the community kitchen (langar) hall. The Punjab Police have ar- Projected for 2025-26 Size of the economy `35.67 lakh crore STATE ’ S O WN TA X REVENUE Tamil Nadu’s State Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) is estimated to grow at 14.6% in 2025-26, taking into account the growth in the state’s economic activity and revision of taxes State Excise 9% Motor Vehicle Taxes 5.9% Share in the national GDP 6.1% 26.41% Debt to GSDP ratio Total receipts `3,32,330 crore Commercial Taxes Stamps & Registration 11.8% (excluding public debt) 74.2% Others 2.0% Revenue and fiscal deficit Revenue deficit (` in crore) 87,742 62,326 81,886 Fiscal deficit (` in crore) 90,430 Be 1,01,698* 1,06,963 46,467 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 Budget did not address ‘serious’ issues afflicting people, not even DMK’s promise to scrap NEET, but eyed just 2026 polls Edappadi K Palaniswami, AIADMK gen secy sotr expected to be `2,20,895 crore In 2025-26, the State’s Own Tax Revenue (SOTR) is projected to be at `2,20,895 crore, including `1,63,930 crore from Commercial Taxes, `26,109 crore from Stamps and Registration, and `13,441 crore from Motor Taxes fiscal deficit to BE 3% of GSDP Fiscal deficit is estimated to be `1,06,963 crore, equal to 3% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). The debt to GSDP ratio is expected to drop to 26.07%, well within the 15th Finance Commission’s target | P4 INSIDE re 36,215 M K Stalin, Chief Minister re 73,740 46,538 Announcements to uphold Tamil pride, new city, and airport are the proactive measures in the budget for a modern Tamil Nadu 41,635 45,121 2023-24 Be 2024-25 2025-26 plan to make anna univ top global institute I P2 `225 crore to upskill & empower women  I P6 more fund allocation for industries in tn I P5 Trump positive, as is Putin express read New Delhi: India on Friday trashed Pakistan’s accusation that New Delhi is “sponsoring terrorism”, following the Balochistan train attack and reminded Islamabad that it should look inwards before shifting the blame on others for its “failures”. “The whole world knows where the epicentre of global terrorism lies,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a gathering of journalists on Friday | P11 2023-2024 2024-2025 2025-2026 Classification accounts revised estimate budget estimate Total revenue receipts 2,64,597 2,93,906 3,31,569 Total revenue expenditure 3,09,718 3,40,374 3,73,204 Revenue deficit 45,121 46,467 41,635 Capital expenditure 40,500 46,766 57,231 Net loans & advances 4,821 8,473* 8,102 Fiscal deficit (as a % of GSDP) 3.32 3.26* 3.00 Outstanding debt (as a % of GSDP) 26.63 26.43 26.07 Gross State Domestic Product 27,21,571 31,15,998 35,67,818 *Includes transfer of `350 crore to Contingency Fund rested the accused and another person who had accompanied him to the Golden Temple. The police have not officially disclosed the identity of the attacker. But an official said the attacker was identified as Zulfan from Haryana, who is working as a daily wage labourer. He allegedly had an argument with some people before he started hitting devotees with an iron rod. A probe is on to unearth the motive behind the attack, police said. One of the injured, a youth from Bathinda, is in serious condition and has been admitted at the emergency wing of Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Amritsar. Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has strongly condemned the incident. SGPC Secretary Par tap Singh said three devotees from Mohali, Bathinda and Patiala and two sewadars were injured. Partap Singh claimed the attack was part of a larger consipracy . Moscow: US President Donald Trump on Friday urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline, after what he called was a “very good and productive” c e a s e f i re d i s c u s s i o n s i n Moscow. Trump’s comments came after his special envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Putin in Moscow to discuss details of a plan for a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine after three years of war. “We had very good and productive discussions with President Vladimir Putin of Russia yesterday, and there is a very good chance that this horrible war can finally come to an end,” Trump said on his Truth Social network. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later clarified that Trump himself had not spoken to Putin on Thursday night. She said no call was scheduled on Friday “but that could obviously change.” Vladimir Putin Donald Trump Moscow has in the past week been driving much of Ukraine’s forces out of Russia’s Kursk region, parts of which Kyiv occupied last year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the US could help end the war by exerting sufficient pressure on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine. Strong pressure must be applied to the only one who wants to continue this war,” Zelensky said. Kursk was one of Kyiv’s few bargaining chips in swapping land with Russia, which has occupied around a fifth of Ukraine since it took Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Earlier in the day Russia said , Putin had sent “additional” signals to Trump about a ceasefire, adding it was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of a deal. US envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin late Thursday to lay out the details of the joint US-Ukrainian plan, which envisages a 30-day pause in hostilities between Moscow and Kyiv after three years of fighting.  AP & AFP Putin thanks world leaders including PM Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their “noble mission” to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. “Many heads of state, the president of China, the Prime Minister of India ... are spending time dealing with this issue. We are thankful to all of them,” Putin said