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Tamil Nadu assembly budget session begins today, likely to see several firsts
The agenda for the budget session was finalised in a meeting of the Tamil Nadu assembly's business advisory committee, chaired over by Speaker M Appavu at the Fort St George campus on Tuesday, where the long duration of the session was also decided upon.
Tamil Nadu assembly will be convening for its budget session, the first of such for the current Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime in the state, on Friday. The budget session will begin with a presentation by finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan of the revised budget for 2021-2022 and conclude on September 21.
The agenda for the budget session was finalised in a meeting of the Tamil Nadu assembly's business advisory committee, chaired over by Speaker M Appavu at the Fort St George campus on Tuesday, where the long duration of the session was also decided upon.
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Notably, former finance minister O Panneerselvam presented an interim budget in February ahead of the assembly elections held on April 6.
The Tamil Nadu assembly budget session this time has several firsts. After the revised budget is presented, the minister for agriculture MRK Panneerselvam is expected to present on the following day an exclusive Agriculture Budget, a first for the state. “The debate on both budgets will take place together for four days from August 16,” Appavu told reporters. “The responses will be given on August 19.”
The demands for grants of each department will be discussed from August 23, while Bills expected to be tabled in the House will be taken up for consideration and are expected to be passed on September 21, the last day of the budget session.
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This is also the first digital budget as the Tamil Nadu government is aiming to go paperless. As many as 234 desktops at the assembly have been fixed for the legislators. While legislators will be trained to use the gadgets, hard copies will also be printed for their benefit. Following Himachal Pradesh and Odisha, Tamil Nadu wants to be at the forefront of the change to save trees and keep up with technological advancements, Appavu told HT earlier.
