Chennai: TVK govt’s maiden budget appeared to place youth, education, and sports at the center of its economic vision.The budget announced branded bicycles, helmets, and water bottles for over five lakh Class XI students in govt and govt-aided schools. In a thrust for sports, which again targeted the TVK govt’s key vote base of youth, the budget said 10 Olympic centres would be set up across the state. The budget also announced an Artificial Intelligence city on a 1,000-acre plot. A sum of ₹5 crore has been allotted for the feasibility study of the AI city. The govt also aims to train five lakh students in AI by 2031, the budget said.TVK govt has also increased the annual allocation to ₹150 crore for the state govt’s skill development programme, which has been renamed from Naan Mudhalvan to Vettri Thiran Payirchi scheme.Finance minister Marie Wilson said chief minister C Joseph Vijay wanted to nurture the current crop of youth as the ‘best generation’.While the govt plans to establish a ‘specialised’ govt law college in Madurai, a scheme to build hostels for students across the state was also announced. The govt said it was setting up a Tamil Nadu Student Housing and Infrastructure Corporation (TNSHIC) and would construct 200 student hostels with one lakh beds.“The law college would offer advanced legal education on a par with a School of Excellence in Law,” Wilson said.Sticking to CM Vijay’s slogan ‘Choose sports over drugs’ to achieve a drug-free Tamil Nadu, the govt has developed a mobile application, enabling students and teachers to confidentially and securely report information regarding drug trafficking and substance abuse. The govt has earmarked ₹7 cr to implement the initiative. Besides, the govt allocated ₹10 crore to convert district central libraries across the state into a state-wide digital libraries to attract youngsters.The govt has also doubled the budget for the Annal Ambedkar Overseas Higher Education Scholarship from ₹65 crore to ₹131 crore in this budget. “It was the highest ever sanction provided under the scheme,” said the finance minister.Under the scheme, implemented by the Social Justice department, a total of 362 students benefited. “The CM guaranteed to increase scholarship from ₹36 lakh in the next fiscal year,” social justice minister Vanni Arasu told TOI.
