MODI REGIME AN UNDECLARED “EMERGENCY"

The M.K. Stalin-led DMK government recently entered its fifth year in office.

- BY LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

After taking charge at the height of the Covid Delta wave in 2021, Stalin has made steady progress with noteworthy initiatives. Under the branding “Dravidian Model”, the government has rolled out a series of welfare schemes. These include the free bus ride scheme for women, which has more than 64 lakh beneficiaries daily, the ₹1,000 monthly cash dole for women with 1.06 crore beneficiaries, the monthly cash dole for college-going girls—the Pudhumai Penn scheme—and the corresponding scheme for boys (Tamil Pudhalvan), both ₹1,000, benefiting 4.06 lakh and 3.81 lakh students, respectively, and the Naan Mudhalvan scheme to support men and women who want to pursue professional courses.

Tamil Nadu’s economy has grown steadily, too. Exports have nearly doubled, from $26.15 billion in 2020-21 to $52.07 billion in 2024-25; fiscal deficit, which was 4.91 per cent of the GSDP in 2020-21, is expected to drop to around 3 per cent in the current fiscal. And, the GSDP growth (constant prices) is 9.69 per cent, as per state finance ministry data.