Try GOLD - Free
Tamil Nadu is not a freebie state
THE WEEK
|July 11, 2021
P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan, finance minister, Tamil Nadu
TAMIL NADU FINANCE Minister P.T.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan has an unenviable task at hand—fixing the state’s finances without compromising on welfare programmes. He seems up to it. Recently the state constituted an economic advisory council with renowned economists Raghuram Rajan, Jean Dreze, Esther Duflo, Arvind Subramanian and S. Narayan for working out special welfare schemes while giving more attention to the state’s revenues. In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Thiagarajan elaborates on the state’s finances, the hidden debts and the flaws of GST. Excerpts:
Q/ What prompted the formation of the economic advisory council and how did you rope in the economists?
A/ Chief Minister M.K. Stalin [had been talking about it] after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. It was very clear to me that we were going to win in 2021. But I was worried about what happens after that. Because we had been out of power for 10 years. Neither did we have that experience nor the connect with the IAS and IPS officers. I thought it was an uphill task. So, right then, I mentioned to the chief minister [Stalin] that we get as many inputs as possible.
This story is from the July 11, 2021 edition of THE WEEK.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM THE WEEK
THE WEEK India
The Arachnoid
Beneath the toughness of the dura lies a layer called the arachnoid mater. Transparent and delicate, it drapes the brain like the finest of veils. One of my favourite writers, Maria Popova, once wrote that the brain \"is a cathedral built of gossamer threads\", and nowhere is that truer than in the arachnoid. Under the microscope, it looks less like a membrane and more like spun sugar, or a spider's web catching morning dew. It is beautiful, but it is also treacherous. When blood seeps into it, the cathedral darkens.
2 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
Grow old along with me
As a kid, I hung around our neighbourhood temple—less out of devotion, more for the prasad. It was not a grand temple, but it certainly had the grandest pujari, who was addressed as Pujariji.
3 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
Signals in the noise
Nepal's Gen Z made their point; perhaps time has come for India to pay more attention to the social and technological changes that are a lived reality for its own youth
6 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
RTI has gradually been weakened, both in letter and spirit
How did Devdungri become a focal point for the RTI move- ment? How has the movement transformed the village?
5 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
TRADITION GOES HIGH-TECH
Artificial intelligence is bringing alive Kolkata's Durga Puja pandals
2 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
Mistress of spices
Vegetables: The Indian Way is a lavishly produced coffee table book, which announces itself as “a definitive collection of recipes from the simple to the special”. It is not a book designed just for die-hard vegetarians. Au contraire, meat eaters need it the most! It is a comprehensive compendium, packed with nutritional information one rarely finds in similar volumes.
2 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
Watchful and wary
The Karur tragedy has political parties, including the ruling DMK, making cautious moves
3 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
A tale of two Sonam Wangchuks
Two Sonam Wangchuks have done India proud in recent times—one a soldier, the other a civilian. Both have fought, or been fighting, battles to save their native Ladakh for India. One got a Maha Vir Chakra and retired as a colonel. The other got a Magsaysay and is in jail.
2 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
Our resolve is firmer than ever
Your husband has been accused of inciting violence during the September 24 protests.
2 mins
October 12, 2025
THE WEEK India
TAKING FRESH GUARD
At 100, RSS is trying to present itself as more inclusive, even as the assertion of hindutva identity remains prominent in the political environment
4 mins
October 12, 2025
Translate
Change font size