₹1K/month for Pondy govt students pursuing college education

₹13,600-crore Puducherry budget hikes financial aid for women heads of BPL families to ₹2,500 per month, extends Perunthalaivar Kamarajar scheme to all courses

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Puducherry

PUDUCHERRY Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented a tax-free budget of ₹13,600 crore for the FY 2025-26 in the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday. The budget, which is ₹900 crore higher than the previous year's outlay, includes a plethora of welfare schemes, particularly aimed at education, infrastructure and support for public sector undertakings and institutions.

Notably, the UT government, similar to Tamil Nadu, will provide financial assistance of ₹1,000 per month for a period of three years, starting this academic year, to students who have completed classes 6 to 12 in government schools and enrolled in UG courses. Furthermore, financial aid for women heads of BPL families has been raised to ₹2,500 per month from ₹1,000.

Revenue and expenditure The budget will be financed through the union territory's own revenue receipts of ₹7,641.40 crore, central assistance and disaster relief fund of ₹3,432.18 crore, Central Road Fund of ₹25 crore, and centrally-sponsored schemes amounting to ₹400 crore. To bridge the fiscal deficit, the government has been permitted to raise a loan of ₹2,101.42 crore, including a negotiated loan by the Government of India, said the CM in his budget speech.