DMK regime presents Budget 2025-26 in Tamil Nadu Assembly

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin-led DMK regime on Friday presented its Budget 2025-26 in the Assembly, a full-fledged exercise ahead of the state election next year, and made big allocations for its flagship welfare schemes which include the fare-free bus travel scheme for women.

Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Assembly as the main opposition AIADMK walked out after attempting to raise alleged graft in state-run liquor corporation TASMAC as the Enforcement Directorate has held searches related to the state-owned



company.

Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu said women using fare-free bus services has risen to 65 per cent from 40 per cent. "On an average, 50 lakh women travel daily in the buses run by State Transport Undertakings, leading to a total of 642 crore trips so far. Notably, a study by the State Planning Commission revealed that women save an average of Rs 888 per month due to this initiative. For the year 2025-26, the government has allocated a subsidy of Rs.3,600 crore for the scheme in the Budget Estimates," he said.