The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led authorities is going through the identical predicament with regard to public funds as the primary post-Independence Congress authorities, headed by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), did in 1952: easy methods to steadiness welfare schemes with fiscal prudence.
This, regardless of the passage of time and the size of budgetary outlay having gone up manifold. Presenting his maiden Price range on June 27, 1958, then Finance Minister C. Subramaniam (C.S.) stated the State would have, on the finish of 1952-53, a deficit of ₹3.59 crore. Based on the White Paper of the TVK regime, this yr’s income deficit “may attain roughly” ₹90,500 crore. The brand new authorities’s first Price range is anticipated to be tabled within the Meeting in just a few weeks.
There are, in fact, variations between the early Nineteen Fifties and 2026. Aside from the State being a lot larger then what it’s now, successive droughts had troubled the Congress regime on the time. Actually, then Govenror Sri Prakasa, in his customary handle to the legislature made on the identical day of the Price range presentation, had referred to the “welcome rains” within the third week of Might (The Hindu, June 28, 1952). Rayalaseema, now part of Andhra Pradesh, was a continuing space of concern to these in energy then.
Within the subject of taxation, the Items and Companies Tax, which is in its 10th yr of implementation, has just about robbed States of their freedom to levy taxes. Solely in restricted areas resembling petroleum and liquor do the States have the ability to have taxes of their very own. Nonetheless, C.R. had a perceptive take: “Whereas there want be no restrict to the quantity that may be spent by a Welfare Division, there’s a pure restrict to the expansion within the income of the State as a result of the latter should essentially come out of the taxable margin within the per capita earnings of the citizen,” he instructed the Legislative Council, whereas presenting the Price range on behalf of his colleague, C.S. The Chief Minister made another assertion of relevance to the current instances: “We are able to have a welfare State provided that we work for it and step up manufacturing.”
On the method in the direction of new schemes amid a decent monetary situation, Subramaniam, in a chat on the All India Radio later within the day, stated: “…the transactions of final yr resulted in a income deficit of ₹329 lakh (or ₹3.29 crore), and early sufficient I may sense that the present yr would additionally present a deficit of the identical order. When this place emerged, what may I’ve carried out? One course open to me was to chop down expenditure all spherical and put a ban on all new schemes however that isn’t fascinating in a welfare state,” based on one other report of this newspaper on June 28, 1952.
After 74 years, the TVK regime is crusing in the identical boat. It seems to be clear that fiscal consolidation and the launch of welfare schemes, nevertheless restricted, are “not mutually unique.” With out disclosing a lot, a consultant of the federal government says “now we have already dedicated ourselves to some welfare schemes. They may proceed.”
It could be recalled that the TVK regime has dedicated to growing the quantum of free electrical energy to 200 items from 100 items for home shoppers consuming as much as 500 items bi-monthly and waiving crop loans as much as ₹75,000 taken by farmers from cooperative societies, regardless of the dimensions of landholdings. The “one-gram gold ring” scheme for infants born in authorities hospitals will be launched on September 15. But, the federal government is hopeful of reaching consolidation by, in its phrases, “filling within the leakages, removing corruption and discovering avenues for added useful resource mobilsation with out burdening folks, even whereas going forward with the welfare schemes.”
Printed – July 20, 2026 03:59 pm IST
Leave a Reply