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The Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday announced a series of major education, technology and welfare initiatives in the budget for 2026-27 – the new TVK government’s first – including a free laptop scheme for college students, expansion of the breakfast scheme to Classes 6 to 8, and AI skilling for 5 lakh youth. A new student housing corporation that will add 1 lakh hostel beds and 10 Olympic Centres of Excellence will be established.
Presenting the revised budget estimates in the legislative assembly, finance minister Dr N Marie Wilson said the government would focus on strengthening higher education, improving school infrastructure, expanding technology access, promoting youth skilling and enhancing social welfare while pursuing fiscal reforms and long-term economic growth.
The school education department received the highest allocation of Rs 44,527 crore, followed by Rs 8,393 crore for higher education.
The school education department will focus on improving infrastructure, student welfare and campus safety.
The government introduced the Palli Niraivu Thittam to modernize infrastructure in 3,734 government schools, including 2,514 primary schools, 365 middle schools and 855 high and higher secondary schools. The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,132 crore, with Rs 300 crore allocated in the revised budget.
The government also announced the ‘Super Clean Super Campus Scheme’, under which Rs 139 crore has been allocated to provide professional daily cleaning services, maintenance of water and sanitation facilities, and round-the-clock security in 10,000 schools during the first phase.
The Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Breakfast Scheme will be expanded to students in Classes 6 to 8 from September 17, benefiting an additional 15.14 lakh students across 15,414 schools.
The expansion has been allocated Rs 710 crore. The government also announced the construction of 500 new anganwadis – early childhood care and education centers – as part of its child welfare and nutrition initiatives.
To support academically-gifted students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the Tamil Nadu government will establish Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Schools of Excellence. The residential schools will provide free education, boarding, food, textbooks and uniforms to Classes 9 to 12. The government has allocated Rs 125 crore for infrastructure development.
The budget also announced that 5.32 lakh Class 11 students in government and aided schools will receive modern, branded bicycles equipped with helmets and water bottles. The initiative has been allocated Rs 277 crore.
It has earmarked Rs 25 crore for curriculum modernisation, with a focus on inquiry-based and experiential learning, critical thinking, artificial intelligence, digital competence and financial literacy.
A major higher education announcement was the launch of the Vetri Laptop Scheme, to which the government has allocated Rs 2,000 crore. It will provide free laptops to college students across the state. The scheme aims to improve digital access and support learning and skill development among higher education students.
To address the shortage of student accommodation, the government announced the establishment of the Tamil Nadu Student Housing and Infrastructure Corporation (TNSHIC) as a special purpose vehicle with an equity infusion of Rs 10 crore.
Under the flagship TN-SUDAR programme, 200 integrated student hostels with 1 lakh modern beds will be developed through a public-private partnership under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) model. The project has a capital outlay of Rs 3,200 crore, including a 20% state capital construction grant of Rs 640 crore to be released over two years.
The government also announced that a specialised government law college offering advanced legal education will be established in Madurai during the 2027-28 financial year. The institution is expected to have an annual intake of 300 students.
The budget reiterated the state government’s opposition to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). The government urged the union government to cancel the national entrance examination and restore Class 12 mark-based admissions for medical courses.
The government announced a feasibility study with an allocation of Rs 5 crore for Arivagam, a proposed AI and Innovation City that is expected to become India’s first dedicated artificial intelligence and deep-tech hub. The proposed city will include an AI university, hardware testing laboratories and advanced computing infrastructure.
As part of its technology and skilling agenda, the government announced an AI Industry Development Programme in partnership with educational institutions, including Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras. The initiative is aimed at training 5 lakh youth across engineering colleges, polytechnics and industrial training institutes by 2031.
The budget also announced the expansion of the TN SPARK initiative, which focuses on artificial intelligence, robotics and digital learning tools in government schools. The programme will be extended from the existing 5,000 schools to an additional 2,600 government schools under a three-tier framework in which Classes 6 to 8 are introduced to the fundamentals, Classes 9 and 10 receive intermediate training and Classes 11 and 12 are offered specialised elective courses.
The TVK budget has allocated Rs 150 crore to the Vetri Skill Training Scheme, which aims to provide skill training to 12 lakh college students and 1 lakh unemployed youth, while also offering paid internships to 20,000 participants. In addition, the government announced a programme to train 22,500 mechanics in electric vehicle battery systems and maintenance over the next five years, with Rs 3 crore allocated to the initiative.
The government also announced plans to establish 10 Olympic Centres of Excellence with an allocation of Rs. 50 crore under the campaign “Take Up Sports, Give Up Drugs”. The budget also includes measures to strengthen sports infrastructure in schools and encourage greater participation in physical education activities.
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