TN Interim Budget: State to rollout shipbuilding policy soon, says Thangam Thennarasu

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The Tamil Nadu Shipbuilding Policy to promote investments in shipbuilding and marine ancillary manufacturing is set to be released shortly, said Thangam Thennarasu, Minister for Finance and Environment and Climate Change while presenting the Interim Budget Estimates for the year 2026-27 to the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

The State is poised to emerge as a global hub for the shipbuilding industry. SIPCOT, in association with the V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port Authority, is establishing a new shipbuilding cluster at Thoothukudi at an estimated cost of ₹5,200 crore through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). Further, MoUs have been signed with leading shipbuilding companies including Union Government’s Public Sector Undertakings and a leading global shipbuilding firm, entailing investment commitments of around ₹30,000 crore, he said.

Around ₹4,282 crore has been allocated for the Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce Department. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Thennarasu said, presenting the Budget.

Major announcements from the Interim Budget are given below.

Semiconductors

The ‘Tamil Nadu Semiconductor Mission-2030’ is a strategic five-year roadmap being implemented at an estimated cost of ₹500 crore. Works are currently underway at Taramani in Chennai to establish a Centre for Advanced Semiconductor Technologies in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a Centre of Excellence for the development of semiconductor design and testing infrastructure.

MSMEs

Tamil Nadu stands as a leading State in the country in the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. “In our State, which is home to over 40 lakh registered MSMEs, bank loans amounting to ₹10.70 lakh crore have been disbursed in the last five years. To support MSME entrepreneurs across the State, the Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation (TANSIDCO) has developed 18 new industrial estates over the last five years. As a result, 3,735 new employment opportunities have been created,” the finance minister said.

“To ensure that MSMEs receive prompt payments for the services they render, the TN TReDS (Tamil Nadu Trade Receivables Discounting System) platform has been launched. So far, under this initiative, 1,461 enterprises have benefited through the facilitation of transactions amounting to ₹5,171 crore,” he added.

Startups

A sum of ₹1,943 crore has been allocated for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department.

Information Technology

A ₹219 crore has been made for the Information Technology and Digital Services Department.

Museums

The Keezhadi Open-Air Museum has also been opened recently for public viewing. Furthermore, a grand Chola Museum in Thanjavur, a museum at Gangaikondacholapuram, the Noyyal Museum in Erode district, the Naavaai Museum in Ramanathapuram district, and a new Bronze and Indus Valley Civilization galleries in the Government museum at Egmore in Chennai, and Tamil Cultural Museum in Tiruvannamalai are to be established, at a total estimated cost of ₹.285 crore.

A sum of ₹3,000 towards the entitlement for February, March and April, along with an additional ₹2,000 as a special summer package, totalling ₹5,000, was recently credited directly into the bank accounts of women beneficiaries to ensure that the benefits of this nationally acclaimed landmark scheme continue without interruption to 1.31 crore beneficiaries in the forthcoming months.

“Last Friday, within just three hours an entitlement of ₹5,000 was credited to the bank accounts of 1 crore 31 lakh women. The entire nation paused to take notice, and people were swept up in a tide of joy. In a single day, a sum of around ₹6,500 crore was disbursed across the State, bringing relief and reassurance to women and filling the hearts of homemakers with gratitude and emotion,” he said.

Registration fees

“With effect from April 2025, the registration fee has been reduced by one per cent for immovable properties, including houses, plots and agricultural lands, valued up to ₹10 lakh and registered in the name of women. As a result, 3,71,705 beneficiaries have benefited so far,” he said.

Revenue Department

“Over the past five years, house site pattas have been issued to 23,56,623 individuals. Under the One Time Special Regularization Scheme, 77,800 online house-site pattas have been granted, so far, to families residing on unobjectionable Government poramboke lands in Chennai and its belt areas, as well as in other urban regions across the State. Of these, 15,393 online pattas have been issued in Chennai and the adjoining belt areas and 62,407 pattas have been distributed in other municipal corporations and municipalities. Using modern electronic land survey instruments and based on ‘Real Time Kinematics’ technology, resurvey work is being carried out in 3 districts of Krishnagiri, The Nilgiris, and Kanniyakumari,” he said.