CHENNAI: Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Wednesday said the State’s fiscal burden has been rising due to the cost-sharing pattern of schemes implemented by the Union government.

Citing Reserve Bank of India data, he said Tamil Nadu recorded 16 per cent growth in Gross State Domestic Product, with the manufacturing sector alone contributing Rs 1.46 lakh crore. This, he noted, placed Tamil Nadu ahead of Maharashtra, one of the country’s leading manufacturing States.

The Minister attributed the growth to the presence of around 40,000 factories in the State, which have generated employment for nearly 27.7 lakh people. He added that the construction sector had also played a key role in boosting GSDP growth.

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, Thangam Thennarasu said the services sector had made a significant contribution as well, accounting for 11.3 per cent of the State’s GSDP in the last financial year.

Referring to centrally sponsored schemes, the Minister said the Union government had been steadily reducing its share of funding for schemes implemented in Tamil Nadu. In programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, he said, the State government was required to bear a higher proportion of the cost, thereby increasing the financial burden on the State.