COIMBATORE: Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development Udhayanidhi Stalin said the state is receiving less in returns from the central government despite paying higher taxes.

Speaking at a welfare distribution function in Erode, Udhayanidhi said though Tamil Nadu contributed six lakh crore as tax since 2014, Central government has given only two and a half lakh crore in return.

“For every one rupee given, we receive only 29 paise in return. Despite such a financial crunch, Chief Minister MK Stalin has allocated funds to implement various welfare projects for women. This Dravidian model of government takes extra care in implementing schemes for betterment and economic prosperity of women,” he said.

Stating that self-help groups were started 30 years ago by former CM M Karunanidhi to provide financial independence to women, Udhayanidhi said.

Calling the women of SHGs as brand ambassadors of projects implemented by the state government, Udhayanidhi asked women to take promote those schemes among more people. “Members of 37,305 women SHGs were given Rs 2,504 crore loan across Tamil Nadu,” he said.