CM Stalin meets advisors ahead of tenure’s last budget

CHENNAI: Ahead of what could probably be his maiden tenure’s final full budget, which would be presented in the State Assembly on March 14, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday consulted the members of his illustrious Economic Advisory Council comprising Nobel laureates and eminent economists.

Stalin elicited the views of Nobel laureate Esther Duflo, renowned economist Jean Dreeze, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, economist Arvind Subramaniam and economist S Narayanan, who took part in the consultation virtually.

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu and State Chief Secretary

N Muruganandam. Chief Minister Stalin, at the meeting, said that his government has made efforts to mobilise resources to execute welfare schemes and infrastructure development simultaneously. About 40 lakh people have secured jobs in the last four years owing to his government’s concerted efforts in fast-tracking the state’s economic progress and achieving the target of making the State economy reach US $ one trillion by 2030.

He said the State has been a leader in sectors like automobile, textile and leather manufacture for many years and also attracted investments to a great extent, even in emerging sectors like non-leather footwear, renewable energy and Global Capability Centres.