Grant for poor students in premier institutes

Under the first phase of the scheme, hundred students will be selected and each will be given Rs 2 lakh in cash to support their education, the CM said.

Making a suo motto announcement under assembly rule 110, theCM said 14 Adi Dravidar hostels would be constructed at a cost of Rs 38 crore. “The State will also construct 6 new college hostels at an outlay of Rs 2.56 crore,” he added.

To ensure better maintenance of students’ hostel, the state will increase the annual maintenance allocation from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 and this would incur an expenditure of Rs 4.51 crore to the exchequer, EPS said.

On the last day of the ongoing assembly session, EPS announced a hike in the MLA constituencyarea development fund from Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore bringing applause among the MLAs.

He also announced hike in family welfare fund for PDS staff and allowances for differently abled workers in the state-run ration shops. For the PDS worker dying inharness, the family welfare fund has been hiked from Rs 2 lakh to 3 lakh. He also hiked the advance to Rs 25,000 from Rs 5,000 to meet the needs of the bereaved families.

Differently abled workers in cooperative department run stores will now get an increase inmonthly allowance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500. The State is also taking steps to credit the salaries of PDS workers through bank accounts.

Palaniswami further announced commissioning of veterinary hospital in rural areas to help farmers rearing livestock. Two modern veterinary hospitals will be established at cost of Rs 2.40 crore and 100 panchayats will receive veterinary clinics at a cost of Rs 6.50 crore, he said giving boost to the animal husbandry sector.

To strengthen the infrastructure at Tamil University, Rs 20 crore would be allocated. A memorial for Tamil singer and actor Thyagaraja Bhagavathar would be constructed at a cost of rupees 50 lakh. The Manimandapam will recall the contribution of the legendary actor to Tamil culture and cinema. To create awareness on the works of Tamil scholar Robert Caldwell, the State will establish a Tamil chair in his name at Tamil University. With a view to preserve Tamil literature, the State will nationalise seven books of Tamil authors at a cost of Rs 35 lakh, CM added. For Tamil development, CM announced translation of Tirukkural in two Indian languages (Assamese and Sindhi) and also in Hebrew (spoken in Israel). He also announced the celebration of Tamil Nadu Day on November 1.