Tamil Nadu Budget 2026: Rising Interest Payments Shrink Fiscal Space

The finance minister of Tamil Nadu talked about the state's money plan for next year, called the Budget.

He said the state must pay more and more money each year just to pay interest on loans it took earlier.

That leaves less money for new projects and programs.

He shared that Tamil Nadu's debt has doubled in the last five years and is now about ten lakh crore rupees.

He also said the state is doing worse than other similar states at collecting its own taxes and managing its income and spending.

The government wants to fix this by making it easier for businesses to work on government projects.

Earlier, companies had to give many extra papers and could only join if they were registered with one specific department.

Now, any registered company can try, and even small new businesses can take part in small projects.

More companies competing means the government gets better prices and wastes less money.

The minister said these changes are already helping the state save money.