Tamil Nadu budget 2025-26 to be presented today by finance minister Thangam Thennarasu amid rupee symbol row

The Tamil Nadu Budget 2025-26 will be presented in the assembly on Friday by finance minister Thangam Thennarasu amid a massive political row after the state government on Thursday replaced the Devanagari rupee symbol with a Tamil letter in its logo for the budget.

This will be Thennarasu's second budget presentation after he became the finance minister in 2023. It also marks the fifth budget of the DMK-led government.

A discussion on the budget will likely begin on March 17, reported PTI.

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Opposition parties, primarily the AIADMK and the BJP have criticised the state government, led by chief minister MK Stalin, for alleged lapses in law and order, as well as increasing debts, which will be addressed during the Budget session.

The budget is expected to feature several important announcements ahead of the state assembly election in 2026, including increasing expenditure and focusing on the social sector, reported PTI.

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The agriculture budget will be presented by minister M RK Panneerselvam on March 15.

The budget presentation live stream will be screened from 9:30am onwards by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in close to 100 locations across the city, including the Chennai Central Railway Station, Koyambedu Bus Terminus, Marina Beach, Pondy Bazaar Road, and Thiruvanmiyur Beach.

The Agriculture Budget will also be screened in Chennai.

Tamil rupee symbol row

The budget presentation comes after the Tamil Nadu government introduced the new rupee logo - the Tamil alphabet ‘Ru’, as the logo for the state Budget, replacing the usual currency symbol ‘Rs’.

The state's BJP President Annamalai condemned the act and stated that the DMK were trying to divert attention from more pressing issues.

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also criticised the government for changing the national currency symbol, stating, “If the DMK has a problem with 'Rs', why didn't it protest back in 2010 when it was officially adopted under the INC-led UPA government, at a time when the DMK was part of the ruling alliance at the Centre?”

She further stated that the ‘Rs’ symbol was deigned by Th. D Udaya Kumar, the son of former DMK MLA N Dharmalingam, and that erasing it would not only be a rejection of a national symbol but also disrespectful to the contributions of Tamil youth to the country.