The budget of a government is a summary or plan of the intended revenues and expenditures of that government. In India, however it is more than this. It has become the policy document of the Government. The TamilNadu Government's budget presented by K Anbalagan is no exception.

It is a tax-free budget, with negligible deficit. There are welfare measures galore. Computers will be presented to the first one hundred students who score the highest in Tamil. The Marriage grant has been increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. Two new Medical Colleges and Five new Govt. Engineering Colleges will be established. Vellore will be upgraded from a Municipality to a Corporatioon. Agricultural loans to the tune of Rs 1500 Crores will be granted through Banks. The scheme to connect all rivers in TamilNadu will be taken up. There is a special focus on agriculture, rural development and education.

However, there are no announcements for checking the spiralling price rise. In the State, it is obvious that prices for essential commodities, for milk, for vegetables, for transport, for fuel - for almost everything are so high that ordinary people find it hard to have easy access to them. It should be the first priority of any welfare State to make available essential commodities and other means of livelihood at reasonable prices. The State Government has failed in this task. For example, can a middle income family get reasonable rented accommodation in Chennai for a moderate rent? If the administration cannot ensure such basic facilities, it will failing in its duty to the electorate.

The budget is thickly sugar-quoted, with a hard nut inside to crack.