Tamil Nadu Agriculture Budget 2025 Live Updates: Rs 42 crore allocated to set up 1,000 CM farmers service centres

TN Agriculture Minister M R K Panneerselvam began his budget speech, highlighting the growth of Tamil Nadu's farmland from 146.76 lakh acres in 2019-20 to 151 lakh acres in 2023-24. He also noted the state's top rankings in agricultural production, securing the first position in finger millet, second in maize, sugarcane, and oilseeds, and third in groundnut and cereals.A fresh controversy has erupted after the state government replaced the rupee symbol (?) with the Tamil letter ‘roo’ in the Budget logo. The move sparked sharp criticism from BJP leaders, including Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai. Annamalai accused CM Stalin of rejecting a symbol endorsed by his father, M Karunanidhi, while Sitharaman called it an example of “regional chauvinism.” Former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan also slammed the DMK, alleging it promotes separatism.The Finance Minister defended the decision, stating it was made to use a Tamil script instead of Devanagari. The controversy adds to the ongoing political friction between the DMK and BJP. Stay tuned with TOI for latest updates.