News

Vijay government’s first five months: key orders since May 2026

From the 200-unit free power order on day one to the August budget and October projects, a dated record of what the Vijay government has announced so far.

18 October 2026

Chennai FalconMr. Parthasarathy aka Chennai Falcon is passionate about…

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay signed three orders straight after taking oath on 10 May 2026. One gave domestic electricity consumers up to 200 units free. One set up a special force for women’s safety. One created anti-drug trafficking units across the state, PTI reported. In the five months since, the government has formed its cabinet, presented a revised budget for 2026-27, faced its first by-elections and begun work on several Chennai projects.

What follows is a dated record drawn from government releases, the Assembly and wire reports. Where an item is a claim made by the government, we say so. Opposition parties dispute several of these claims, and that is noted where it was reported.

May and June: forming the government

10 May: Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar swore in Vijay and nine ministers at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium. The first orders on free power, women’s safety and anti-drug units were signed the same day. Vijay also resigned the Tiruchirappalli (East) seat and kept Perambur in Chennai.
11 to 13 May: The new Assembly met. Pro-tem Speaker M.V. Karuppaiah administered oaths to MLAs, according to All India Radio News. The government had to prove its majority by 13 May.
12 May: J.C.D. Prabhakar of the TVK was elected Speaker.
21 and 22 May: The cabinet grew to 35 with 23 new ministers, two from the Congress, and then one each from the IUML and the VCK. Finance moved to N. Marie Wilson, and a new Artificial Intelligence portfolio was created.
18 June: The Governor addressed the first full session of the 17th Assembly, which the Business Advisory Committee scheduled to run until 23 June, UNI reported.

August: the first budget

Finance Minister Marie Wilson presented the government’s revised budget for 2026-27 in the Assembly on 5 August. PTI’s report gave these headline figures:

Item	Figure (2026-27 revised estimates)
Fiscal deficit	₹1,21,819 crore (3% of GSDP)
Revenue deficit	₹55,775 crore
Planned borrowing	₹1,73,445 crore
Outstanding liabilities by 31 March 2027	₹10,98,768 crore

New welfare items included an 8-gram gold coin and a silk saree for eligible brides (₹812 crore), a one-gram gold ring for babies born in government hospitals (₹560 crore), and a goat-rearing subsidy for about 30,000 destitute widows, deserted women, transgender persons and persons with disabilities (₹110 crore). The government also announced an extra privilege fee on liquor manufacturers.

The minister told the House that rising interest payments left “limited fiscal space for new schemes and programmes”, ETV Bharat reported. He also outlined changes to tender rules, such as letting contractors registered with one department bid for work in others. The DMK, the AIADMK and other opposition parties criticised the budget, saying it largely renamed existing schemes.

The government’s 100-day report

On 17 August the government released a 100-day report. According to PTI, it listed these items, all of them the government’s own claims:

Investment commitments of ₹1.02 lakh crore from the Vettri Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave
Closure of 717 TASMAC liquor outlets
A loan waiver for marginal farmers
The Singapenn task force for women’s safety
The Vettri Housing Scheme and the Vettri Skill Training scheme
The breakfast scheme for schoolchildren, now named after Perunthalaivar Kamarajar

The report did not give figures for most of these items, and PTI did not independently verify them.

September and October

7 September: Replying to the debate on the Home department’s demand for grants, Vijay said the government would examine issues MLAs raised during the budget session, UNI reported.
6 October: By-elections were held in Madurantakam and Dharapuram, the first since the government took office. Five other vacant seats, including Tiruchirappalli (East), were on hold under a Madras High Court order pending election petitions.
10 October: The Greater Chennai Corporation put 356 new vehicles and 2,873 bins, worth ₹65 crore, into service ahead of the monsoon.
11 October: Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the Poonamallee to Vadapalani stretch of Chennai Metro Phase 2 and launched projects worth over ₹13,000 crore, according to the PMO. The Chief Minister used the event to ask for Metro Phase 3 approval and other central support.
13 October: Vijay met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Vijayawada about Krishna water for Chennai.
14 October: The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone at Sholinganallur for the ₹3,108.55 crore Ring Main water project.

What is still pending

Several things were unresolved when this article was checked. These include the five stayed by-elections, Metro Phase 3 approval and reports of a cabinet reshuffle, which have not been officially confirmed. The Greater Chennai Corporation council elected in 2022 continues in office, and its next election is due in 2027.

Quick answers

What was the Vijay government’s first order?

Up to 200 units of free electricity a month for domestic consumers, signed on 10 May 2026 together with orders on women’s safety and anti-drug units.

When was the 2026-27 Tamil Nadu budget presented?

On 5 August 2026, by Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson, as revised estimates for the year.

Where can I read official government orders?

Government orders and press releases are published on tn.gov.in, and gazette notifications on the Stationery and Printing Department’s website.

Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.