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Chennai · South
New government (TVK) — sworn in May 2026. Figures and findings below may span the previous administration.
Chief Minister
TVK · in office since May 2026
Declared figures from the ECI election affidavit (—), via MyNeta/ADR — as declared, not verified. Bars are the original publisher's 0–100 mappings (education mapping; legal: 100 − serious×18 − other×10) — theirs, not ours.
These 0–100 ratings are the original publisher's own, quoted here with their methodology. Audit India computes no score — the same way we carry UNDP's HDI as UNDP's number.
Transparency
48/ 100
the original publisher
Two CAG findings are carried here, both re-checked against the reports themselves in August 2026: the civil compliance audit for the year ended March 2023 (Report No. 1 of 2025), covering Anganwadi infrastructure and food safety enforcement, and the State Finances Audit Report for 2023-24 (Report No. 2 of 2025). Higher score than KA (25) and MH (38) reflects fewer findings and a historically more functional administrative system, but lower than Tamil Nadu's development status would warrant.
Officials' Legal Integrity
100/ 100
the original publisher
6 unique officials counted (Governor excluded; Speaker not yet confirmed for new assembly). CM C. Joseph Vijay: 0 cases → 100; Marie Wilson (Finance): 0 cases → 100; Sengottaiyan (Revenue): 0 cases → 100; O.S. Manian (Health): 0 cases → 100; Priya Anand (IT): 0 cases → 100; Kathir Anand (PWD): 0 cases → 100. Average: (100×6) ÷ 6 = 100. The incoming TVK-led government's initial cabinet has no declared criminal cases across all sworn-in ministers per 2026 ECI affidavits. Provenance note: this score is the original publisher's and is left as published. Three of the six officials it counts — O. S. Manian, Priya Anand and Kathir Anand — are not in the Vijay ministry; health is held by K. G. Arunraj, information technology by R. Kumar and public works by Aadhav Arjuna. The officials list below is the sitting council; the arithmetic above is not.
Governance
71/ 100
the original publisher
Composite: indicators avg (67/100) × 50% + Transparency (48/100) × 25% + Integrity (100/100) × 25% = 33.5 + 12 + 25 = 70.5; rounded to 71. No critical-severity downward adjustment applied. Tamil Nadu's score reflects its historically strong public health and education infrastructure relative to most Indian states, partially offset by a fiscal deficit above the state's own statutory target and guarantees at half the previous year's revenue receipts, and boosted by the clean-slate TVK cabinet sworn in as of 2026.
The 0–100 rings are the original publisher's category scores, in their colour bands — theirs, not ours.
These statistics were carried over from the original publisher, which produced them with a language model rather than compiling them from the publications named beside them. We removed 38 whose figures were absent from the source they credit, and confirmed 45 against theirs. The rest name a publication we have not been able to check them against — read them as the original publisher's figures, not as verified fact.
Figures below are as declared by each individual in their own ECI or Rajya Sabha affidavit. We report them; we do not score them. The small bars under education are the original publisher's 0–100 mapping of the declared qualification — their construct, not a measurement of ours.
| Name | Office | Party · since | Declared cases | Declared qualification | Affidavit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJC. Joseph Vijay | Chief Minister | — | — | — | |
| RVRajendra Vishwanath Arlekar | Governor | — | — | — | — |
| NMN. Marie Wilson | Minister for Finance, Pensions and Planning & Development | — | — | — | |
| KAK. A. Sengottaiyan | Minister for Revenue, Disaster Management and Legislative Assembly | — | — | — | |
| KGK. G. Arunraj | Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare | — | — | — | |
| RKR. Kumar | Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services | — | — | — | |
| AAAadhav Arjuna | Minister for Public Works, Highways, Minor Ports and Sports | — | — | — | |
| CTC. T. R. Nirmal Kumar | Minister for Electricity, Law and Elections | — | — | — | |
| RARajmohan Arumugam | Minister for School Education, Archaeology and Tamil Culture | — | — | — | |
| NAN. Anand | Minister for Rural Development, Panchayats and Irrigation | — | — | — |
Findings from CAG audit reports on schemes as they ran in this state, quoted with their report references. We add no grade of our own.
Integrated Child Development Services and Food Safety Enforcement, Tamil Nadu
Seventy-seven of the Anganwadi centres sampled — in both government-owned and rented buildings — had no separate kitchen, water facility, toilet or play area. Of 3,503 Anganwadi buildings sanctioned between 2019 and 2023, 273 were still incomplete in April 2024. Rationalising and relocating centres was delayed by eight years, defeating the aim of covering every area, and because of vacancies Anganwadi workers were holding additional charge of centres half a kilometre to three kilometres away.
What the audit measured
On food safety, the delay in getting the state's own laboratories accredited meant samples had to go to private NABL laboratories, and 19.79 per cent of the samples collected expired before they could be analysed. Since 2012-13 the Commissioner of Food Safety had received 7,433 proposals to penalise food business operators; 1,172 of them — 15.77 per cent — were still awaiting approval, the oldest dating to 2012-13. Food safety officers did not hold complete data on the businesses in their own areas, and vacancies in the cadre cut inspections, sample collection and prosecutions.
State Finances — Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu's fiscal deficit was 3.32 per cent of GSDP in 2023-24, above the three per cent the state's own fiscal responsibility law sets. Outstanding guarantees stood at ₹1,22,269.91 crore on 31 March 2024 — 50.16 per cent of the previous year's entire revenue receipts. Outstanding liability including off-budget borrowing was 28.00 per cent of GSDP, within the 29.10 per cent limit but up from 24.35 per cent in 2019-20.
What the audit measured
The State's overall debt grew at an average of 15.62 per cent a year over 2019-24. Subsidies rose from ₹20,144 crore in 2019-20 to ₹37,749 crore in 2023-24 — from 9.57 to 12.19 per cent of revenue expenditure — with a further ₹801.77 crore spent on implicit subsidies. The government raised ₹1,672.01 crore of off-budget borrowing through a public sector undertaking, money that never entered the Consolidated Fund but has to be repaid from the budget.
The promises and their delivery status come from the original publisher and are their assessment, not ours. They cite a party's homepage rather than a manifesto, so what was promised cannot be checked from the citation given. Audit India has verified neither the wording nor the status.
Where a CAG finding is quoted below, its figures have been checked against the report cited. Thirty-seven were withdrawn because the report they named does not exist or is a search page.
Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam: ₹1,000/month to women heads of household
Launched September 15, 2022. ₹1,000/month to women heads of eligible households. 1.06 crore beneficiaries (GoTN verification); direct bank transfer. GoTN expenditure ~₹12,700 crore/year. Enhanced to ₹1,500/month (November 2024) — increased to 1.06 crore women. Consistently delivered without disruption.
Free bus travel for women on all Tamil Nadu government buses
Free bus travel for women (and differently-abled passengers) launched July 2021 on all TNSTC and MTC buses. ~25 lakh women travel free daily; GoTN compensates TNSTC ~₹1,700 crore/year. Credited with significant increase in women's workforce participation and mobility.
Waive farm loans up to ₹1 lakh for all Tamil Nadu cooperative bank borrowers
DMK waived ₹12,110 crore in farm loans to 16.34 lakh cooperative society borrowers (October 2021). Covers short-term crop loans from Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). One of the largest state-level farm debt relief exercises. CAG compliance monitoring ongoing.
2 lakh government jobs in Tamil Nadu within the election term
TNPSC, TRB, TNUSRB and departmental recruitment filled approximately 80,000-90,000 posts by 2025. Significant recruitments: 5,500 teachers, 4,000+ police constables, health workers (12,000). 2 lakh in one term is ambitious for any state; current pace suggests ~1 lakh by end of term. No paper-leak controversies in TN (unlike several other states).
Naan Mudhalvan: skill training for 10 lakh Tamil Nadu youth by 2025
Naan Mudhalvan (I am the leader) skill development scheme: 15.93 lakh youth trained as of mid-2026 — exceeding the 10 lakh target. 1,500+ industry partners; 45 skill programmes. Placement outcomes: ~6 lakh got employment or higher education. International recognition from UN ILO as a model youth skilling initiative.
20,000 MW renewable energy by 2025; end power cuts; transparent tariff revision for TANGEDCO
Tamil Nadu is India's leader in wind energy (10,600 MW installed — highest in India) and 5th in solar. Total renewable capacity: ~24,000 MW by mid-2026 — broadly meeting the 20,000 MW target. AT&C losses run at 14.8 per cent against a 12 per cent target — about ₹2,800 crore of annual inefficiency. No CAG audit of TANGEDCO has been published. TANGEDCO's accumulated losses: ₹1.41 lakh crore (2024) — India's 2nd largest utility loss after DISCOMS in UP; GoTN provides ~₹12,000 crore annual subvention. DMK government raised power tariffs in 2024 (TNERC order) — first tariff revision in 8 years — but arrears to central generators (₹1,820 crore to NTPC/NLC) remain unpaid. Senthil Balaji (Electricity Minister) was arrested by ED in June 2023 in a cash-for-jobs scam but was kept in the Cabinet on SC bail — creating a governance optics problem for the ministry.
Enforce welfare fund for construction workers; ensure benefits reach all registered BOCW workers
Tamil Nadu BOCW (Building & Other Construction Workers) welfare board: 28 lakh registered workers. The CAG performance audit of construction workers' welfare (Report No. 3 of 2024) found the Board keeping no database of cess assessed, collected and remitted, and so exercising no control over its only source of revenue. Local bodies collected cess and held it in their own accounts instead of remitting it — ₹221.81 crore of temporary misappropriation — and ₹78.91 crore was lost because the law allows no interest on delayed remittance. Investigation of 90 suspected cases of fraudulent short remittance in Kancheepuram district found misappropriation of ₹15.85 lakh in 68 of them. None of the estimated 1.45 lakh inter-State migrant construction workers were registered with the Board at all.
Assert Tamil Nadu's autonomy; resist centralised imposition; protect state legislative powers
The DMK government's most consistent governance friction during its 2021-26 term was with Raj Bhavan (Governor R.N. Ravi, 2021-24). Governor Ravi withheld assent to 13+ Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu assembly — including the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) exemption Bill (2021), Bills to appoint a state Lokayukta, and the University Amendment Bills seeking to remove Governors as ex-officio chancellors. The Supreme Court (November 2023) ruled that Governors must give assent or return Bills within a reasonable time — a landmark constitutional ruling triggered by the Tamil Nadu case. President Droupadi Murmu subsequently withheld assent to the NEET exemption Bill (2024). The NEET issue — whether state governments can exempt their students from the national medical entrance exam — remained unresolved, with Tamil Nadu seeking a constitutional amendment. CM Stalin and DMK pursued this aggressively as a "states' rights" issue, resonating with Tamil identity politics.
Manage state finances within FRBM norms; reduce debt-to-GSDP ratio; make welfare fiscally sustainable
Tamil Nadu's state debt has grown substantially under the DMK term. The State Finances Audit Report for 2023-24 (Report No. 2 of 2025) records a fiscal deficit of 3.32 per cent of GSDP against the three per cent the state's own fiscal responsibility law sets, outstanding liability including off-budget borrowing at 28.00 per cent of GSDP against a 29.10 per cent limit, and overall debt growing at an average 15.62 per cent a year over 2019-24. The Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam (₹12,700 Cr/year), free bus (₹1,700 Cr) and other new welfare commitments add ~₹16,000 crore/year in structural outgo. The revenue deficit was ₹45,121 crore in 2023-24, and the audit records ₹1,672.01 crore of off-budget borrowing raised through a public sector undertaking that never entered the Consolidated Fund. Finance Minister Thennarasu (highly regarded technocrat) has maintained Tamil Nadu's credit rating (AA stable, CRISIL) — a positive signal — but GoI devolution shortfalls and pending central dues (₹14,500 crore for old SDRF/NDRF claims) add fiscal stress.
CAG State Finances Audit Report, Tamil Nadu (2023-24): the revenue deficit rose from ₹36,215 crore to ₹45,121 crore — a 24.59 per cent increase — and the report devotes a section to off-budget borrowings kept outside the headline deficit.
Amma Canteen: expand subsidised meal programme to all Tamil Nadu towns
Amma Canteens continued and expanded from 150 to 400+ locations (2016-21). ₹5 breakfast and ₹10 lunch. Served ~9 crore meals by 2021. The scheme was discontinued by DMK government in 2021 (called "wasteful") though later partially reinstated as Kalaignar Unavagam. A genuinely popular welfare scheme that became a victim of inter-party rivalry.
Continue free mixers, fans and grinders for new BPL households
AIADMK continued the free household appliance scheme — mixers, grinders, fans (and from 2011, laptops) for eligible BPL families and college students. 1.4 crore families had received appliances in previous term; 2016-21 distributed to newly eligible households. DMK discontinued new distributions post-2021.
Chennai Metro Phase 2 extension (116 km) and Smart City development
Chennai Metro Phase 2 (116 km, ₹61,843 crore): DPR approved 2018; civil work started 2019. Progress slow — as of 2021 end (when AIADMK lost) only 5-10% complete. CMRL Phase 2 continued under DMK; expected completion 2028. Smart City Chennai project (₹2,688 crore): 67% of works completed by 2021 under AIADMK.
Deliver stable governance under CM Jayalalithaa's leadership for the full 5-year term
J. Jayalalithaa — who won the May 2016 elections with 136/234 seats (AIADMK's best-ever performance) — died on December 5, 2016, just 7 months into her 6th term as CM. The circumstances of her final hospitalisation (September–December 2016, Apollo Hospitals Chennai) remain controversial — a Supreme Court-ordered commission (Justice A. Arumughaswamy, 2017-22) found irregularities in treatment. O. Panneerselvam (OPS) briefly became CM; then Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) replaced him after an AIADMK internal coup (February 2017). The AIADMK split into OPS and EPS factions, briefly united in 2017, then split again. The 2016-21 AIADMK government thus had three effective Chief Ministers: Jayalalithaa (7 months), OPS (briefly), EPS (4 years). EPS's government won significant legislative achievements (Chennai Metro Phase 2 launch, TANGEDCO expansion) but was politically unstable. The AIADMK lost the 2021 elections to DMK, primarily on anti-incumbency built during the leaderless, factional 2016-21 term.
Protect Tamil Nadu's environment; respond to industrial pollution complaints; ensure people's right to protest
On May 22, 2018 — during the AIADMK (EPS) government — Tamil Nadu Police opened fire on anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), killing 13 people and injuring 102 in what became the worst incident of police violence at a civilian protest since the Nellie massacre (1983). The protesters (200,000+ at peak) demanded permanent closure of Vedanta's Sterlite Copper smelter — which had been repeatedly fined for air and groundwater pollution causing health problems in surrounding communities. CM EPS ordered the plant's permanent closure (May 28, 2018) under public pressure. The plant closure killed ~15,000 direct and indirect jobs in Tuticorin — a significant economic cost. Madras HC initially ordered plant reopening; SC stayed this in August 2018. The Supreme Court's 2024 order allowing conditional restart of the plant (with emission monitors) became contentious again in the Tamil Nadu context (Vijay's TVK used anti-Sterlite sentiment in 2026 campaign). The shooting remains a defining indictment of AIADMK's law-and-order governance: 13 unarmed civilians killed protesting a polluter.
Secure Tamil Nadu's full Cauvery water allocation; implement the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal award
The Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka is among India's longest inter-state river disputes (since 1892). The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's 2007 final award allocated 177.25 TMC to Tamil Nadu. In 2018, the Supreme Court increased TN's share to 177.25 TMC (revised from 192 TMC) and constituted the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) for enforcement. The 2016-21 AIADMK period saw recurring crises: 2016 — violent protests in Karnataka after SC ordered water release; KSRTC buses and TN vehicles attacked. 2017 — SC modified Tribunal award; protests in both states. The Cauvery promise is structurally impossible to "fully implement" because Karnataka's political constraints mean any release during drought years generates violence. The CWMA has partial teeth but cannot override Karnataka's political imperatives. Tamil Nadu farmers in the Cauvery delta (Trichy, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam) face water shortages every south-west monsoon failure year — 2017, 2019 and 2023 being particularly severe.
Restore Jallikattu — Tamil Nadu's traditional bull-taming sport — against animal rights ban; protect Tamil cultural heritage
Jallikattu (bull-taming during Pongal — practised for 2,000+ years in Tamil villages) was banned by the Supreme Court in 2014 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960 — responding to Animal Welfare Board of India petitions. The January 2017 anti-Jallikattu protests (Marina Beach, Chennai — 4 lakh+ protesters) became the largest spontaneous mass movement in Tamil Nadu since the state's formation — a generational assertion of Tamil cultural identity. The EPS-led AIADMK government passed the Tamil Nadu Jallikattu Act (January 22, 2017) exempting Jallikattu from PCA Section 11 — enacted within days of the protests. The Central government simultaneously issued an ordinance amending the PCA rules permitting Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu, Goa (bullock races) and Maharashtra. SC subsequently upheld the state law's validity (2023 Constitution Bench, 5-judge, 4:1 majority). The promise — restoring cultural rights — was fully delivered; the political process was driven by civil society pressure rather than AIADMK initiative, but the AIADMK government's responsiveness within 6 days of the Marina protest was unprecedented.
Rebuild Chennai after 2015 floods; dredge waterways; reform CMDA for flood-resilient urban planning
The November-December 2015 Chennai floods — caused by record rainfall (over 500mm in 24 hours, highest since 1918) coinciding with Cyclone Roanu — killed 500+ people, displaced 1.8 million, and caused ₹20,000+ crore in damages. It exposed Chennai's catastrophic urban planning failures: encroachment on Pallikaranai Marshland (India's second-largest urban wetland — from 5,000 hectares in 1980 to 600 hectares by 2015), blocking of Adyar and Cooum river flood channels by construction, and CMDA approvals for housing on floodplains. AIADMK's response: CMDA issued revised building regulations prohibiting construction within 50m of Pallikaranai Marshland (partially enforced). Chennai Mega City Development Mission — ₹15,000 crore — included stormwater drains (40 km new drains), Pallikaranai Marshland partial restoration (200 hectares cleared of encroachments), and Adyar/Cooum river desilting. No CAG audit of the Chennai Smart City has been published, so no audited figure for disaster-resilience spending is carried here. Flood risk remains: 2021 and 2023 Chennai flooding showed persistence of the core vulnerability.
Regulate TASMAC; reduce alcohol consumption; provide de-addiction support to Tamil families
TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) has a monopoly on retail liquor sales in Tamil Nadu — one of India's few such complete state monopolies. TASMAC generated ₹33,000 crore in 2020-21 revenue — the single largest source of Tamil Nadu's own-tax revenue (27%). The AIADMK's stated intent was to reduce consumption while maintaining this critical revenue stream. J. Jayalalithaa had announced full prohibition in 2016 as a phased goal — never implemented. EPS government's actual approach: (1) closed 500 TASMAC outlets near schools, temples and highways (2017); (2) expanded de-addiction centres from 18 to 36 (2017-21); (3) restricted Sunday alcohol sales. However TASMAC revenue grew — consumption increased by 12% during COVID home delivery (2020-21). The EPS government was criticised for expanding TASMAC's home delivery service during COVID lockdown — which women's groups called unconscionable. Full prohibition remained a promise undelivered by AIADMK despite 5 decades of party rhetoric.
Protect Tamil as primary medium of instruction; oppose three-language formula imposing Hindi; expand Classical Tamil research
Tamil language identity — including resistance to what Tamil Nadu political parties characterise as Hindi imposition — has been a defining feature of TN politics since the anti-Hindi agitations of 1937-40 and 1965 (which killed 70 people). Tamil was declared a Classical Language by GoI in 2004 (the first Indian language to receive this status). The AIADMK 2016-21 government: (1) maintained Tamil as the sole medium of instruction in government schools (2.4 crore students); (2) opposed the draft NEP 2019 (pre-final version) for its three-language formula — CM EPS wrote to PM Modi and HRD Minister; the final NEP 2020 dropped the mandatory third language requirement, a concession TN parties claimed as a victory; (3) expanded the Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT, Chennai) — securing ₹120 crore additional Central funding for Tamil classical literature digitisation and research. The AIADMK's Tamil cultural nationalism coexisted awkwardly with its national BJP alliance — a tension that became sharper when BJP ally's national leaders made public statements on Hindi.
Waive all farmer cooperative loans; expand TANFED support for Cauvery delta paddy farmers; provide free bore-wells for 1 lakh small farmers
Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta (Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam — "Tamil Nadu's rice bowl") supports 35 lakh paddy farmers across 19 lakh hectares. The AIADMK 2016 manifesto promised a farm loan waiver — implemented partially: cooperative bank loans (₹6,600 crore) waived for 18.7 lakh small/marginal farmers in 2017. Nationalised bank loans (₹12,000 crore) could not be waived unilaterally — requiring GoI consent, which was not granted. TANFED expanded to 520 procurement centres. Bore-well scheme: 94,000 of the 1-lakh target drilled. The Cauvery delta's perennial crisis — water shortage from Karnataka's reservoirs combined with high input costs — remains unresolved despite these measures. The 2016-17 AIADMK government also announced ₹6,770 crore relief for drought-affected farmers (2016-17 was TN's worst drought in 140 years), including crop insurance payouts through PM Fasal Bima Yojana.
Continue Amma Canteen (₹1 meal scheme); distribute Pongal gifts annually to BPL families; expand direct welfare delivery
Jayalalithaa's "Amma schemes" became one of Tamil Nadu's most politically potent and administratively complex welfare programmes. Amma Canteen (launched 2013): subsidised meals at ₹1-₹5 — 438 canteens across Tamil Nadu's municipalities. By 2018: 14 lakh meals/day, annual subsidy ₹176 crore. The AIADMK 2016-21 government continued and expanded these. Pongal gifts: AIADMK distributed Pongal hampers (rice, sugar, dhal, cashew, turmeric, jaggery, pots — value ₹2,500/family) to 2.1 crore BPL families annually. Total outlay: ₹3,800 crore (2017), ₹4,200 crore (2021). The scheme is credited with cementing AIADMK's base among Tamil Nadu's rural poor and urban working class despite the political disruption of Jayalalithaa's death in December 2016. No CAG audit of Tamil Nadu social welfare has been published, so no audited de-duplication figure is carried here.
Free electricity to farmers (0-100 units); achieve 100% household electrification; add 2,000 MW renewable energy capacity
TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation) entered 2016 with ₹73,000 crore in accumulated losses — among India's highest among state DISCOMs. Free electricity to farmers continued throughout the AIADMK 2016-21 government: 17 lakh agricultural connections received 0-100 units free, costing ₹8,400 crore/year in GoTN subsidy. Tamil Nadu achieved 100% household electrification in 2017 (Saubhagya scheme). Renewable energy: TN wind capacity grew from 7,600 MW (2016) to 10,100 MW (2021); solar from 1,400 MW to 4,600 MW — India's leading renewable state. However TANGEDCO's debt grew from ₹73,000 crore to ₹1.15 lakh crore by 2021, requiring multiple UDAY restructuring rounds. Summer 2017 power cuts (8-10 hours/day rural) were politically damaging. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (Unit 2: 1,000 MW) commissioned 2016 provided baseload relief.
2 CAG reports