Chennai, A cursory glance of Tamil Nadu State Chess Asssociation (TNSCA) budget for 2020-21 would make people think that it is following zero based budgeting.

Many of the revenue and expenditure heads for the budget 2020-21 has been left blank.

But it is not so as the coronavirus has eaten into the associations' revenue as well as expenditure.

"Owing to coronavirus spread there is no visibility of holding any tournament till March 21. Hence many of the heads-income and expenditure- are blank," an official not wanting to be quoted told IANS.

During normal times, state chess tournaments and others would have been held but it was not to be this year, the official added.

The Covid-19 pandemic though has given a spurt for online chess has nevertheless impacted TNSCA revenues to the extent that a deficit budget has been prepared for 2020-21.

The TNSCA for 2020-21 has proposed a budget where the expenditure over income is put at Rs 272,000.

On the income side, tournament fee, player registration fee, hall of chess coaching fee, entry fee share and chess arbiter registration fee are left blank.

Similarly, on the expenditure side, tournament expenses, coaching camp expenses, district development programme, coach/arbiter workshop exam heads are blank.

For the year ended Mrach 31, 2019, TNSCA had a surplus of income over expenditure of about Rs 35.97 lakhs and the total income standing at about Rs 1.41 crore (major revenue from entry fee Rs 14.16 lakhs, registration fee Rs 27.30 lakhs, tournament receipts Rs 48.58 lakhs, grants and donations Rs 44.33 lakhs and other income Rs 7.27 lakhs).

The major heads of expense last fiscal were tournament expenses Rs 56.51 lakhs, tournament related expenses Rs 26.56 lakhs, administrative expenses Rs 14.79 lakhs.

The TNSCA had fixed deposit of about Rs 1.2 crore as on March 31.

Meanwhile, the TNSCA has called its annual general meeting here on December 13.

Apart from the routine matters like approval of last fiscal's annual accounts and others, elections for the office bearers (one President, six Vice Presidents, one General Secretary, six Joint Secretaries and one Treasurer) for 2020-2023 will also be held on that day.

The Coimbatore-based Sakthi Group's head honcho M. Manickam is the TNSCA President.