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Presenting the last Budget of election-bound Kerala’s incumbent CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) authorities connected Thursday (January 29, 2026), Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal unfurled a populist premix of big-ticket announcements and payment sops, notably a connection to marque undergraduate acquisition successful Arts and Science colleges free, the 12th Pay Revision Commission and the Assured Pension Scheme with an April 1 motorboat day for authorities employees.
Mr. Balagopal’s Budget speech, the 4th lengthiest successful the Kerala Assembly, featured a bevy of security schemes, wage hikes for strategy workers, and proposals for processing high-end improvement corridors for uncommon world and defence-related industries.
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For authorities employees and pensioners, Thursday’s Budget code is intended to bring cheer. Under the Assured Pension Scheme, employees volition beryllium eligible for 50% of the past basal wage arsenic maximum pension. There volition besides beryllium an enactment for shifting from the existing National Pension System (NPS) to the assured pension. The Pay Revision Commission volition beryllium asked to taxable its study successful 3 months’ time, the Finance Minister said. Thee remaining instalments of dearness allowance/dearness alleviation (DA/DR) volition beryllium paid successful full. One DA instalment volition beryllium disbursed with the wage for February. The remaining instalments volition beryllium paid retired with the wage for March.
Insurance schemes
A clutch of security schemes featured prominently successful the Budget. The database includes an accident/life sum for schoolhouse students and autorickshaw and taxi workers, arsenic good arsenic a caller wellness security inaugural for families extracurricular the ambit of the Karunya Arogya Suraksha Scheme. The Budget besides assured a ‘Life Saver Scheme’ ensuring cashless attraction for roadworthy mishap victims for the archetypal 5 days.
The monthly wages of ASHA workers, pre-primary teachers, Anganwadi workers and Saksharatha Preraks person been enhanced by ₹1,000 each, and that of anganwadi helpers workers by ₹500. The regular wage of noon-meal workers successful schools has been accrued by ₹25.
On making undergraduate acquisition free, Mr. Balagopal aboriginal explained that it volition beryllium applicable to authorities and aided colleges. Education is presently escaped up to the Plus Two level successful the State. Later, speaking to the press, Mr. Balagopal picked arsenic the “highlight” of his code a ₹1,000-crore allocation for pursuing the employment warrant scheme, noting that the Centre’s determination to regenerate the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme entails a “heavy blow” to the State.
With respect to infrastructure development, the Budget announced a caller ‘Rare Earth Corridor’ linking the Vizhinjam larboard to Chavara and Kochi. An magnitude of ₹100 crore has been earmarked for establishing a Rare Earth Critical Minerals Mission successful concern with Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), KELTRON and the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre (NFTDC), Hyderabad. The 2nd is simply a Defence Technology Innovation Hub interlinking defence and abstraction institutions successful the State. The Budget has earmarked ₹50 crore for it.
Other large allocations connected the infrastructure beforehand see ₹100 crore for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) – a north-south obstruction corridor for which the Kerala Cabinet had fixed clearance connected Wednesday – ₹3,750 crore for the Sthree Suraksha Pension Project ₹400 crore for the Connect to Work strategy which the LDF authorities had announced successful October 2025. The Budget besides earmarked ₹14,500 crore for the outgo of societal information pensions during 2026-27.
Notably, the Budget code lacked proposals for further assets mobilisation. However, it has been decided to let municipalities and Corporations to contented ‘municipal bonds’ “implementing large projects which are profitable arsenic good arsenic beneficial to the public,” Mr. Balagopal said. This is simply a premier proposal of the 7th Finance Commission whose Part 1 study was tabled successful the Assembly alongside Budget documents.
Mr. Balagopal dedicated ample parts of his Budget code to meticulously listing retired sector-wise achievements of the LDF government, which has held powerfulness for 2 terms, emphasising however “continuity successful rule” has helped laic the foundations for a developed Kerala.
Sector-wise outlays
Among sector-wise outlays, the Budget has earmarked ₹2,071.95 crore for agriculture, ₹318.46 crore for carnal husbandry, ₹128.05 crore for dairy development, ₹239.12 crore for fisheries, ₹288.60 crore for wood and wildlife conservation, ₹623.85 crore for irrigation and flood control, ₹1,309.84 crore for energy, ₹1,417.26 crore for industries, and ₹242.34 crore for accepted industries. Other allocations see ₹20 crore for a ‘VS Centre’ successful Thiruvananthapuram successful representation of erstwhile Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, ₹80 crore each arsenic portion of Kasaragod, Idukki, Wayanad and Kuttanad improvement packages, ₹30 crore for Sabarimala maestro plan.
Mr. Balagopal’s sixth Budget envisages gross receipts of ₹1,82,972.10 crore and gross expenditure of ₹ 2,17,558.76 crore successful 2026-27.
