Thiruvananthapuram: Looking to win the support of common man and the downtrodden, KN Balagopal, the finance minister of Kerala has allocated Rs 14,500
crores in the state budget ahead of the crucial assembly elections.
The state budget also announced Rs 1000 hike in the monthly wages of Anganawadi workers and a similar hike in wages of ASHA workers in the state.
State finance minister also acknowledged the need to protect elderly citizens in the state and said that the budget will allocate a significant amount for the welfare of elderly citizens and hence termed the budget as ‘elderly budget’.
“The pay of pre-primary teachers and literacy mission motivators has been increased by Rs 1,000 per month and the daily wages of school cooking staff have been raised by Rs 25 per day”, said Balagopal while presenting the budget
The budget also announced Rs 3,700 crore for the Chief Minister’s ‘Sthree Suraksha’ Scheme.
Anganwadi helpers will receive a monthly honorarium hike of Rs 500, while noon-meal cooks’ daily wages have been increased by Rs 25. Balagopal also assured that steps would be taken to expedite the disbursal of DA/DR for government employees and pensioners.
The Finance Minister announced that, from April 2026 onwards, the honorarium of elected representatives of local bodies will be increased. A welfare fund board will be set up for them with a corpus of Rs 250 crore.
Ahead of his sixth Budget presentation, Mr. Balagopal had stated that Kerala can expect a “realistic and practical” Budget which would reflect the LDF’s conviction that it would continue in power in the State.
Kerala GSDP clocking at 6.19 percent
The Economic Review 2025 tabled in the State Legislative Assembly on Wednesday (January 28) had noted that Kerala had posted strong growth in 2024-25 with the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) clocking 6.19% growth in real terms. The Kerala Budget is being tabled ahead of the Union Budget and the announcements regarding the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission.
