Welfare measures: Kerala govt. to incur additional burden of ₹10,000 cr.

The State government is expected to incur an additional financial burden of about ₹10,000 crore on account of the welfare measures announced on Wednesday in the run-up to the 2025 local body elections and the 2026 Assembly polls.

Wednesday’s announcements by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan included a hike of the social security/welfare fund board pensions to a monthly ₹2,000 and a new monthly ‘Sthree Suraksha’ pension of ₹1,000.

Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, speaking to reporters here after the  Cabinet meeting where the decisions were finalised, pegged the total outgo at “not less than ₹10,000 crore,” while adding that the Left Democratic Front government was quite confident that the expenses could be met despite the pinch caused by unfriendly Central fiscal policies.

The decision to increase the social security and welfare fund pensions by ₹400, taking it from ₹1,600 per month to ₹2,000, alone would require Kerala to shell out an additional ₹3,000 crore annually. At present, the State spends close to ₹10,000 crore a year on these pensions.

The LDF manifesto for the 2021 Assembly elections had announced that the social security pensions would be hiked to a monthly ₹2,500 per beneficiary. It had also promised the pension scheme for homemakers, but had not specified an amount. On Wednesday, the Chief Minister announced a monthly pension of ₹1,000 for women holding Antyodaya Anna Yojana or Priority Households cards and who are not eligible for any other pension. For this scheme, the additional burden on the government is ₹3,800 crore.

Mr. Balagopal reiterated that payments to the tune of  ₹10,000 crore were pending from the Centre to various sectors in the State under different components.

Among the other announcements, the government would incur an additional burden of ₹5.5 crore annually with respect to the hike in the monthly honorarium of Literacy Preraks  by ₹1,000, and ₹5.72 crore on the hike of the monthly pay of pre-primary teachers and ayahs by ₹1,000. The hike in the daily wages of mid-day meal cooks will require the government to shell out an additional ₹16 crore.  

The pending third and fourth instalments of the 11th Pay Revision Commission dues to government employees will be merged with Provident Fund after April 1, 2026. Those who have no PF will be issued the sum in cash after this date.