Kerala Budget 2025-26 Highlights: Sector-wise allocations here; WATCH FM's full speech

Kerala FM Balagopal concludes his Budget 2025-26 speech. Here's a link to his 2 hour 30 minute speech:

Court fees will be revised based on the recommendations of a government-appointed committee, with an expected additional revenue of Rs 150 crore. Taxes on electric vehicles are also set to rise, the Finance Minister announced.

• Rs 107 crore allocated for purchasing BS6 buses for public transport.
• Rs 5 crore for GCDA, including funding for She Hostel.
• Rs 30 crore earmarked for Sreenarayana Open University.
• Rs 150.81 crore allocated for various activities under NORKA Roots.
• Rs 402 crore set aside for the noon meals program in schools.
• Rs 100 crore for power generation projects across the state.
• Rs 15 crore to expand WiFi hotspots in Kerala.
• Rs 8.96 crore allocated for the Champions Boat League.
• Rs 30 crore for the Vidya Vahini Project, improving digital education.
• Rs 21 crore allocated for setting up stroke units in all district hospitals.
• Rs 15 crore for the National Nutrition Mission.
• Rs 210 crore allocated for infrastructure projects under Nava Kerala Sadass.
• Rs 100 crore for the Aswasakiranam social security scheme, doubling last year’s allocation, although only 20% of last year’s funds were spent.
• Rs 5 crore for CDS financial aid.
• Rs 500 crore allocated for implementing Nava Kerala projects.
• Rs 5 crore for Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) modernization.
• Rs 104 crore earmarked for revamping the Home Department.
• Rs 20 crore for jail modernization projects across Kerala.
• Rs 23.9 crore for GST department development projects.
• Rs 18 crore allocated for enhancing judicial infrastructure.
• Kerala Financial Corporation (KFC) capital share increased from Rs 300 crore to Rs 600 crore, with plans to raise it to Rs 800 crore.
• Rs 2 crore allocated for installing napkin vending machines in schools.
• Rs 1,000 crore earmarked for the Rebuild Kerala initiative.
• Rs 56.56 crore set aside for implementing the food safety project.
• Rs 15 crore allocated for renovating Supplyco outlets.

The allocation for the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-DISC) has been raised to Rs 50 crore.

Finance Minister KN Balagopal announces a 5% increase in wages for daily wagers in the government sector.

The budget allocates Rs 104 crore for minority welfare, Rs 54 crore to upgrade village offices into smart offices, and Rs 2063.99 crore for market intervention schemes.

A new project to encourage entrepreneurship among the Scheduled Tribe population receives an allocation of Rs 10 crore.

Advanced imaging facilities, including interventional radiology devices, will be established at Kollam, Kottayam, Manjeri, Kannur, and Alappuzha Medical Colleges with a Rs 15 crore allocation.

The Ayyankali Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme receives an allocation of Rs 180 crore, while Rs 185 crore has been earmarked for the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project.

The Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, which organizes the International Film Festival of Kerala, receives an allocation of Rs 14 crore.

The Finance Minister announced that social security pension dues exceeding Rs 3000 crore will be cleared in a time-bound manner.

The Mid-day meal scheme for school students receives an allocation of Rs 402 crore from FM Balagopal.

The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) receives an allocation of Rs 178.98 crore.

A Rs 5 crore allocation has been made to develop a new biological park under the Forest Department in Kozhikode. Additionally, Rs 10 crore has been allocated to establish a supercomputing centre for computation modeling and simulation. The Budget also introduces the Chief Minister’s Researchers Scholarship, offering a monthly fellowship of Rs 10,000 to regular, full-time research students.

The Finance Minister announces a new project to provide treatment for economically disadvantaged individuals suffering from non-communicable diseases at referral hospitals. The project includes Rs 45 crore allocated for cath labs at Alappuzha, Kozhikode, and Ernakulam Medical Colleges, and Rs 10 crore for the cath lab at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.

Finance Minister announces that Kerala will become the first state to have dialysis units in all general and taluk hospitals this year. Additionally, all district hospitals will be equipped with stroke units.

The budget allocates Rs 5 crore for the proposed Biological Park at Perambra in Kozhikode district. Originally planned as a Tiger Safari Park on a 280-acre plot owned by the Plantation Corporation of Kerala within the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, the project has been rebranded as a Biological Park to comply with the National Tiger Conservation Authority’s guidelines.

The Institute of Advanced Virology receives an allocation of Rs 50 crore.

An initial allocation of Rs 5 crore has been made for the development of Kerala House in Hyderabad.

• Rs 20 crore allocated for the Banasura Sagar project in Wayanad.
• Rs 100 crore earmarked to enhance power generation.
• Rs 100 crore for the Kochi-Palakkad GIFT corridor.
• Rs 30 crore for the Petrochemical Park in Kochi.
• Rs 1160 crore allocated for the Life Mission project.
• Rs 10 crore for the Startup Mission.
• Rs 25.81 crore set aside for Kerala Digital University operations.
• Rs 2065 crore for the transport sector.
• Rs 100 crore for Kerala Fibre Optic Network (K-FON).
• Rs 2134 crore for the Wayanad tunnel road project.
• Rs 107 crore for purchasing BS6 buses for KSRTC.
• Rs 21 crore allocated for Thiruvananthapuram Technopark, Rs 21.6 crore for Kochi Infopark, and Rs 11.5 crore for the Kozhikode IT Park.
• Rs 25.22 crore for purchasing new energy-efficient boats.
• Rs 107.6 crore for the coir sector.
• Rs 200 crore for the Kochi-Bangalore corridor development.
• Rs 77.9 crore for soil conservation efforts.
• Rs 9 crore for the State Horticulture Mission.
• Rs 47 crore for Kerala Agricultural University.
• Rs 120 crore for dairy development and ₹78.4 crore for vegetable cultivation.
• Rs 150 crore for paddy cultivation.
• Rs 10 crore for barrier-free schools.
• Rs 2 crore allocated for ABC projects to address rising dog bite incidents.

Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced a Rs 750 crore allocation for the rehabilitation of victims of the 2024 Wayanad landslides, which resulted in 254 deaths, 44 missing, and the destruction of 2007 homes. The total loss was Rs 1202 crore, with a rehabilitation requirement of ₹2201 crore. Balagopal criticized the central government for not offering assistance in its 2025-2026 budget, urging fair treatment for Kerala. He reassured that the Left government will carry out the rehabilitation in a time-bound manner, with the Rs 750 crore serving as the first step in the recovery process.

Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for the Emerging Technology Hub project, as announced by the Finance Minister.

Rs 3.8 crore crore has been allocated for the Graphene-Aurora programme, a joint initiative between Digital University Kerala and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Additionally, Rs 4.5 crore has been allocated for the India Innovation Centre for Graphene.

KFON, Kerala’s public sector Internet service provider, receives an allocation of Rs 100 crore, while Space Park gets Rs 52.05 crore.

The IT sector receives a total allocation of Rs 517.64 crore, with a new IT policy in the final stages of preparation.

A Battery Energy Storage System will be set up at the Mylatti electrical substation in Kasaragod in 2026, with a preliminary allocation of Rs 5 crore for the project.

The industries sector receives an allocation of Rs 1831.36 crore. The Finance Minister announced that 31 private industrial parks have been allocated so far, with Rs 80 crore earmarked to promote entrepreneurship. Additionally, the coir sector gets Rs 107 crore, and Rs 27.92 crore is allocated for the development of a medical devices park.

Rs 3.5 crore has been allocated for the development of Periyar, Anamudi, Nilambur, and Wayanad elephant sanctuaries under Project Elephant. Additionally, Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the Kottoor Elephant Rehabilitation Centre.

The fisheries sector receives an allocation of Rs 295 crore in the budget.

A new cattle feed farm will be established at Nettukaltheri, Thiruvananthapuram, with an allocation of Rs 10 crore.

A global dairy village will be set up in Dharmadom, Kannur, as part of a three-phase project with a total budget of Rs 130 crore. Rs 10 crore has been allocated for the project in the current budget.

Steps to tackle dog menace in Kerala: Rs 2 crore allocated for feasibility study of portable ABC Centres.

FM annouces allocation of Rs 227 crore to agriculture sector in state's budget.

A special package aimed at mitigating human-wildlife conflicts in Kerala has been announced, with Rs 50 crore allocated as additional funding for the initiative.

A Financial Conclave will be organized to foster improved financial management, with an allocation of Rs 2 crore for the initiative.

• Rs 5 crore for the MT Memorial at Thunchan Parambu, Malappuram.
• Rs 73 crore allocated for coconut development.
• Rs 5 crore for the Vaikom Smaraka Kendram.
• Rs 20 crore for the seaplane project.
• Rs 77 crore set aside for the Soil Conservation Department.
• Rs 5 crore allocated for an IT park near Thunchan Parambu.
• Rs 100 crore for the KERA project.
• Rs 150 crore for paddy development.
• Rs 120 crore earmarked for dairy development.

The government plans to enhance the Cyber Wing of Kerala Police to tackle cybercrimes and initiate a project to promote toy making in the state, involving MSMEs and Kudumbashree.

A study centre dedicated to the renowned writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair will be set up near Thunchan Parambu in Tirur, with Rs 5 crore allocated for the project, honoring his literary contributions.

The Kerala government will expand the ‘Freedom Squares’ project, launched by the Kerala Startup Mission, to promote interdisciplinary research, innovation, and entrepreneurship across the state, with Rs 2 crore allocated for the initiative.

The Kerala government has announced plans to establish a world-class GPU cluster in Thiruvananthapuram, aiming to position the state as a hub for the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics) industry, with an initial Rs 10 crore allocated for preliminary works.