Kerala budget on February 5

Thiruvananthapuram: The first assembly session of the Kerala legislature in 2024 will begin on January 25. The session will commence with the policy address of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the state budget will be presented on February 5. 

January 29-31: A vote of thanks debate on the Governor's policy address
February 1 2: Consideration of new Bills
February 5: Budget session
February 6-11 and 15-25: No assembly sessions
February 26: Assembly resumes
March 27: Conclusion of the assembly session

If any announcement of Lok Sabha elections comes in the middle, the assembly session will be adjourned after passing a vote on account. The house will then pass the budget after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections.

The state exchequer, according to reports, is under severe strain and already hindered multiple developmental projects. Thus the upcoming budget session is crucial since the policymakers are gearing up for a proactive approach to come out of the red by increasing revenue earnings in the upcoming fiscal.

The budget will be presented by Finance Minister KN Balagopal and the government has already set up a 14-member expert committee for its planning. Balagopal had earlier written to all MLAs asking them to provide a list of 20 projects each that they want to implement in their respective constituencies.

The upcoming assembly session is also the first to be conducted after the recent cabinet reshuffle in which KB Ganesh Kumar and Kadannappalli Ramachandran took charge as Minister for Transport and Minister for registration, museum and archaeology respectively.