Kerala's Final LDF Budget: Political Calculations Overshadow Fiscal Realism
Opinion
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News18•30-01-2026, 08:59
Kerala's Final LDF Budget: Political Calculations Overshadow Fiscal Realism
- •Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal presented the LDF government's final budget, focusing on political messaging ahead of elections.
- •The budget includes sops targeting minority communities, particularly Christians, with schemes like pension benefits for nuns and a Livelihood Support Programme for Christian converts from Scheduled Castes.
- •Funds were earmarked for improving facilities at Kottayam Cheriya Palli and allotting land for the K.M. Mani Memorial Institute, aiming to appease the Kerala Congress.
- •The budget proposes a 'nativity card' to address CAA/SIR concerns and allocates funds for minority education and a Minority Research Institute at Calicut University.
- •Despite claims of fiscal recovery, the budget relies on borrowing and criticizes central restrictions, appearing more as a political document than a sound financial statement.
Why It Matters: Kerala's final LDF budget prioritizes political appeasement and ideological narrative over fiscal discipline.
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