12 October 2026
The second session of the 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly began on 12 October 2026 and is scheduled to end on 29 October, with nine sittings. Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan announced the schedule on 9 October. The Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026 were listed for the session, and the Business Advisory Committee was to meet on 12 October to fix further business. 16 October is set apart for private members' business, along with supplementary and excess demands for grants covering five financial years since 2017. The Assembly will mark its Platinum Jubilee, 70 years, on 27 April 2027. The new Pamba Block, with 64 apartments for legislators, is to be inaugurated on 26 October.
Session:
Second session, 16th Kerala Legislative Assembly
Duration:
12 to 29 October 2026, nine sittings
Speaker:
Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan
Platinum Jubilee:
27 April 2027 (70 years)
Pamba Block:
64 apartments for legislators
Why it matters for exams: Sessions, sittings, committees and the Platinum Jubilee of the Kerala Assembly are standard Kerala PSC polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Business Advisory Committee Business Advisory Committee of the Kerala Legislative Assembly — A House committee chaired by the Speaker that allots time for government and other business.
Excess demand Excess demand for grants — A demand placed before the House when spending in a year has exceeded the amount voted for it.
12 October 2026
Chief Minister V D Satheesan moved the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Assembly on 12 October 2026. The Bill amends the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959 by inserting a new Section 76A, under which additional court fees collected in cases settled out of court would not be refundable. It would not affect cases in which courts had already ordered refunds before the provision takes effect, or cases settled out of court in which judgments had not yet been pronounced. Satheesan said the High Court had directed that Section 76 of the Act be amended so that such additional fees are not refunded. Satheesan said refunds had become difficult in cases settled through alternative dispute resolution under Section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. He said 70% of the amount collected for the Legal Aid Fund went to the Advocates Welfare Fund and 30% to the Advocates Clerks Welfare Fund. LDF members raised objections but did not press them, and Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan referred the Bill to the Subject Committee.
Parent Act:
Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959
New provision:
Section 76A
Moved by:
Chief Minister V D Satheesan
Fund shares:
70% Advocates Welfare Fund, 30% Advocates Clerks Welfare Fund
Why it matters for exams: Links state legislation on court fees with Section 89 CPC and alternative dispute resolution, a recurring law-and-polity topic.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Section 89 CPC Section 89, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 — The provision that lets a court refer a dispute to arbitration, conciliation, judicial settlement or mediation.
Subject Committee Subject Committee of the Kerala Legislative Assembly — A departmental committee of the House that examines a Bill in detail before it is passed.
12 October 2026
Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan moved the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026 in the Kerala Assembly on 12 October 2026 for reference to a committee, and the motion was adopted. The Bill replaces the Fasli year with the financial year for the accounts and audit of temples under the Malabar Devaswom Board. It amends Sections 70, 71, 76 and 79 of the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951. The minister said 1,403 temples come under the Malabar Devaswom Board and only 115 of them generate income, so most depend on government grants. He said a comprehensive Malabar Devaswom Bill will be introduced in the next Assembly session to strengthen the Board's powers over trustees.
Parent Act:
Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951
Sections amended:
70, 71, 76 and 79
Temples under MDB:
1,403
Income-generating temples:
115
Why it matters for exams: Kerala's three devaswom systems and the Madras HR&CE Act, 1951 that still governs Malabar temples are asked in Kerala PSC papers.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Fasli year Fasli calendar year — A revenue calendar introduced in Mughal times and long used in South India for land revenue and accounts.
MDB Malabar Devaswom Board — The statutory body that administers temples in the Malabar region of Kerala.
12 October 2026
Health Minister K Muraleedharan told the Kerala Assembly on 12 October 2026 that an expert team led by the Principal Secretary of the Health Department will investigate the isolation ward project. The project, sanctioned in July 2021 to set up 10-bed isolation wards, covered 88 health centres in its first phase at an estimated cost of ₹250.69 crore. As of 9 October, 33 isolation wards had been completed and handed over to hospitals; KIIFCON was carrying out work on 22 wards left incomplete by the original contractor, 28 were under construction and five sites faced hurdles. Each unit cost about ₹1.76 crore, made up of a ₹1.31 crore contract and ₹44.31 lakh for equipment. The minister said even the completed wards could not be used for patient care because of construction defects and the lack of facilities such as air-conditioning and toilets. He was replying to a submission by Kunnathunad MLA V P Sajeendran.
Health centres (first phase):
88
Estimated cost:
₹250.69 crore
Handed over (as of 9 October):
33
Taken over by KIIFCON:
22
Cost per unit:
about ₹1.76 crore
Why it matters for exams: Public health infrastructure, KIIFB-linked agencies and Assembly procedure such as submissions are tested in Kerala PSC current affairs.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
KIIFCON Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Consulting Private Limited — The consultancy arm linked to KIIFB that executes and supervises infrastructure works.
Submission Submission under the rules of the Kerala Assembly — A short matter of public importance raised by a member, to which a minister replies in the House.
12 October 2026
On the first day of the session, 12 October 2026, Varkala MLA V Joy gave notice of an adjournment motion over police action against SFI activists in Thiruvananthapuram. The dispute relates to a Youth Congress night march of 30 September that began at Palayam Men's Hostel. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala replied that the trouble began when beer bottles were thrown from the hostel at Youth Congress workers, and asked the Higher Education Minister to conduct an inquiry. Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan said the commotion began when power went off during the march. Joy displayed a police lathi, which Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan handed to the Watch and Ward staff. Leave for the motion was refused and the Opposition staged a walkout.
Mover of notice:
V Joy, MLA (Varkala)
Reply:
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala
Outcome:
Leave refused; Opposition walkout
Why it matters for exams: The adjournment motion, the walkout and the role of the Watch and Ward are core legislative-procedure topics in polity papers.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
Adjournment motion Motion for adjournment of the business of the House — A motion to set aside listed business and discuss a definite, urgent matter of public importance; it can be moved only with the Speaker's consent.
Watch and Ward Watch and Ward staff of the Legislature — The security staff who maintain order inside the House under the Speaker's direction.
12 October 2026
Health Minister K. Muraleedharan, speaking online on 12 October 2026, laid the foundation stone for a critical care block at the Alappuzha Government T.D. Medical College Hospital under the 100-Day Action Programme. The block has been sanctioned 21.52 crore rupees; tenders are complete and the contract has been awarded. He also inaugurated 2 health centres and laid foundation stones for 16 more in Alappuzha district. The minister said 81.48 crore rupees had been approved for the district under the 15th Finance Commission. He said the Finance Department had been asked to create posts for about 1800 doctors and about 500 nurses, and that institutions may make ready purchases to prevent medicine shortages. Deputy Speaker Shanimol Usman presided.
Critical care block:
21.52 crore rupees
15th Finance Commission (district):
81.48 crore rupees
Posts sought:
about 1800 doctors, about 500 nurses
Health centres:
2 inaugurated, 16 foundation stones
Why it matters for exams: State health infrastructure figures and Finance Commission grants to local health institutions are asked in Kerala PSC current affairs.
Kerala PSC
In plain words
15th Finance Commission Fifteenth Finance Commission — The constitutional body under Article 280 that recommended Union transfers, including health grants to local bodies, for 2021–26.
12 October 2026
Tourism and Culture Minister P. C. Vishnunath chaired a meeting at the Parumala Seminary Hall on 12 October 2026 to review government arrangements for the Parumala Perunnal. The festival runs from 26 October to 2 November, with the main days on 31 October, 1 November and 2 November. Police in Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts will work under a single operation with a special control room, and the deployment will be divided into 10 sectors under a DySP. Health and AYUSH services will be ensured, with arrangements at the Chengannur and Thiruvalla government hospitals and an AYUSH outpatient clinic near the church for pilgrims arriving on foot; KSRTC will run extra buses. The Thiruvalla Sub Collector will coordinate the departments, and the minister said progress would be reviewed again after a week.
Festival dates:
26 October to 2 November 2026
Main days:
31 October, 1 and 2 November
Police sectors:
10, under a DySP
Coordinator:
Thiruvalla Sub Collector
Why it matters for exams: Major pilgrim festivals of Kerala, their locations and the districts involved are common Kerala PSC culture and geography questions.
Kerala PSC
12 October 2026
The Kerala Lalithakala Akademi announced on 12 October 2026 that its art exhibition 'Punarjani' would open on 13 October at the Akademi Art Gallery in the Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. The show features 30 paintings selected from painting camps the Akademi organised in past years. Akademi Chairperson Prof. Prakash Murthy was to inaugurate it at 11 AM, with Secretary Vaikom M.K. Shibu attending. 'Punarjani' is the first step in a project by the Akademi's new governing body to revive its artworks and galleries, with further curated exhibitions planned across its galleries.
Exhibition:
'Punarjani'
Venue:
Akademi Art Gallery, Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram
Works:
30 paintings
Chairperson:
Prof. Prakash Murthy
Why it matters for exams: Kerala's cultural academies, their heads and the Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan are asked in Kerala PSC culture questions.
Kerala PSC
Background
This backgrounder is tied to the Court Fees Amendment Bill referred to the Subject Committee on 12 October 2026, which the Chief Minister said followed a direction of the High Court. Before 1949, Travancore had a High Court at Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin had one at Ernakulam, and Malabar District came under the Madras High Court. The High Court of Travancore-Cochin was inaugurated on 07-07-1949 at Ernakulam after the two States were integrated on 01-07-1949. The High Court of Kerala was established on 01-11-1956 with its seat at Ernakulam and inaugurated on 05-11-1956. Its jurisdiction covers the State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, and its sanctioned strength is 35 Permanent Judges, including the Chief Justice, and 12 Additional Judges. Justice Anna Chandy of this court was the first woman High Court Judge in India.
Established:
01-11-1956, seat at Ernakulam
Inaugurated:
05-11-1956
Jurisdiction:
Kerala and Lakshadweep
Sanctioned strength:
35 Permanent and 12 Additional Judges
Predecessor:
High Court of Travancore-Cochin, inaugurated 07-07-1949
Why it matters for exams: The seat, jurisdiction and history of the Kerala High Court, including Lakshadweep, are frequently asked in Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims.
Kerala PSCUPSC