29 October 2026
The Kerala Cabinet has cleared a revision that takes an MLA's monthly salary from ₹70,000 to ₹98,000 and a minister's from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.33 lakh. The draft Bill was sent to the Governor for approval before being introduced in the Assembly. The annual fuel coupon allowance for a sitting MLA is proposed to go from ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh, and for a former MLA from ₹1 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh. Allowances for staff and the pension of former MLAs are also covered. This is the first such revision in eight years. Kerala's figure stays well below Odisha's ₹3.45 lakh, Telangana's ₹2.75 lakh and Maharashtra's ₹2.52 lakh.
MLA salary:
Rs 70,000 to Rs 98,000
Minister's salary:
Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.33 lakh
MLA fuel coupon a year:
Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh
Why it matters for exams: The salaries and allowances of MLAs are fixed by the State legislature under Article 195, and a money Bill of this kind needs the Governor's recommendation before introduction.
Kerala PSCUPSC
28 October 2026
A single judge of the Kerala High Court, Justice P. Gopinath, has removed the bar that kept women out of every job in a toddy shop in the State. The bar sat in Rule 7(37) of a 2002 set of excise rules, the Kerala Abkari Shops Disposal Rules. The judge found the provision cannot survive Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21, and he followed what the Supreme Court had said in Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India about so-called protective bans on women's work. Keeping a workplace safe is the government's job, the Court said; shutting women out of a trade they wish to enter is not. The decision is carried in the law reports as 2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 606.
Rule struck down:
Rule 7(37), Kerala Abkari Shops Disposal Rules, 2002
Articles violated:
Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21
Citation:
2026 LiveLaw (Ker) 606
Why it matters for exams: Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 and the Anuj Garg test on protective discrimination are standard Polity questions, and the Kerala Abkari Shops Disposal Rules, 2002 is the named subordinate legislation struck down.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Abkari Kerala Abkari Act — Abkari is the name Kerala's excise law gives to liquor regulation.
29 October 2026
Kerala now supplies a generic form of the spinal muscular atrophy medicine Risdiplam to its patients, bringing the bill down from crores to lakhs. The generic, Natsmart, is made in India by Natco Pharma; the branded drug had been bought at a negotiated rate per bottle running into lakhs. All of this runs through the State's rare disease programme, KARE, short for Kerala United Against Rare Diseases. Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly that orders have gone out for 2,159 bottles so that supply does not break. Treatment is given at the spinal muscular atrophy clinic in SAT Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, along with physiotherapy, breathing support, devices, rehabilitation and surgery. Parents have questioned the absence of a bioequivalence study, while Natco points to its approval from the drug regulator and to World Health Organization guidance that exempts oral solutions. Courts in Delhi and Kerala have both ruled in favour of the generic being made and bought.
Generic drug:
Natsmart, made by Natco Pharma
Bottles ordered:
2,159
Programme:
KARE — Kerala United Against Rare Diseases
Why it matters for exams: KARE stands for Kerala United Against Rare Diseases and Risdiplam is the named drug for spinal muscular atrophy; generic substitution and the drug regulator's approval are recurring health questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
KARE Kerala United Against Rare Diseases — Kerala's programme that pays for medicines and care in rare diseases.
SMA Spinal muscular atrophy — A genetic disorder that progressively weakens muscles and affects breathing.
29 October 2026
Kochi Metro Rail Limited has gone back to the State government for a revised administrative sanction for its Phase II work, because the wait for approvals pushed the cost up. The 11.2-km Pink Line, estimated at ₹1,957.05 crore, starts at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium; its detailed project report went in during January 2019 but clearance came only in November 2022, and permission to take the loan followed in June 2023. Base cost and taxes both climbed in between. The lender is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, based in Beijing, which has sanctioned ₹1,016.24 crore. A bank team spent three days in Kochi going over physical and financial progress, construction safety, land acquisition, environmental management and fund use, and said it was satisfied. About 6.5 km of viaduct is up. KMRL Managing Director G. Priyanka chaired the review.
Project cost:
Rs 1,957.05 crore
AIIB loan:
Rs 1,016.24 crore
Pink Line length:
11.2 km
Why it matters for exams: AIIB is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, headquartered at Beijing, and KMRL is the central-State joint venture that runs Kochi Metro — both recur in questions on multilateral banks and urban transport.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
AIIB Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank — A multilateral development bank for infrastructure in Asia, with its headquarters in Beijing.
29 October 2026
The Kerala Legislative Assembly has passed the SARAL Bill, which sets up a single centralised route for the approvals and licences an investor needs. The power to issue those licences moves out of the individual departments and into the new approval bodies, the stated aim being fewer delays. This is a change from K-SWIFT, the online single-window system Kerala has been using. Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty told the House that the existing three-tier committee will have no role once the Bill is in force. For projects between ₹25 crore and ₹50 crore, a committee led by the District Collector is to decide within 75 days, and a proposal is treated as sound if the Agriculture Officer or other authority raises nothing in seven days. The Opposition left the House, and an amendment moved by ruling-side MLA G. Sudhakaran was rejected. Certain central bodies and laws on groundwater and mining will still need longer scrutiny.
Decision window:
75 days
Project size covered:
Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore
System it changes:
K-SWIFT
Why it matters for exams: K-SWIFT is the Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance, and the Bill names the District Collector-led committee and its 75-day limit for mid-sized projects.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
K-SWIFT Kerala Single Window Interface for Fast and Transparent Clearance — Kerala's online single-window portal for industrial licences and approvals.
Background
Malappuram district covers about 3,550 square kilometres, which is 9.13 per cent of Kerala's total area and ranks third in the State. Four important rivers run through it, the Chaliyar, the Kadalundippuzha, the Bharathapuzha and the Tirurpuzha, and of these only the Chaliyar is perennial. Tirur and Ponnani taluks lie along its backwaters. The district was the military headquarters of the Zamorins of Kozhikode from ancient times, and it was the home of the Khilafath movement and of the Mappila revolts that challenged British authority.
Area:
About 3,550 square kilometres
Share of Kerala's area:
9.13%
Only perennial river among the four:
Chaliyar
Why it matters for exams: Which river is perennial, which district ranks third in area and who the Zamorins were are all single-fact Kerala PSC answers, and the Bharathapuzha's rank among Kerala's rivers is asked on its own.
Kerala PSCSSC
Background
Pathanamthitta is the thirteenth revenue district of Kerala. It was formed under Government Order (M.S) No. 1026/82/RD, dated 29 October 1982, with effect from 1 November 1982, and its headquarters is the town of Pathanamthitta. The district lies on the slopes of the Western Ghats and runs down to the low-lying paddy fields along Alappuzha district. The suffix RD in that order number marks it as an order of the Revenue Department, the department that carries out the formation and reorganisation of districts in Kerala.
Revenue district number:
Thirteenth
Government Order number:
G.O. (M.S) No.1026/82/RD
District headquarters:
Pathanamthitta
Why it matters for exams: Kerala PSC asks which department forms a district and how many districts Kerala has; the Revenue Department issues the Government Order and the answer to the count is fourteen.
Kerala PSCSSC
In plain words
G.O. Government Order — A written executive order of a government department.
Background
Kerala's Chief Minister and his ministers attended this week's swearing-in of the new Governor, which is a reminder of how the present ministry took office. V D Satheesan of the Congress was sworn in as Chief Minister of Keralam on Monday, 18 May 2026, at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
The oath of office was administered by the then Governor, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. Satheesan heads a 20-member cabinet. The Congress-led United Democratic Front formed the government, returning to power after a decade, ending the Left Democratic Front's ten-year rule. Former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan attended the ceremony.
The standing point is that the Chief Minister and the other ministers are sworn in by the Governor of the State, not by a judge.
Chief Minister:
V D Satheesan
Sworn in:
18 May 2026, Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
Cabinet size:
20 members
Front in power:
United Democratic Front (UDF)
Why it matters for exams: Who holds the office of Chief Minister of Kerala, and the fact that the Governor swears in the Council of Ministers, are both standing Polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
UDF United Democratic Front — The Congress-led coalition of parties in Kerala.
LDF Left Democratic Front — The CPI(M)-led coalition of parties in Kerala.