Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob has extended the farmer registration window for the decentralised paddy procurement scheme for the 2026-27 first crop, known as virippu. Farmers can apply for seven working days from 13 November. The original window ran from 15 August to 30 September, and many farmers said they could not register inside it. Supplyco had asked every farmer who would harvest and sell paddy by 31 December 2026 to complete registration within the original window. The extension came after farmers submitted a petition to the Minister. Registration is what allows a farmer's paddy to be bought at the support price and the payment to be processed.
New registration window:Seven working days from 13 NovemberOriginal window:15 August to 30 September
Why it matters for exams: Supplyco and the decentralised paddy procurement scheme recur in Kerala PSC economy and agriculture questions, and the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio is a standard polity question.
Sports Minister O. J. Janeesh announced that Kerala will bring a new sports bill, described as Athlete Centric, to replace the existing sports laws. He said the change is meant to close the coordination gap between the Kerala State Sports Council and the Sports Directorate and to make the sector more professional. The announcement came at a Durbar Hall function in the Secretariat where the Sports Council handed out cash awards to medal winners from 2019-20 national and international competitions. Para-athletes will now get cash rewards on the same scale as other athletes. The government is also preparing proposals to raise training allowances and travel aid, and is clearing reward arrears pending for about seven years. The Minister said the bill may be introduced in a special Assembly session.
Bill described as:Athlete CentricReward arrears pending:about seven years
Why it matters for exams: The Kerala State Sports Council and the Sports Directorate are standard Kerala PSC administration questions, and a new state bill is a polity question.
Kerala State Sports CouncilKerala State Sports Council — The statutory state body that promotes sports, runs state teams and gives cash awards to medal winners.
The Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities has invited applications for a capital subsidy to buy electric autorickshaws under the Samunnathi e-Yathra scheme. The scheme gives priority to work and income for women of non-reserved, or forward, communities who belong to economically backward families. Applications will be taken from 16 November to 15 December. The application form and conditions are on the corporation's website, www.kswcfc.org. The subsidy is paid towards the cost of the vehicle, so the beneficiary starts a passenger-transport livelihood with a reduced loan burden.
Application period:16 November to 15 DecemberVehicle covered:Electric autorickshaw
Why it matters for exams: The Kerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities and its schemes are repeat Kerala PSC welfare questions.
KSWCFCKerala State Welfare Corporation for Forward Communities — A state corporation that runs education, housing and self-employment schemes for non-reserved communities.
Kerala's Food and Civil Supplies Department has given holders of priority ration cards who are no longer eligible a chance to move to the general category without penalty until 8 December. Yellow and pink card holders who are government, semi-government or teaching staff, employees of public sector and cooperative institutions, service pensioners, income tax payers, families earning over Rs 25,000 a month, households with more than one acre of land, those in a house or flat above 1,000 sq ft, and owners of a four-wheeler must surrender the priority card. Part-time and temporary staff, Fourth Class retirees, pensioners drawing below Rs 5,000, freedom fighter pensioners below Rs 10,000 and taxi-dependent four-wheeler owners are exempt. Applications go to the Taluk Supply Office with the original card, the head of family's Aadhaar and the category-change form. After the deadline, anyone found ineligible must pay the market value of the grain already taken.
Last date:8 DecemberIncome bar:over Rs 25,000 per monthHouse size bar:larger than 1,000 sq ft
Why it matters for exams: Ration card categories and the eligibility bars under the public distribution system are frequent Kerala PSC questions.
Kerala has opened a one-time arrears settlement scheme for vehicle owners whose motor vehicle tax has been pending for four years or more up to 31 March 2026. Whatever the length of the arrears, the owner pays only a share of the tax due from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026: 30 per cent for transport vehicles and 40 per cent for non-transport vehicles. Owners already facing revenue recovery action can also use the scheme. For vehicles that were stolen, dismantled, destroyed or cannot be traced, the owner must apply with documents and an affidavit on Rs 200 stamp paper in the prescribed form, available at the RTO or Sub RTO office. Once the arrears up to 31 March 2026 are paid, tax liability from 1 April 2026 onwards is waived. The scheme runs until 31 March 2027.
Transport vehicles pay:30%Non-transport vehicles pay:40%Scheme open until:31 March 2027
Why it matters for exams: One-time settlement schemes and the transport vehicle versus non-transport vehicle distinction under motor vehicle taxation are recurring Kerala PSC questions.
General Education Minister N. Shamsudheen announced in Thiruvananthapuram that the 2027 Higher Secondary first and second year public examinations will run from 2 March to 30 March 2027. Papers begin at 9.30 am on most days and at 2 pm on 12 March and 30 March. Vocational Higher Secondary and Kerala Kalamandalam public examinations will be held alongside. Second year Higher Secondary practical examinations start on 25 January 2027 and vocational practicals on 15 January 2027, with preparatory model examinations from 11 to 24 February. About 9 lakh students will write the Higher Secondary examinations at around 2,000 centres in Kerala, the Gulf and Lakshadweep, and about 53,000 will write the vocational examinations at 389 centres. Valuation is expected to begin on 5 April 2027 and results by 15 May 2027.
Examination period:2 March to 30 March 2027Higher Secondary candidates:about 9 lakhVocational centres:389
Why it matters for exams: The Higher Secondary and Vocational Higher Secondary streams and the General Education portfolio are standard Kerala PSC education questions.
The Industry on Campus project was launched at the College of Engineering, Attingal, run by the Institute of Human Resources Development. Higher Education Minister Roji M. John inaugurated it, with IHRD Director Dr. M. V. Rajesh present. The project covers artificial intelligence, coding, software development and digital solutions, and is built on a memorandum of understanding between the college and Dimbag Solutions Private Limited. In the first phase the company picked 14 students from different departments as its first batch of technology associates. The model places a working company inside the campus so that students do industry work while they study.
Students in first batch:14
Why it matters for exams: IHRD and the Higher Education portfolio are standard Kerala PSC questions on state education institutions.
IHRDInstitute of Human Resources Development — A Kerala government institute that runs engineering colleges, applied science colleges and technical schools.
The Kerala State Planning Board holds an idea-formulation meeting for the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, covering 2027 to 2032, at Kozhikode on 13 November. Revenue Minister A. P. Anilkumar inaugurates the meeting at Hotel King Fort, Palayam, with Kozhikode South MLA Adv. Faisal Babu presiding. State Planning Board Vice Chairman K. M. Chandrasekhar gives the introductory address and Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman Dr. M. K. Muneer is the chief guest. The Board is building a development model it calls Puthuyugam Keralam, joining economic growth, social justice, technology and environmentally sustainable development. Proposals will be collected in two sessions from local body representatives, district officials, experts, entrepreneurs and voluntary organisations, and also through an online form.
Plan period:2027-32Development model named:Puthuyugam Keralam
Why it matters for exams: The Kerala State Planning Board, its Vice Chairman and the numbering of state Five-Year Plans are standard Kerala PSC economy questions.
State Planning BoardKerala State Planning Board — The body that prepares Kerala's Five-Year and annual plans and advises the government on development policy.
Alappuzha district will observe an antimicrobial resistance awareness week from 18 to 24 November to cut antibiotic overuse. A district One Health coordination meeting chaired by Additional District Magistrate C. Premji brought several departments together, and Deputy District Medical Officer Dr. S. R. Dileep Kumar presented the plan. The meeting discussed tighter biomedical waste handling in hospitals and a campaign against self-medication, action against unscientific drug use in domestic animals, the risk from contaminated feed in fish farming and poultry, and joint action by local self-government bodies and the Pollution Control Board on resistant bacteria found in water bodies. The Microbiology and Community Medicine departments of Government T. D. Medical College are taking part.
Week observed:18 to 24 NovemberDistrict:Alappuzha
Why it matters for exams: Antimicrobial resistance and the One Health approach are regular science and health questions in both UPSC and Kerala PSC.
Kerala's Cabinet has cleared draft plans for an International Maritime Museum and an Oceanarium, so the capital's own museum and zoo complex is worth placing. The Thiruvananthapuram museum and zoo complex grew out of the efforts of J. A. Brown, once Director of the Thiruvananthapuram Observatory, and General Cullen, a former British Resident. The committee behind it took the Maharaja of Travancore as patron and General Cullen as President, with the Elaya Raja as Vice President. The museum was thrown open to the public in 1857, and a zoo with public gardens followed two years after that. The building standing today was designed by Robert Chisholm, who held the post of Architect to the Governor of Madras. The district administration puts the whole complex at 55 acres, in the middle of the city.
Patron of the founding committee:Maharaja of TravancoreArchitect of the building:Robert ChisholmArea of the complex:55 acresOpened to the public:1857
Why it matters for exams: The capital's museum and zoo complex is a standard Kerala PSC question: its architect, the official post he held, and the Travancore patronage behind it.
Kerala has named the winners of its Raja Ravi Varma Award, the State's top honour in visual art, which is where a Kozhikode gallery earns its place. The art gallery beside the Pazhassi Raja Museum holds paintings by Raja Ravi Varma and by Raja Raja Varma, whom the district administration describes as his uncle. The museum itself is run by the State Archaeology Department. On display are mural paintings, antique bronzes, ancient coins and models of temples. Megalithic material is kept there as well, including umbrella stones and dolmenoid cists, which are quadrangular burial chambers with capstones. The name on both is that of Pazhassi Raja, born Kerala Varma in the Kottayam royal family's Padinjare Kovilakom. He is remembered by the nickname Lion of Kerala, and for taking guerrilla warfare into the hills of Wayanad against the English Company.
Managed by:State Archaeology Department, KeralaPainters on display:Raja Ravi Varma and Raja Raja VarmaNamed after:Pazhassi Raja, born Kerala VarmaRoyal house:Padinjare Kovilakom, Kottayam royal family
Why it matters for exams: The State Archaeology Department's museums, Raja Ravi Varma and the megalithic umbrella stone are all recurring Kerala PSC questions.
With Kerala's State Board for Wildlife freshly reconstituted, the sanctuary holding the State's best known tree repays a look. Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, in Palakkad district, spreads over 285 sq km and lies about 98 km from Palakkad town. Its most famous resident is the Kannimara Teak, which the district administration ranks among the world's oldest and largest teak trees. The tree measures 6.57 m in girth and 48.5 m in height, and its age is put at roughly 360 years. It survives from the wild teak of a tract now given over to planted teak. Entry is through the Divisional Forest Officer at Thunakkadavu, where a tree house has to be booked ahead. Rest houses of the State Forest Department stand at Thunakkadavu, Illikkal and Anappady, and boats run on the Parambikulam reservoir.
Area:285 sq.km.Girth of the Kannimara Teak:6.57 mHeight of the Kannimara Teak:48.5 mPermitting authority:Divisional Forest Officer, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu
Why it matters for exams: Parambikulam's area and the Kannimara Teak's measurements are standard Kerala PSC geography questions, and the permitting authority shows how a sanctuary is administered.