Kerala budget 2026: Govt to provide free 5-day treatment for accident victims
Presenting the budget, Finance Minister K N Balagopal said the state records around 48,000 road accidents every year. He noted that in many cases victims do not receive timely medical intervention.
Thiruvananthapuram: In a major announcement, the Kerala govt has announced free medical treatment for the first five days for road accident victims, backed by an allocation of Rs 15 crore.
This is the final budget of the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, presented in the Assembly on Thursday.
Presenting the budget, Finance Minister K N Balagopal said the state records around 48,000 road accidents every year. He noted that in many cases victims do not receive timely medical intervention.
To address this situation, the government has decided to roll out a special lifesaver project that guarantees free treatment for accident victims during the first five days following the incident. The scheme is intended to remove financial barriers and procedural delays that hinder emergency care.
The facility will be available in all government hospitals and in selected private hospitals that will be included under the project.
The Rs 15 crore earmarked in the budget will be used for implementing the project and strengthening emergency response and treatment systems across the state.
Government announce accident insurance scheme
The Kerala government has announced an accident insurance scheme for students from classes 1-12. An annual sum of Rs 15 crore will be needed towards this, Finance Minister KN Balagopal announced in the Budget presentation on Thursday.
The scheme will be implemented for the students from government, aided, and unaided state syllabus schools, and will be presented in the budget session.
The state government will remit the insurance premium for all students falling under the scheme set to be rolled out from the next academic year. The initial discussions regarding this were taken after the slew of incidents of accidents in schools, including the electrocution of a 13-year-old boy, Mithun, at the Thevalakkara Boys High School in Kollam.