Kerala Budget 2026: Balagopal announces pay hike for ASHA and Anganwadi workers

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Finance Minister KN Balagopal on Thursday announced measures to increase payments to frontline welfare workers while presenting the State Budget 2026, offering relief to thousands of employees and scheme workers across the state.

He announced a monthly increase of ₹1,000 for literacy mission instructors (saksharatha preraks). Anganwadi workers will receive a ₹1,000 hike in their monthly honorarium, while Anganwadi helpers will get an additional ₹500. In a major announcement, ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers’ honorarium will be increased by ₹1,000. 

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The Finance Minister further said welfare pensions would be raised in a phased manner. A total of ₹14,500 crore has been earmarked for welfare pension disbursal in the next financial year.

The announcements come amid continued agitation by ASHA workers in Kerala seeking better pay and retirement benefits. ASHAs had staged a day-and-night protest in front of the Secretariat for 265 days, demanding enhanced remuneration and a lump-sum retirement package.

Last October, the striking ASHAs decided to end their sit-in at the Secretariat and shift protests to district-level centres after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced a ₹1,000 monthly honorarium hike. However, the Kerala ASHA Health Workers’ Association (KAHWA), which led the agitation, said core demands, including raising the honorarium to ₹21,000 and a ₹5 lakh retirement benefit, remain unmet.

With elections approaching, the Budget’s welfare-focused announcements are being seen as a significant attempt by the government to address long-pending grievances of grassroots workers and pension beneficiaries.