Keralam Cabinet clears Bill to guarantee rights for senior citizens

The Keralam Cabinet on Friday gave its approval for a Bill that seeks to ensure legal guarantees to senior citizens in the State. Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan told a post-Cabinet press briefing that the government intends to introduce the Bill in the session of the Kerala Legislative Assembly starting Monday.

The Bill contains provisions to assist the elderly in an era of demographic changes, he said.

Describing the Bill as “revolutionary,” the Chief Minister said that it will be a “model legislation for all Indian States” if it gets passed in the House.

After it came to power in May, the government had created a dedicated Department for the Welfare of the Elderly, which was later renamed Department for Senior Citizens. In the Revised Budget for 2026-27, the UDF government had stated its intention to establish “world-class facilities for our senior citizens, maximising their vast experience and expertise to cultivate a robust ‘Silver Economy.’’

Assembly Session from Monday

Earlier on Friday, Kerala Assembly Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, while announcing the start of the second session of the 16th Assembly on Monday, said the House will be considering a number of Bills. As per the approved schedule, two Bills – the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, and the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026 – will be taken up for consideration.

Mr. Radhakrishnan said two more Bills are likely to come up for consideration. But this will be decided by the House’s Business Advisory Committee which meets on Monday.

The session, which will last nine days in all, is meant chiefly for government business.

The supplementary demands for grants for the 2026-27 Revised Budget will be tabled on October 15.

The House will not be in session from October 19 to October 23.

The discussion and voting on the supplementary demands for grants for 2026-2027 and the demands for excess grants for 2016-2017, 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 will be held on October 26. The Appropriation Bills in respect of these demands for grants will be considered on October 29, the final day of the session.

‘Kerala’ or ‘Keralam’?

Mr. Radhakrishnan said ‘Keralaniyamasabha’ is grammatically correct as a single word in Malayalam when referring to the Keralam Legislative Assembly. He said he had consulted grammarians on the issue and ‘Keralam Niyamasabha’ need not be used. “These are issues that we tend to face in a transition period,” he said, referring to the recent official change of the name of the State to ‘Keralam’ from ‘ Kerala.’ The Union Home Ministry had notified ‘Keralam’ as the new name for the State in August.