Kerala Budget 2026-27: Kerala presents an ‘Elderly Budget’ for the first time

The annual State Budget was accompanied by an ‘Elderly Budget,’ which featured a total consolidated outlay of ₹46,236.52 crore — both Plan and Non-Plan — for 2026-27. The Elderly Budget is a new feature that underlines ageing Kerala’s increasing focus on concepts such as ‘silver economy’ and ‘care economy.’

With its tabling, Kerala has become the first State to present an Elderly Budget, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal said in his Budget speech in the Assembly on Thursday. Citing projections for 2026, the Minister noted that the percentage of senior citizens in the State was 18.7%.

The total allocation for the welfare of the elderly constitutes 19.07% of the total Plan outlay, according to the document. For preparing the Elderly Budget, State Plan schemes exclusively or partly benefiting the elderly, 5% of local body plan (excluding Finance Commission grant), and the non-Plan grant for the elderly have been taken into account, according to the government.

“A significant highlight of this year’s Budget is the focus on the silver economy and care economy, emphasising social and physical infrastructure development. Furthermore, recognising that women constitute a larger share of the elderly population, this Budget works in tandem with our Gender Budget to tackle the ‘feminisation of ageing’,” Mr. Balagopal noted in the preface to the Elderly Budget document.

The special focus on the elderly gains significance in the light of projections that Kerala’s population aged above 60 will touch 22.8% of the State’s total population by 2036.

Major announcements and scheme allocations related to health-are of the elderly, institutional and community-based care, social security, adult education and inclusive infrastructure have been highlighted in the Elderly Budget document. These include schemes as the pneumococcal vaccination programme, retirement homes in all districts, and the Abhay Kendra (homestay) scheme for artists.

By 2036, Kerala will continue to be at the forefront of ageing States in India, a recent Reserve Bank of India report ‘State Finances: A Study of Budgets 2025-26: Demographic Transition in India – Implications for State Finances’ had noted. By then, says the report, Kerala will also see a decline in its share of the working age population.

These demographic changes will have grave implications for public finances, with policy imperatives gradually shifting from employment generation towards old-age support systems. Ageing States should prioritise healthcare financing reforms, preventive health systems, and public–private partnerships, while rationalising subsidies and non-merit spending to create fiscal space, the report had suggested.

Kerala’s Elderly Budget joins the Gender and Child Budget, R&D Budget, Environment Budget and Citizens Budget which were introduced as separate documents over the past few years.