The annual family income limit criterion for financial assistance from the Kerala Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) will be increased from ₹2 lakh to ₹3 lakh.

The decision was taken in the weekly Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said here on Thursday.

The Cabinet has also increased the CMDRF amounts that can be sanctioned at various levels. At the Chief Minister’s level, the amount has been increased from ₹3 to ₹5 lakh, and up to ₹1 lakh at the Revenue Minister’s level. The Special Secretary (Revenue) can sanction up to ₹50,000, and the district collectors, ₹25,000.

Further, the Cabinet also decided to constitute an untied fund of ₹1 crore for district collectors to use in emergencies.

Nod for draft State data policy

The Cabinet has given its approval for the Draft Kerala State Data Policy 2026. The policy covers aspects such as creation of data, safe and controlled data sharing, its quality and compatibility. The need for a policy arose from a need for a technical mechanism for data sharing among government departments, the Chief Minister said. The draft policy was prepared by the Kerala State IT Mission.