Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], January 17 : The 13th session of the 15th Kerala Assembly began on Friday with a policy address by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
"It is with immense pride and happiness that I address this august Assembly, marking the 13th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly," Arlekar, who was sworn in as Kerala Governor earlier this month said, beginning his address.
He said that with limited resources in hand, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is doing its best to achieve the goals of 'Nava Keralam'.
"My government reiterates its commitment to its aim of building Nava Keralam which will be endowed with high-quality physical infrastructure, a knowledge-based economy, quality education and health care, guaranteed housing for all and eradication of extreme poverty. With limited resources in hand, we are trying our best to achieve these goals," he said.
"Kerala's development path had attracted the attention of scholars across the world. Our achievements have been acclaimed within the country and abroad. But my government is not content with resting on laurels," he added.
Finance Minister KN Balagopal will present the State Budget on February 7.
The Assembly will meet for 27 days of sittings in its 13th session. The discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the Governor's address will be held from January 20 to January 22. The State Budget will be presented on February 7, followed by a general discussion on it from February 11 to February 13. The final batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for the 2024-25 fiscal will be considered on February 13.
The Assembly will take a break from February 14 to March 2. During this period, Subject Committees will scrutinise the demands for grants.
Once the session resumes on March 4, the Assembly will take up the demands for grants for the 2025-26 fiscal.
Before the session winds up on March 28, the House will pass two Appropriation Bills concerning the final supplementary demands for grants for the 2024-25 fiscal and the 2025-26 State Budget.